Griquas see off Cheetahs to book spot in Currie Cup Final
MATCH REPORT: Griquas will face the Lions at Ellis Park in next weekend’s Currie Cup Final.
Pieter Bergh’s side booked their spot in that match with a 25-5 victory over the Cheetahs in their semifinal in Kimberley on Saturday.
Wing Dylan Maart produced a man-of-the-match performance, scoring two of Griquas’ three tries.
The home side also produced a strong defensive performance that frustrated the Cheetahs for large periods of the match.
Griquas gradually applied pressure in the opening minutes, and two tries in quick succession gave them a 12-0 lead after 10 minutes.
Lock Albert Liebenberg scored the first try after he got the final ball from centre Zane Bester, who weaved his way through the Cheetahs’ defence in a brilliant run.
Right after the restart, George Whitehead’s clearing kick was partially charged down, but the bouncing ball was brilliantly snatched by Maart, and he raced away for the home side’s second try in the ninth minute.
After being under the pump, the Cheetahs hit back when wing Prince Nkabinde found some space out wide to score a five-pointer in the 13th minute.
The Cheetahs had plenty of opportunities to get more points after that, but they were thwarted by a determined Griquas defence and some brilliant turnovers at the breakdown.
Griquas nearly extended their lead in the 37th minute after Lourens Oosthuizen powered his way to the Cheetahs’ tryline. However, the ball was lost forward.
It was 12-5 at the break.
The hosts made it a 10-point lead in the 42nd minute with a Whitehead penalty goal.
After weathering an attacking storm from the Cheetahs, Griquas took a huge step to victory in the 56th minute when Maart ran in for his second try.
It started from a powerful driving maul before the ball went wide, with Maart producing a spectacular finish in the corner.
The Cheetahs had a few more opportunities to get back into the game in the final quarter, but they were frustrated by some excellent scrambling defence from the home side.
Whitehead eventually sealed the victory with a penalty goal at the end.
Man of the match: The award goes to Griquas flyer Dylan Maart, who was sensational out wide. He scored two excellent tries, and his finishing for the second one will live long in the memory.
The scorers:
For Griquas:
Tries: Liebenberg, Maart 2
Cons: Whitehead 2
Pens: Whitehead 2
For Cheetahs:
Try: Nkabinde
Teams:
Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelenedaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Caleb Abrahams, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Carl Els, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 2 Cebo Dlamini (captain), 2 Janco Uys, 1 Eddie Davids.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 IG Prinsloo, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Marco de Witt, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Tom Nel, Connor Mahoney.
Cheetahs: 15 Michael Annies, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 13 Marco Janse van Vuren, 12 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 Clayton Blommetjies, 9 Jandré Nel, 8 Neels Volschenk, 7 Pierre Raymond Uys, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Juan Venter, 3 Frankie Dos Reis, 2 Marko Jansen van Rensburg, 1 Cameron Dawson.
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Tielman Niewoudt, 18 John Kelly Okonkwo, 19 Sisonke Vumazonke, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Ali Mgijima, 23 Banie Britz.
Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni, AJ Jacobs
TMO: Marius Jonker
