CAPE TOWN – Griquas scored a try in stoppage time to secure an impressive 30-28 victory against Western Province in an entertaining Currie Cup contest at Cape Town Stadium yesterday.
Going into the fixture, Province were no doubt the favourites. Not only did they play at home, but they had also enjoyed a neat run in their campaign. They are, of course, also traditionally the stronger side.
Province got off to a solid start and got an early maul try through JJ Kotze, with flyhalf Tim Swiel converting to take the score to 7-0. Griquas didn’t wait too long to hit back with a try of their own when Ashlon Davids levelled the scores (7-all).
Look away Province fans. The Griquas steal it at the death as George Whitehead converts and the players are over the moon 🥳#CurrieCup
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) July 7, 2021
The hosts drew power from their maul again to get their second try as Kotze scored a brace towards the end of the opening quarter, taking his personal season tally to six.
The visitors made it clear that they had no intention of backing down and kept bringing the energy. After adding three points, they got their third five-pointer after a scrum penalty gave them a chance to go on the attack, with winger Daniel Kasenda running over for an unconverted score to give them the lead (12-17).
Province went down to 14 men just before half time when replacement tighthead Lee Marvin Mazibuko left the pitch, but Swiel connected a penalty shortly afterwards to soften the blow (15-17).
Griquas’ lead didn’t last long. On the stroke of half time, WP went ahead when Sergeal Petersen ran in their third (half time 22-17).
While Province made some errors that one can assume would have frustrated John Dobson – like their defence on the blind side, their scrummaging performance and, overall, the abandance of penalties conceded – they managed to get over try line despite being one man down.
Swiel added a second penalty conversion early in the second half to stretch their lead, but Whitehead followed it up with one of his one to get the digits on their side of the board moving (25-20).
Both sides scored a penalty each in the final quarter, and the tension shot up as the game progressed, with things getting especially nail-biting in the last 10 minutes as just five points separated the two sides.
Griquas ran in an equalising try late in the game, but a pass in the build-up went way forward and was picked up upon review, locking the scores on 28-23.
An attacking lineout for Griquas on the five gave the visitors a massive opportunity to cause an upset at the Capetonians’ new home, and with WP collapsing the resulting maul, Griquas kept it tight afterwards and crashed over, levelling the scores on 28-all. Whitehead nailed the conversion, sneaking a memorable victory for the Kimberley side against the table-topping hosts (28-30).
Despite the loss Province, who got a losing bonus point, remain at the top f the log.
Point scorers:
Western Province: 28 – Tries: JJ Kotze (2), Sergeal Petersen Conversions: Tim Swiel (2) Penalties: Swiel (3) Yellow card: Lee Marvin Mazibuko
Griquas: 30 – Tries: Ashlon Davids, Daniel Kasenda, Cameron Lindsay Conversions: George Whitehead (3) Penalties: Whitehead (3)
IOL Sport