Kings pip Griquas at the line

The match was always going to be a closely-contested affair between the sides placed seventh and eighth on the log.

The stakes were high going into the game as the loser would be rooted to the bottom of the standings with two matches to play.

It was the Kings who came away with the honours when captain and centre Tim Whitehead scored in the last movement of the game – much to the delight of the home supports.

It was only their second win of the season.

Both teams scored five tries, but it was the Kings who came away with a full haul of five match points.

Griquas earned two log points for their efforts.

The intent of both sides was clear from the outset with hard hits in the initial tackles.

The Kings were first to register points with a second minute penalty slotted by fullback Scott van Breda.

Griquas hit straight back three minutes later with a try through right wing Danie Dames.

Centre Clinton Swart missed the conversion, but was on target with a penalty shortly thereafter.

Van Breda shortened the deficit with a penalty following a period of sustained pressure from the Kings.

The homeside switched from side to side as they launched a number of attacks but Griquas defence withstood them.

While Griquas structures held firm, it was from the restart that the visitors scored their second try through Swart.

Swart converted his own try and Griquas led 15-6 after 26 minutes.

The Kings were still struggling to crack the Griquas lines and had to settle for a long range Van Breda penalty to make an impact on the scoreboard.

Swart returned the favour a few minutes later.

The Kings finally found a kink in the Griquas armour when left wing Luther Obi slipped through and sprinted for the corner to score untouched.

But every time the Kings crept closer, Griquas would respond with points of their own, and Dames flat-footed their defence to score his second try of the game.

Flank Paul Schoeman ended the first half try-fest by crashing over from a maul just before the hooter.

Van Breda managed to slot conversion from wide out.

Griquas wasted little time to secure their bonus-point when play resumed – No 8 Carel Greeff dotted down as part of a three-man overlap. Swart converted.

Much like the first half, the Kings struck back immediately with Schoeman’s second try from a driving maul.

Whitehead then scored his first try after charging down Francois Brummer’s attempted clearance.

Van Breda kicked one of the conversions to put the Kings 33-32 ahead on the hour.

The lead was swinging to and fro as Griquas went ahead once again with a try by replacement hooker AJ le Roux with 13 minutes remaining.

It looked as if Griquas had pulled off an away win until Whitehead had the final say for the Kings just on the final whistle.

Man of the match: Tim Whitehead scored the match winning try in a magnificent performance. He ended the match with two tries and gets the vote for obvious Man of the Match.

Scorers:

For Eastern Province Kings:

Tries: Obi, Schoeman 2, Tim Whitehead 2,

Cons: Van Breda 3

Pens: Van Breda 3

For Griquas:

Tries: Dames 2, Swart, Greeff, Le Roux

Cons: Swart 3

Pens: Swart 2

Teams:

Eastern Province Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Phillipus du Plessis, 12 Tim Whitehead (captain), 11 Luther Obi,  10 Karlo Aspeling, 9 Dwayne Kelly, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.

Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Tim Agaba, 21 Enrico Acker, 22 Elgar Watts.

Griquas: 15 Gouws Prinsloo, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Michael Van Der Spuy, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Ntabeni Dukisa, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Tian Meyer(captain), 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Jonathan Janse Van Rensburg, 6 RJ Lebenberg, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Jonathan Adendorf, 3 Ewald Van Der Westhuizen, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Steph Roberts.

Replacements: 16 AJ Le Roux, 17 Stephan Kotze, 18 Stephan Greeff, 19 Wendal Wehr, 20 Dylon Frylink, 21 Jonathan Francke, 22 Ederies Arendse.

Referee: Quinton Immelman

Assistant referees: Renier Vermeulen, Jabian Jeftha