Zak Burger scored two tries as Griquas fought back from 10-0 down to claim a stunning 37-15 bonus-point win against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The result has Griquas finishing the round at the top of the Currie Cup table. The Vodacom Blue Bulls, however, look set to miss out on the semi-finals after sustaining their third loss in four matches.
The Bulls will be kicking themselves. With a side boasting so many Super Rugby stars, they would have expected to build on a 10-0 lead and bank a valuable win.
They dominated the early exchanges. Rosko Specman finished well to claim the first try of the contest, while Manie Libbok slotted a conversion and a penalty.
Griquas exposed some poor defence down the right-hand flank to score two tries before half time. Some excellent support play by Burger earned him a brace.
George Whitehead kicked two conversions and a penalty. The visitors went into the break with a 20-10 lead.
Eduan Keyter scored in the 52nd minute to strengthen Griquas’ grip on the game. Whitehead converted to extend the lead to 17 points.
The Bulls continued to turn down kickable penalties at goal. The strategy finally paid off in the 56th minute when they won a lineout and Marco van Staden crossed the line from close range.
Whitehead nailed a penalty in the 68th minute, however, to stretch the visitors’ lead to 15 points. Griquas scored the bonus-point try shortly before full time to clinch five log poins as well as top place in the standings.
Blue Bulls – Tries: Rosko Specman, Marco van Staden. Conversion: Manie Libbok. Penalty: Libbok.
Griquas – Tries: Zak Burger (2), Eduan Keyter, Victor Sekekete. Conversions: George Whitehead (4). Penalties: Whitehead (3).
Blue Bulls – 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Dylan Sage, 12 Johnny Kotze, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Marco van Staden, 6 Ruan Steenkamp (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.
Subs: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Adri Smit, 20 Wihan Vosloo, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Stedman Gans.
Griquas – 15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Michal Haznar, 12 André Swarts, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 George Whitehead (c), 9 Zak Burger, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Khwezi Mona.
Subs: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Mox Mxoli, 18 Johan Momsen, 19 Zandré Jordaan, 20 Chriswill September, 21 Chris Smit, 22 Bjorn Basson, 23 Ruan Kramer.
Photo: Gallo Images
