Griquas beat Pumas 38-14 to secure a Currie Cup home semi-final

Griquas strengthened their hold on the Currie Cup with a 38-14 victory over Pumas in Nelspruit on Friday, securing a home semi-final. The defending champions now lead the log by four points from the Cheetahs after six rounds, while Pumas remain third.

Griquas made the early pressure count as centre Zane Bester and hooker Tiaan Lange crossed during the opening quarter. George Whitehead converted both tries to establish a 14-0 advantage.

Pumas were reduced to 14 men temporarily when flank Ruwald van der Merwe was shown a yellow card. Griquas used the extra space to send flanker Lourens Oosthuizen over from a well-executed maul.

The hosts finally found a response through replacement flyhalf Clinton Swart, who scored and converted his own try. Whitehead added a penalty before half-time, leaving Griquas 24-7 ahead at the interval.

Griquas claimed a bonus point after the restart when Gurswin Wehr broke through for their fourth try. Their opponents then lost opposite wing Dylan Maart to a yellow card for a dangerous tackle, but Pumas narrowed the gap when replacement prop Junior Banda powered over. Swart’s conversion made it 31-14.

Pumas’ disciplinary problems continued when replacement hooker Jan-Henning Campher received a 20-minute red card for a dangerous and reckless cleanout. Bester took advantage of a loose ball inside the Pumas 22 to score his second try, with replacement flyhalf Liam Koen converting to complete the scoring.

Whitehead finished with 11 points, while Bester’s two tries formed part of a five-try Griquas performance. Griquas will visit Boland Cavaliers in Wellington in the final round next weekend, with Pumas hosting the Cheetahs in Nelspruit.