Griquas secure eighth straight win over Western Province in entertaining Currie Cup clash

Griquas continued their Currie Cup hold over Western Province, defeating them for the eighth time in a row as they picked up a strong bonus point victory of 47-17 on Friday afternoon in Kimberley.

It was another error-strewn performance by the Cape side, who, after a solid first 10 minutes, lost their concentration and soon found themselves behind 14-0 as the Peacock Blues capitalised on mistakes to open the game.

Seven tries later and a near-flawless kicking performance by flyhalf George Whitehead, and the home side walked away with a full five points, effortlessly seeing off their counterparts to continue their winning run in the competition.

A third consecutive loss, without earning any points, means WP will remain at zero on the official log. While they aim to develop young players in the competition, picking up losses like this will not help them win over fans after a terrible start.

The firepower of the home side’s backline, coupled with some hard work by the forwards, especially with their carries and rolling mauls, laid the platform for the victory at the Suzuki Stadium. Despite the strong kickoff by the visitors – they put plenty of pressure on their hosts – Griquas were patient and weathered the early onslaught of Province as they looked to play with the ball in hand.

Solid defence and brilliant work at the breakdown to turnover possession stymied various WP attacks, with flanker Carel Els leading the charge for the men from Kimberley. It frustrated the visitors, and they started playing too loosely, which allowed the home side to capitalise on errors.

The first two scores resulted from mistakes by Western Province, which led to possession and defensive errors, allowing Griquas to turn their defence into attack and catch their opponents off guard. Lock Albert Liebenberg and outside centre Zane Bester went over to create the perfect platform.

At 14-0, it looked again like the Cape side was in for a hiding, but when debutant Aden da Costa scored in the 23rd minute to make it 14-7, it showed some fight in the side. More errors led to turnover possession and two more tries, one before and after halftime, stretched the lead to 28-7.

WP fought back at times and scored two more tries in the second half through hooker Scarra Ntubeni and replacement scrumhalf Ezekiel Ngobeni. However, every time it looked as if they were going to try and claw their way back into the game, they allowed Griquas to extend their lead.

The Capetonians must return to the drawing board to strategise for their next clash against the Cheetahs in an effort to secure their first points in the tournament.

Points scorers

Griquas 47 (21): Tries: Albert Liebenberg, Zane Bester, Caleb Abrahams, Gurshwin Wehr, Derik Pretorius, Carl Els, Thomas Bursey. Conversions: George Whitehead (6).

Western Province 17 (7): Tries: Aden da Costa, Scarra Ntubeni, Ezekiel Ngobeni. Conversion: Jurie Matthee.