Currie Cup: Lions secure semifinal spot with Griffons thrashing, Griquas pip WP at the death

Griquas 37-29 Western Province

In a gripping finale on Friday in Kimberley, Griquas clinched a dramatic 37-29 win over Western Province in Kimberley, thanks to a last-minute try from scrumhalf Bobby Alexander.

This thrilling encounter, which closed out the Currie Cup season for both teams, saw Griquas secure the sixth spot on the standings, finishing just ahead of WP.

The match was a high-octane affair from the start. Griquas took a 20-15 lead into halftime after an impressive early performance, with wing Dylan Maart and lock Dylan Sjoblom scoring tries to put them 17-3 ahead.

DHL Western Province, boosted by the return of several senior players, fought back with determination. Their captain, Dan du Plessis, scored twice—once before and once after halftime.

The lead fluctuated throughout the second half, with Province's centre Damian Markus scoring in the 69th minute. Griquas had a try disallowed for a forward pass with just five minutes remaining.

Despite this setback, Griquas managed to earn a penalty in their own 22, which they utilized to advance upfield. In the dying moments, Alexander's swift run secured the winning try, sealing a memorable victory for Griquas.

Scorers

For Griquas:

Tries: Maart, Sjoblom, De Witt, Alexander

Cons: Robinson 4

Pens: Robinson 3

For Western Province:

Tries: Theunissen, Markus, Du Plessis 2

Cons: Mathee 3

Pen: Mathee

Yellow cards: Luke Burger (17'- Western Province: cynical play - early tackle on attacking chaser after kick), Thabo Ndimande (31' - Griquas: no arms tackle off the ball), Jurie Mathee (38' - Western Province: cynical - diving on a player after tackle off linebreak).

Teams:

Griquas: 15 Connor Mahoney, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Sako Makata, 10 Zinedine Robinson, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Carl Els, 7 Marco de Witt (captain), 6 Thabo Ndimande, 5 Derik Pretorius, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Janu Botha, 2 Dandre Delport, 1 Leon Lyons.

Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Albert Liebenberg, 20 Hanru Sirgel, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 Tylor Sefoor, 23 Mnombo Zwelendaba.

Western Province: 15 Luke Burger, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Dan du Plessis (captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Louw Nel, 7 Dave Ewers, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole.

Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Wandisile Simelane, 23 Damian Markus.

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron

Assistant referees: Local

TMO: Griffin Colby

Lions 62-5 Griffons

The Lions clinched the top position in the Currie Cup standings with a commanding 62-5 victory over the Griffons in Johannesburg, scoring 10 tries in a dominant display of rugby.

The home side ran in five tries in each half with number eight Jarod Cairns, wingers Rabz Maxwane and Boldwin Hansen as well as replacement flanker JC Pretorius all scoring a brace while lock Darrien Landsberg and flanker Renzo du Plessis added their mark to the score sheet. Flyhalf Kade Wolhuter landed six conversions.

The Griffons showed a lot of enterprise and frustrated the Lions in the opening four minutes, but after sustained pressure by the home side with Naude getting them on the front foot with a solid carry, Steyn gave the ball away to Landsberg who went over for the opening score in the fifth minute.

The Lions went back on the attack and a perfectly executed kick from the base of the ruck by Nico Steyn saw Maxwane tap the ball back into the hands of Jarod Cairns who went in for the Lions' second try. Ten minutes later the Lions had an attacking lineout of which Renzo du Plessis went over to dot down and extend his 2024 record with his 10th try of the campaign.

Maxwane burst through a gap for the bonus-point try in the 33rd minute before three minutes later Boldwin Hansen chased the ball kicked ahead and dotted down for the score.

The Lions started the second half a little slow but it didn't take too long to get their flow going as in the 47th minute – after good ball retention and patience on attack, Renzo du Plessis set up Maxwane to bag his second score of the evening.

Moments later, the Lions got possession back after the Griffons lost it and Sanele Nohamba nailed a cross kick for Hansen to chase on which he kicked ahead into the in-goal area and dot it down for a brace in the 56th minute.

The Griffons finally got on the scoreboard in the 59th minute when Van den Hever went over for the visitors' only score of the evening. JC Pretorius responded with a try off the back of a maul in the 64th minutes which Kade Wolhuter converted to bring up the half century for the home side. Jarod Cairns then found a gap and ran it in for the score in the 73rd minute.

The Lions weren't done yet, as in the 78th minute attacking from their own half – they got themselves into the Griffons 22 metre area and under penalty advantage showed great handling to get the ball in the hands of JC Pretorius who shrugged Kota off to seal a near faultless Lions performance.

Scorers:

For the Lions:

Tries: Landsberg, Du Plessis, Cairns 2, Maxwane 2, Pretorius 2

Cons: Wolhuter 6

For the Griffons:

Try: Van den Hever

Lions: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Boldwin Hansen, 13 Kelly Mpeku, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Rabs Maxwane, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Darrien-Lane Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Conrad van Vuuren, 2 Jaco Visagie (captain), 1 Heiko Pohlman.

Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Raynard Roets, 20 Ruhan Straeuli, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Zander du Plessis.

Griffons: 15 Kyle Cyster, 14 Qamani Kota, 13 Chris Hollis, 12 Juandre de Beer, 11 Gershwin Wehr, 10 Duan Pretorius, 9 Dewald Human, 8 Calla Pienaar, 7 Thomas Ongera, 6 Thato Mavundla, 5 Rian Oliver, 4 Matthew Gray, 3 Moango Ngundue, 2 Willem van der Hever, 1 Xolani Jacobs.

Replacements: 16 Chadley Wenn, 17 Mthokozisi Gumede, 18 Edwin Nxumalo, 19 Joshua Paris, 20 Curtly Thomas, 21 David Bunduki, 22 Cheslin Arendse, 23 Gilroy Philander, 24 Jared Kruger, 25 Mingo Piti, 26 Christiaan Nel.

Referee: Morne Ferreira

Assistant referees: Local

TMO: Ben Crouse