Lions run riot in Kimberley
The Golden Lions came, they saw and they conquered Griquas 46-8 in Kimberly on Saturday to cement their second place on the Currie Cup standings.
In a tight first half Griquas made the Lions work hard for a 13-3 lead at the break, but five second-half tries saw them men from Johannesburg run riot and secure their an important four-try bonus point to boot.
Fullback Andries Coetzee got the Lions on the scoreboard with his try in the 12th minute, which winger Ruan Combrinck converted to help give his side a seven point lead.
Combrinck was again called to action a couple of minutes later to kick a penalty and repeated the feat five minutes from half-time.
Two minutes from the break Griquas fullback Gouws Prinsloo kicked a penalty to notch up the first points for his team as the sides headed to the interval with the score 13-3 in favour of the visitors.
Lions flanker Jaco Kriel scored a try in the 48th minute with Combrinck converting to stretch the lead even further.
What followed was four more tries by the Lions, with lock Franco Mostert, replacement back Albertus Smith and Combrinck adding to the tally. Flank Kriel also scored his second five pointer of the match, not only helping the Lions stamp their authority on the game.
Amid the steady flow of Lions tries, Griquas did manage to get one back, with flanker Carel Greeff going over in the 68th minute, but there was little joy for the Peacock Blues with their participation in next year's qualifying round becoming a reality.
The scorers:
For Griquas:
Try: Greeff
Pen: Gouws
For the Golden Lions:
Tries: Coetzee, Kriel 2, Mostert, Smith, Combrinck
Cons: Combrinck 5
Pens: Combrinck 2
Teams:
Griquas: 15 Gouws Prinsloo, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Johnathan Francke, 12 Wayne Stevens (captain), 11 PJ Vermeulen, 10 Dean Grant, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Jaco Nepgen, 6 Ruaan Lerm, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Hilton Lobberts, 3 Nicolaas van Dyk, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Janro van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Simon Westraadt, 18 RJ Liebenberg, 19 Marnus Schoeman, 20 Abrie Griesel, 21 Jacquin Jansen, 22 Danie Dames.
Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Schalk van der Merwe/Julian Redelinghuys, 18 Derick Minnie, 19 Albertus Smith, 20 Mark Richards, 21 Marnitz Boshoff, 22 Nicolaas Hanekom.
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees: Oregopotse Rametsi, Jan Venter
TMO: Jason Jaftha
