Slick Griquas hammer Cheetahs in Bloem to surge top of Currie Cup log

The third-placed Griquas leapfrogged the Cheetahs and Boland Cavaliers to top the log and all but secure a home Currie Cup semi-final with a thumping 40-10 victory over the Cheetahs as they kicked off Round-Six at the Free State Stadium on Friday evening.

The side from Kimberley made it five wins in a row, ending a four-match winning run by the Cheetahs in the process with one league match left in the season. They moved four points clear of the Cheetahs and Cavaliers with the bonus point triumph.

The potent Griquas backs struck early with flyhalf George Whitehead profiting from a Cameron Hufke half-break after two minutes. Outside centre Zane Bester doubled their lead three minutes later, after Dylan Maart broke from their own in-goal area and hoofed the ball upfield.

Last weekend’s hat-trick hero Gurswin Wehr was also proving a handful for the Cheetahs’ defenders.

A rock-solid Griquas scrum in the Cheetahs’ 22 set No 9 Caleb Abrahams away in the 14th minute and he had too much pace and power for the Cheetahs defenders, dotting down in the far right corner. Whitehead kicked all three conversions. The Griquas were bossing the set piece and were clinical almost every time they were in the Cheetahs’ 22.

The electric start by the visitors left the home team shell-shocked. They were finally able to build some pressure after a barnstorming run by Prince Nkabinde, with Marko Janse van Rensburg crashing over from a driving maul in the 25th minute.

Sevens star Wehr showed blistering pace on the outside to score the bonus point try for the visitors a few minutes later. The score was 28-5 with less than 10 minutes to go in the half, and the Griquas backs were playing exhibition rugby, complete with no-look passes and goose steps. Their loose forwards and tight five were unstoppable, with No 8 Gustav Erlank immense. 

Cheetahs No 5 lock and skipper Victor Sekekete’s 100th cap was turning into a nightmare outing. 

The desperate Cheetahs turned to their ‘Bomb Squad’ of Cameron Dawson, Vernon Paulo, and Frankie Dos Reis, while lock Pierre-Raymond Uys also came on in the place of Mihlali Mosi at scrumhalf as Frans Steyn tried to stem the bleeding.

Alarm bells were ringing again for the Cheetahs when Whitehead broke the line at pace and Hufke rounded off the play with his team’s fifth try, at the hooter. 

The visitors led 33-5.

The Cheetahs started the second stanza on the front foot, but great exit work put the pressure back on the home team. The visitors had answers to everything the Cheetahs threw at them with 20 minutes left in the match and no further addition to the half-time score.

A quick Wehr counter-attack in the 62nd minute led the Griquas' sixth try (40-5). There was a melee and exchange of handbags a few minutes later involving Maart and Nkabinde that quickly boiled over but the referee chose not to flash any cards.

The Griquas then had three players sin-binned in quick succession as the Cheetahs pressed. The home side capitalised on their numerical superiority with a Daniel Martens try in the 71st minute.

The job was done for the Griquas, however, who tried to run down down the clock at every opportunity as they held on for a rare win against their neighbours at the Free State Stadium. 

Boland will have the chance to move to the top of the log when they face the struggling Sharks XV in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday evening. The Cheetahs, meanwhile, could drop as low as fourth should the Lions secure a bonus point victory over the Bulls in the earlier kick-off at Ellis Park.

Cheetahs 10 (5)
Tries: Janse van rensburg, Martens.

Griquas 40  (33)
Tries: Whitehead, Bester, Abrahams, Wher (2), Hufke; Conversions: Whitehead (5).