Griquas punish Ill-disciplined Pumas
CURRIE CUP REPORT: The Griquas recorded a comfortable 41-20 win over the Pumas on Wednesday in Kimberley.
The win is the Griquas' first victory of the season following defeats to the Cheetahs (20-30) and the Sharks (23-24) in away matches.
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While for the Pumas it was an outing to forget.
The visitors' discipline was horrendous and they played the majority of the match with 14 men.
The Pumas were handed four yellow cards and finished the match with 14 after Daniel Maartens was handed his second yellow card for foul language.
Both sides scored three tries, but Zander Du Plessis was the match-winner for Griquas with his laser-like aim from the tee.
Du Plessis punished the ill-disciplined Pumas at regular intervals with his prolific boot. The visitors received four yellow cards, with Daniel Maartens (loose forward) getting a red-card for collecting two yellows.
In the first half, Griquas had the Pumas in all sorts of trouble with their powerful scrum and rolling maul, resulting in the Mpumalanga outfit conceding a bag full of penalties, having two men sin-binned and conceding a penalty try.
The men from Kimberley, who played well in their previous two matches but finished on the losing side on each occasion, were desperate for the win on their home ground. They dominated the forward exchanges but could not really pull away from the visitors.
Alandre van Rooyen (hooker) scored near the end of the first half while Du Plessis kicked two penalty goals. Corne Fourie (hooker) and Jade Stighling (wing) scored for the visitors while pivot Tinus de Beer added a penalty goal as Griquas went into the halftime break with a 21-13 advantage.
With the stiff breeze in his back and his forwards dominating proceedings, Du Plessis added six more penalty goals in the second stanza, one of them a spectacular effort from more than 60m out, which capped a great performance by the inside centre.
The Pumas' second-half try was scored by replacement prop Simon Raw, which Eddie Fouche (replacement flyhalf) converted, while Munier Hartzenberg (wing) added a third five-pointer for the hosts.
Man of the match: Griquas captain Ruan Steenkamp led his team from the front, making strong carries. But our nod goes to Griquas centre Alex-Zander du Plessis. His boot kept the scoreboard ticking and he even landed a 60-metre penalty.
The scorers:
For Griquas:
Tries: Penalty Try, Van Rooyen, Hartzenberg
Pens: Du Plessis 7
For Pumas:
Tries: Fourie, Stighling, Raw
Cons: Fouche
Pens: De Beer
Yellow cards: Daniel Maartens (Pumas, 25 - Cynical foul, repeat infringement), Ignatius Prinsloo (Pumas, 40 - Cynical foul, side entry), Brandon Valentyn (Pumas, 59 - Dangerous tip tackle), Aliqhayiya Mgijima (Pumas, 75 - Dangerous clean)
Red Card: Daniel Maartens (Pumas, 80 - second yellow for foul language)
Teams
Griquas: 15 Rynhardt Jonker, 14 Munier Hartzenberg, 13 Christopher Hollis, 12 Alex-Zander du Plessis, 11 Luther Obi, 10 Theo Boshoff, 9 Raegan Oranje, 8 Ruan Steenkamp (captain), 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Niel Otto, 5 Derik Pretorius, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Janu Botha, 2 Alandre van Rooyen, 1 Eddie Davids.
Replacements: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Kudzwai Dube, 18 Justin Forwood, 19 Johan Retief, 20 Hanru Sirgel, 21 Michael Amiras, 22 Johan Mulder, 23 Sango Xamlashe.
Pumas: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Tapiwa Mafura, 13 Sebastian de Klerk, 12 Aliqhayiya Mgijima, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Lucky Dlepu, 8 Kwanda Dimaza , 7 Phumzile Maqondwana (captain), 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Ignatius Prinsloo, 2 Corné Fourie, 1 Ruan Kramer.
Replacements: 16 Llewellyn Classen, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Simon Raw, 19 Brandon Valentyn, 20 Khwezi Mafu, 21 Giovan Snyman, 22 Eddie Fouche, 23 Alwayno Visagie.
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron
Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, Local
TMO: Ben Crouse