Griquas too strong for Griffons
Griquas chief Peter Engledow's charges ran in four tries to two and flyhalf Clinton Swart booted 14 points to triumph at Griqua Park.
The home side scored the first try early on after a 40-metre run from right wing Alshaun Bock that saw lock Mzwanele Zito cross over for an unconverted try in the right corner.
Swart soon made up for his misjudged attempt and slotted a penalty to extend their lead.
The Griffons got the scoreboard moving in the 22nd minute when number eight Martin Sithole broke from a scrum 10-meteres out from the opposition tryline and powered through for the five-pointer. Pivot George Whitehead impressed with a tough conversion to narrow the gap.
The Griquas' pack's dominance become increasingly evident towards the end of the first half as they set up a number of scoring opporunities for their backline and their effort paid off when inside centre Jonathan Francke dotted down for their second try after a well-timed pop pass from fullback Eric Zana.
The unfavourbale conditions made the second half a messy one as both sides displayed flawed performances at certain stages, but Swart came through with the boot kicked three penalties to stretch their lead to 24-7 from a 15-7 halftime advantage.
With less than 15-minutes on the clock Griquas outside centre AJ Coertzen broke loose from a strong rolling maul and cut through the blindside to cross the whitewash.
Griffons right wing Selwyn Davids clinched a consolation try just before the siren went after he gathered a loose ball before chasing down his own kick for a converted try.
The Griquas grabbed a bonus-point try after a last-minute maul which saw Swart go over for their fourth try.
Scorers:
For Griquas:
Tries: AJ Coertzen, Clinton Swart, Jonathan Francke, Mzwanele Zito
Pens: Clinton Swart (4)
Con: Clinton Swart
For Griffons:
Tries: Martin Sithole, Selvyn Davids
Cons: George Whitehead
Griquas: 15 Eric Zana, 14 Alshaun Bock, 13 AJ Coertzen, 12 Jonathan Francke, 11 Ederies Arendse, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Jason-Collin Fraser, 7 RJ Liebenberg (captain), 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 Jaco Nepgen, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Stephan Kotze, 2 AJ Le Roux, 1 Steph Roberts
Replacements: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 18 Jonathan Adendorf, 19 Jono Janse van Rensburg, 20 Steven Meiring, 21 Tiaan Dorfling, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa
Griffons: 15 Tertius Maarman, 14 Selvyn Davids, 13 Vuyo Mbotho, 12 Daniel Pretorius, 11 Norman Nelson, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Boela Abrahams, 8 Martin Sithole, 7 Frans Sisita, 6 Siward Mavundla, 5 Samora Fihlani, 4 Gavin Annandale (captain), 3 Heinrich Roelfse, 2 Khwezi Mkhafu, 1 Daniel van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 PW Botha, 18 Wayne Ludick, 19 De Wet Kruger, 20 Vincent Maruping, 21 Malcolm-Kerr Till, 22 Coenie van Wyk
