GWK Griquas stayed firmly in the hunt for a semi-final berth when they rallied late in their Absa Currie Cup game against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs to win by 23-20 at GWK Park in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon.
Halfway through the second half, it looked like the Free Staters were going to record a good away win in their neighbours’ back yard, but two late tries, by Riaan Viljoen and Jean Stemmet, put Griquas ahead – a lead they never relinquished.
Both tries were superb solo efforts while the Cheetahs had to defend with only 14 men, as prop Marcel van der Merwe was sitting in the sin bin. It proved the difference in a hard fought derby where the team from Bloemfontein did everything to win the game, but failed to do so.
Flyhalf Sias Ebersohn and scrumhalf Pieter van Zyl scored in the first half for the Cheetahs, while fullback Rudi Vogt kept Griquas in the loop with three penalty goals. Things were quite even in the second half, until Van der Merwe was yellow carded and Viljoen and Stemmet took off.
Scorers:
- GWK Griquas – Tries: Riaan Viljoen, Jean Stemmet. Conversions: Earl Rose (2). Penalties: Rudi Vogt (3)
- Toyota Free State Cheetahs – Tries: Sias Ebersohn, Pieter van Zyl. Conversions: Sias Ebersohn (2). Penalties: Sias Ebersohn (2).
Teams:
- GWK Griquas: 15 Rudi Vogt, 14 Riaan Viljoen, 13 Jean Stemmet, 12 Barry Geel, 11 Dusty Noble, 10 Earl Rose, 9. Sarel Pretorius, 8 Jonathan Mokuena (captain), 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Justin Downey, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Hendrik Roodt, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Ivann Espag. Replacements: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17, Kevin Stevens, 18 Frikkie Spies, 19 Marnus Schoeman, 20 Marnus Hugo, 21 Matthew Rosslee, Wilmaure Louw.
- Free State Cheetahs: 15 Riaan Smit, 14 Philip Snyman, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Corné Uys, 11 Cameron Jacobs, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Pieter van Zyl, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Marcel van der Merwe. Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Boom Prinsloo, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Johan Goosen, 22 Philip Burger.
Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Log
Pos. Team – P – W – D – L – PF – PA – PD – TF – TA – BPts – Pts
- MTN Golden Lions – 7 – 6 – 0 – 1 – 240 – 158 – 82 – 26 – 15 – 3 – 27
- DHL Western Province – 7 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 201 – 130 – 71 – 17 – 8 – 4 – 22
- The Sharks – 7 – 5 – 0 – 2 – 186 – 165 – 21 – 16 – 12 – 2 – 22
- GWK Griquas – 7 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 195 – 212 – -17 – 21 – 26 – 3 – 21
- Toyota Free State Cheetahs – 7 – 3 – 0 – 4 – 242 – 166 – 76 – 28 – 16 – 6 – 18
- Vodacom Blue Bulls – 7 – 4 – 0 – 3 – 171 – 188 – -17 – 18 – 20 – 1 – 17
- Ford Pumas – 7 – 0 – 0 – 7 – 138 – 241 – -103 – 15 – 28 – 5 – 5
- Platinum Leopards – 7 – 1 – 0 – 6 – 125 – 238 – -113 – 15 – 31 – 1 – 5
