Currie Cup wrap: Lions just hold Sharks off, Pumas punish Griquas

Griquas 22-42 Pumas

The Pumas began their Currie Cup campaign in fine style with a 44-22 victory over the Griquas in Kimberley on Friday afternoon to start.

The Mpumalanga outfit got sweet revenge for their SA Cup final loss to the Griquas in May.

It looked as if it would be a closely-fought encounter as the sides scored two tries apiece in the opening twenty minutes in an explosive start to the match.

Eduan Swart (3') and Stephan Coetzee (13') scored for the Pumas, while Cameron Hufke (7') and Zwelendaba Mnombo (41') got themselves on the try column for the Griquas.

However, the Pumas would score the next four tries in a row through Ruwald van der Merwe (19'), Etienne Janeke` (50'), Ross Braude (63') and De-an Ackermann (75').

Key to the Pumas' dominance was the tactical kicking of flyhalf Clifton Swart, who kept the Griquas pinned in their half most of the match forcing them into sloppy errors, for which they were duly punished.

The humbled hosts got a consolation try just before the hooter through scrumhalf Bobby Alexander, but it was not enough to cover up a poor performance from the men from the Northern Cape.

Scorers:

For the Griquas:

Tries: Hufke, Alexander, Zwelendaba (2)

Cons: Dobela (2)

For the Pumas:

Tries: E.Swart, Coetzee, Van Der Merwe, Janeke, Ackermann, Braude

Cons: Swart (4)

Pens: Swart (2)

Teams:

Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Marcqiewn Titus, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Sako Makata, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Hanru Sirgel, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Stephan Smit (captain), 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Janu Botha, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Leon Lyons

Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Athenkosi Khetani, 20 Carl Els, 21 Bobby Alexander, 23 Lubabalo Dobela, 23 Tertius Kruger.

Pumas: 15 Stefan Coetzee, 14 Lundi Msenge, 13 De-an Ackermann, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Phiko Sobahle, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Kwanda Dimaza, 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Ntsika Fisanti, 5 Shane Kirkwood, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Etienne Janeke.

Replacements: 16 Darnell Osuagwu, 17 Stephan de Jager, 18 Dewald Maritz, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Marvelous Mashimbyi, 21 Richman Gora, 22 Danrich Visagie, 23 Tino Swanepoel.

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

TMO: Ben Crouse

Sharks 25-26 Lions

The Lions absorbed some serious Sharks pressure in the last quarter of an hour to cling on for a 26-25 win in a Kings Park thrlller that went right down to the wire.

The match started at a frenetic pace with the Lions taking the lead in the 14th via the boot of Kade Wolhuter.

The Sharks hit back with the first try of the match in the 21st minute when centre Diego Apollis broke the line before feeding the ball to wing Grant Williams, who finished well. The hosts got their second five-pointer through lock Coetzee le Roux, who went over at the back of a driving maul for a 10-3 lead as flyhalf Lionel Cronje had failed to add the extras on both occasions.

The Lions reduced the arrears to two points through a Wolhuter try and that galvanised the men from Gauteng, who came out of the sheds rejuvenated and dotted down within just a minute of the second half getting underway through flank Jarod Cairns after neat combination play with Rabs Macwane on the blindside as Wolhuter added the extras to tie the scores.

The visitors found themselves behind again, however, when Apollis added a try to his assist after an offload by wing Yaw Penxe and this time Cronje madde no mistake with the conversion. The Sharks pivot then  cut the deficit to two with a penalty.

The topsy-turvy nature of the match continued as Wolhuter added another three-pointer before substitute hooker Morne Brandon dotted down for a six-point lead to the men from Gauteng.

The Durbanites dominated the last quarter of an hour and finally got some reward with captain Nick Hatton crashing over but Cronje missed what would have been a match-winning conversion in a dramatic finale to a thrilling encounter.

Scorers:

For the Sharks:

Tries: Williams, Le Roux, Appollis, Hatton

Con: Cronje

Pen: Cronje

For the Lions:

Tries: Wolhuter, Cairns, Brandon

Cons: Wolhuter

Pens: Wolhuter (3)

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Diego Appollis, 12 Murray Koster, 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Jannes Potgieter, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Coetzee Le Roux, 3 Khwezi Mona, 2 Daniel Jooste, 1 Abraham Reyneke.

Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Phatu Ganyane, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Reinier Viljoen, 20 Siya Ningiza, 21 Tiaan Fourie, 22 Alwayno Visagie, 23 Muller du Plessis.

Lions: 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Boldwin Hansen, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Izan Esterhuizen, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Raynard Roets, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Jaco Visagie (captain), 1 Morgan Naude.

Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 Heiko Pohlmann, 19 Ruhan Straeuli, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Tapiwa Mafura.

Referee: AJ Jacobs

TMO: Christie du Preez

READ MORE: Phiwe Nomlomo appointed head coach of Bulls for 2024 Currie Cup campaign