Centre Tertius Kruger scored a brace as Griquas erased a 25-point deficit to stun the Pumas 38-35 in Nelspruit on Saturday. MARIETTE ADAMS reports.
High on confidence following their 59-24 demolition of the Free State Cheetahs last week, Griquas would have fancied their chances of another victory. By contrast, the Pumas came into this encounter well-rested on the back of a bye and it showed in their approach as they ran Griquas ragged, especially in the opening 30 minutes.
But the visitors, inspired by Kruger’s superb individual display, produced a rampant second-half performance to overturn the arrears and snatch an exciting win. The result lifts Griquas from the foot of the log, above the Golden Lions.
Pumas No 8 Willie Engelbrecht scored twice and teammate Kobus Marais maintained a perfect kicking record with five from five attempts, but their efforts were in vain.
The Pumas had wrapped up the four-try bonus point with just 25 minutes on the clock to take a commanding 28-3 lead. Engelbrecht scored the opening two tries, with the second originating from a brilliant kick-chase by scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer, who offloaded to the No 8 for an easy run-in.
Griquas’ fate looked sealed, but they found their second wind and scored three unanswered tries, one before the break and two early in the second half to reduce the deficit to four points. The third of the lot was an intercept try by wing Kyle Steyn.
Sensing that they were losing momentum, the Pumas – who had perhaps become a bit complacent – turned to their bench. The substitutes injected more urgency into their game and it culminated in a try for reserve hooker Frankie Herne off a powerful driving maul.
However, Griquas continued to take the fight to the Pumas. After a poor kick-chase by the hosts, Griquas took a quick throw-in, sending captain AJ Coertzen on a dazzling run straight through the Pumas defence. Spotting Ederies Adrendse on his outside shoulder, he popped a pass to the winger to finish in the corner.
Kruger then completed his double in the 74th minute as Griquas hit the front for the first time in the game and that was enough to win them the match.
Pumas – Tries: Willie Engelbrecht (2), Marko Janse van Rensburg, Hennie Skorbinski, Frankie Herne. Conversions: Kobus Marais (5).
Griquas – Tries: Wendal Wehr, Tertius Kruger (2), Kyle Steyn, Ederies Adrendse. Conversions: George Whitehead (4), Andre Swarts. Penalty: Whitehead.
Pumas – 15 Justin van Staden, 14 Jerome Pretorius, 13 Gerrit Smit, 12 Hennie Skorbinski (c), 11 Ruwellyn Isbel, 10 Kobus Marais, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Brian Shabangu, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Stefan Willemse, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Kwezi Mona.
Subs: 16 Frankie Herne, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Cameron Lindsay, 19 Hilton Lobberts, 20 Francois Kleinhans, 21 Reynier van Rooyen, 22 Selom Gavor
Griquas – 15 AJ Coertzen (c), 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Tertius Kruger, 12 Jonathan Francke, 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Christiaan Meyer, 8 De Wet Kruger, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 FP Pelser, 4 Wandile Putuma, 3 Stephan Kotzé, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Liam Hendricks.
Subs: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Marius Fourie, 18 Jonathan Adendorff, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Shaun McDonald, 21 Renier Botha, 22 André Swarts.
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
