Ken Borland

The Eastern Province Kings thrilled their home crowd as they overwhelmed the Griffons 60-19 in their Absa Currie Cup First Division match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

The tightly-knit Kings pack and their suffocating defence shut the Griffons out of the match from early on in a top-class performance by Eastern Province.

The win was set up up front by a dominant pack, who ruled the scrums with a fist of iron, and a now familiar rolling maul that saw loose forward Luke Watson cross for a hat-trick of tries.

But the Kings also boasted a slick, clinical backline, with Samoan Paul Perez a juggernaut on the wing.

Perez was the man who set the ball rolling for the Kings with a marvellous try, running 50 metres and bumping off half-a-dozen tacklers on his way to the tryline. Unsurprisingly, he was the go-to man whenever the Kings wanted momentum out wide.

The Kings backline was also efficient in capitalising on their front-foot ball and fullback SP Marais and centre Tiger Mangweni also scored before the first half was ended with Watson’s first try, giving Eastern Province a 29-0 lead at the break.

Although the match was totally one-sided, the Griffons did fight back in the second half with tries by centres Japie Nel and Werner Griesel. But they were missing the sheer physicality and precision of the Kings and were clearly going to finish the day as also-rans, despite being third on the log at the start of the game.

Flyhalf George Whitehead, loose forward Cornell du Preez (fittingly as he was the outstanding player of the night), replacement centre Siyanda Grey and Watson, twice, all crossed the tryline for the Kings in the second half as they cantered to victory in far more impressive fashion than even they probably presumed.

SCORERS:

Eastern Province Kings – Tries: Paul Perez, SP Marais, Tiger Mangweni, Luke Watson (3), George Whitehead, Cornell du Preez, Siyanda Grey. Conversions: Whitehead (6). Penalty: Whitehead.

Griffons – Tries: Japie Nel, Werner Griesel, Nicky Steyn. Conversions: Hansie Graaff (2).

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup-first-division/news/120914/Kings_beat_Griffons

The worst fears that the Griffons have dropped out of Absa Currie Cup First Division contention were confirmed in Welkom on Friday as they lost 36-39 to an after-the-hooter penalty by Juan Kotze of the Valke.

The Griffons, who won their first four matches to set the early pace in the competition, squandered a strong first-half showing and a 22-5 lead to lose their fourth successive game and leave themselves in danger of slipping out of the top four if the SWD Eagles beat the Border Bulldogs on Friday night.

The Valke’s victory was only sealed in the 82nd minute when replacement flyhalf Juan Kotze slotted a 38-metre penalty after Griffons flank Martin Sithole had been caught playing the ball in a ruck while on his knees. This had followed his knock-on which had given the visitors a scrum as normal time finished. This was a horrible ending for the hard-working Sithole, who had enjoyed a fine match before that.

The Valke made the first strike in the game when prop Nicky Engelbrecht went over in the third minute, but this was a false dawn for the Eastern Gautengers as the Griffons scored four tries in reply in the next half-hour.

Engelbrecht’s opposite number, Rudi Britz, was the first to have his say when he rumbled through some lacklustre defending to score, fullback Hansie Graaff having provided a lovely inside-ball to the front-rower.

Graaff was once again pulling the strings just two minutes later when another silky inside pass sent Sithole bursting through and the flank did well to find talismanic Griffons eighthman Nicky Steyn, who dotted down.

The men from the Goldfields were playing like millionaires and, midway through the first half, Steyn, Welkom’s own version of Samson, stormed through the midfield to score his second try.

Graaff was back in the limelight again with seven minutes to go before half-time as he dummied and then dabbed a lovely ball through for wing Reinhardt Erwee to claim and score the Griffons’ fourth try and first bonus point.

But from then on it was an uphill struggle for the Griffons. They produced plenty of flashy rugby, but too many passes slipped from their fingers and the Valke, who had looked like fish out of water in the northern Free State, capitalised on the mistakes.

Centre Thabang Molefe dropped a pass in the shadow of his own poles and, from the resulting scrum, replacement halfback Anrich Richter squirmed and slivered his way over the tryline.

But the home side were still calling the tune at half-time with a 22-10 lead.

But a top-class second half saw the Valke draw level, take the lead, lose the lead and then win the game at the death.

A dropped pass on attack by the Griffons allowed a counter-attack, centre Willie Odendaal racing away and finding fullback JW Bell, who threw a dummy out wide before winning a race to the line with opposite number Graaff.

Busy replacement wing Jaco Oosthuizen then rushed up to force a lineout from his pinpoint up-and-under and, even though the Valke lost their own throw, a sleepy scrumhalf meant they were able to regain possession. A series of big forward drives then took the Valke to under the poles, where they earned a penalty. Bell wasted no time in tapping and dashing over the line past some dazed defenders.

Flyhalf Karlo Aspeling kicked the easy conversion and the Valke were back level at 22-22.

The situation only became worse for the Griffons as Erwee was yellow-carded for holding a man back off the ball as the Valke roared back across the home side’s 22. The penalty was kicked to touch, the lineout won and, after some strong driving play, Richter sniped across the line for his second try.

The scores were level again, though, with 18 minutes remaining when the Griffons second row combined for a fine try – Joubert Horn broke straight through to put the Northern Free Staters on attack, Chris Ehlers muscling over for the try.

The Griffons reclaimed the lead in the 66th minute when Philip Burger, the former Cheetahs and SA Sevens speedster, burst through a gap and sent a lovely long pass out to Sithole, who bumped off a tackler before feeding replacement scrumhalf Oshwill Nortje, who sped away on the angle for the corner and the try.

Graaff’s angled conversion made the score 36-29, but the Valke used their powerful ball-carriers to bash their way back into the Griffons 22. They earned the penalty and Bell once again tapped and dashed to embarrass defenders who were admiring the countryside rather than guarding their tryline.

Kotze’s conversion tied the game up and then came the disappointing final minute for the Griffons, who are rapidly heading down the log after their wonderful start to the campaign.

The Griffons are facing a long, hard struggle if they are to reach the semi-finals now.

SCORERS

GRIFFONS – Tries: Rudi Britz, Nicky Steyn (2), Reinhardt Erwee, Chris Ehlers, Oshwill Nortje. Conversions: Tiaan van Wyk, Hansie Graaff (2).

VALKE – Tries: Nicky Engelbrecht, Anrich Richter (2), JW Bell (3). Conversions: Karlo Aspeling (2), Juan Kotze. Penalty: Kotze.

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup-first-division/news/120817/Late_Kotze_penalty_gives_Valke_win

Replacement flyhalf Tertius Maarman scored two tries in the last 10 minutes to inspire a thrilling come-from-behind 37-27 win for the Griffons over the Valke in their Absa Currie Cup First Division match at the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park on Saturday.

The Valke looked in firm control as they went into the break 24-11 up, but two yellow cards in the second half – in the vital 10 minutes after half-time and then heading into the last 10 minutes – helped the Griffons stage an amazing comeback.

The Valke made an impressive start as left wing Sandile Ngcobo dashed over for an early try, flyhalf Juan Kotze’s conversion effort going astray and the 20-year-old limped off the field with an injury just five minutes later.

Griffons right wing Hansie Graaff then levelled the scores with a similarly fleetfooted effort, flyhalf Tiaan van Wyk failing to convert, but kicking a 17th-minute penalty to give the visitors an 8-5 lead.

Valke flank Marco Kotze used his power to muscle over the tryline in the 30th minute, and the Eastern Gautengers continued to build on their forward dominance with some slick ball-handling and support play to run in two more tries before half-time.

Fullback JW Bell and eighthman Reg Muller crossed the tryline to give the Valke a 24-11 half-time lead, a Van Wyk penalty being the only other points added to the Griffons’ tally before the break.

The Valke were playing highly attractive rugby, but hooker Shone van der Walt did little to promote their cause in the 10th minute of the second half when his dangerous tackle led to him being yellow-carded.

The one-man advantage – a tight forward at that – allowed the Griffons to get themselves back in the game.

A top-class forward drive three minutes later saw loosehead prop Charles Marais barge over for the second try and eighthman Willie Britz then scored a fine try just a minute later to bring the Griffons within a single point of the Valke (23-24).

The Valke were clearly rattled and, even though replacement flyhalf Karlo Aspeling kicked a penalty to settle their nerves a bit, the Griffons were on fire and the pressure eventually told on the home side as Muller was yellow-carded for repeated infringements in the breakdown battle.

Just a minute after Muller’s departure, Maarman broke free to score, Graaff converting to give the Griffons a 30-27 lead.

The free-running Maarman then made another break five minutes later to grab his second try, with Graaff adding the conversion among great celebrations by the Griffons, who won just twice in last year’s Currie Cup First Division and just once in this year’s Vodacom Cup.

The two second-half yellow cards really set the cat among the pigeons for the Valke, with the captain, Van der Walt, surely rueing the ill-discipline that saw his mistake turn the tide for the Griffons.

SCORERS

Valke – Tries: Sandile Ngcobo, Marco Kotze, JW Bell, Reg Muller. Conversions: Karlo Aspeling (2). Penalty: Aspeling.

Griffons – Tries: Hansie Graaff, Charles Marais, Willie Britz, Tertius Maarman (2). Conversions: Graaff (3). Penalties: Tiaan van Wyk (2).

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup-first-division/news/120630/Griffons_fight_back_to_beat_Valke

The MTN Golden Lions ran powerfully with the ball as they charged to a 71-25 (half-time 24-6) victory over the Griffons in their Vodacom Cup match at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The Griffons were outmatched up front and poor defensively, allowing a lively Lions backline to cut them apart, and the Northern Free Staters eventually conceded 11 tries.

The visitors started well enough, with flyhalf Reinard Erwee kicking a fourth-minute penalty to convert promising territory into points.

But the tightness of the Lions’ defence was such that the Griffons had to work hard for their points, while the sharpness of the Lions’ young midfield – flyhalf Marais Schmidt and centres Robert de Bruyn and BJ Moolman – meant the scoreboard became very ugly for the Northern Free Staters.

The Lions backs called the tune early on as Schmidt’s inside pass to De Bruyn led to the opening try and wing Anthony Volmink fed fullback Ruan Combrinck for the second try in the 13th minute.

Outside centre Moolman had a top-class game and scored two tries, although the grounding for his first five-pointer looked rather fishy after he had powered down the left-hand side and dotted down with just a finger’s worth of downward pressure in opposite number Werner Griesel’s tackle.

The Griffons were trailing 17-3 but seemed to be making a strong finish to the half as Erwee kicked another penalty and fantastic runs by fullback Virgil Russel and left wing Shane Hancke were both stopped a metre from the tryline.

The Lions’ clearance after the hooter went back to Hancke and he counter-attacked, but the Griffons lost the ball forward. The Lions then spread the ball wide and Moolman went sprinting over for the try from 55 metres out after throwing an outrageous dummy to befuddle the Northern Free State defence.

Schmidt added his second conversion of the half to give the Lions a 24-6 half-time lead and they put the Griffons to the sword after the break.

Lock Paul Willemse charged over from a ruck to open the second-half scoring, before burly centre Japie Nel dived over to give the Griffons some cheer.

Tighthead prop Ruan Dreyer, who had also given the Griffons a tough time in the scrums, burst from a ruck to score in the 52nd minute, Schmidt’s fourth conversion taking the score to 38-11, but the Griffons were still fighting, their efforts bringing a second try – replacement scrumhalf Tertius Carse breaking clear from a ruck, feeding prop Kewan Voysey, whose running and handling skills gave Russel the time and space to score.

Replacement flank Etienne Oosthuizen then scored for the Lions from his first touch of the ball, before Volmink scored a great try from the kick-off as he weaved his way out and in from the halfway line.

Volmink became the second Lions player to score two tries in the match with his intercept effort in the 76th minute, before the Griffons’ flanks, Willie Britz and Martin Sithole, combined superbly for a try to the latter.

Lions’ replacement wing JR Esterhuizen had been watching most of the match from the sideline, but took out his frustration in the last two minutes with two dazzling tries.

The final two points of the match came via the boot of replacement flyhalf Guy Cronje, as the Lions emphatically demonstrated the gap between the resources of the big unions and the minnows.

The bonus-point victory lifts the Lions to within touching distance of the North Section leaders, while it increases the misery of the Griffons, who have lost all three of their matches by wide margins.

SCORERS

MTN Golden Lions – Tries: Robert de Bruyn, Ruan Combrinck, BJ Moolman (2), Paul Willemse, Ruan Dreyer, Etienne Oosthuizen, Anthony Volmink (2), JR Esterhuizen (2). Conversions: Marais Schmidt (6), Guy Cronje (2).

Griffons – Tries: Japie Nel, Virgil Russel, Martin van Wyk. Conversions: Tiaan van Wyk (2). Penalties: Reinard Erwee (2).

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/vodacom-cup/news/120331/Lions_charge_to_victory_over_Griffons