Griquas upstage undisciplined WP
The result left egg on the face of WP coach John Dobson, who before kick-off suggested it is a 'fallacy' that it is difficult to beat Griquas in Kimberley.
The teams scored five tries a piece, but a string of unforced penalties and a lack of discipline - which resulted in two yellow cards at crucial stage - cost the visitors dearly.
It was a first half of two halves - as first the hosts raced out to a 17-3 advantage, before Western Province clawed their way back to reduce the deficit to 15-17 at half-time.
With the wind at their backs, Griquas opened the scoring with an early penalty and they followed that up with a try from prop Liam Hendricks after Western Province scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage was shown a yellow card.
The visitors got on the scoreboard with a penalty from flyhalf Kurt Coleman, but the home side hit back with another try as right wing Ederies Arendse burst through to score.
Western Province found themselves up against it, but kept their composure admirably and it was not long before they had their first try as No.8 Nizaam Carr crashed over from a powerful scrum.
They showed impressive commitment to take the game to the Griquas well after the hooter had sounded for half-time and they were rewarded as Bjorn Basson went over in the corner to make it a two-point lead for the hosts at the break.
The visitors took the lead for the first time in the match at the start of the second half as Seabelo Senatla ran a great line to claim a pop pass from Carr and score under the poles.
However, Griquas were back in front before long as scrumhalf Renier Botha finished off their third try to make it 24-22.
The see-saw nature of the match continued as Western Province took the lead back with the bonus-point try from Coleman who threw a huge dummy to ghost through the defence.
Western Province had the momentum and they took advantage as the ball was worked out to fullback Sarel Marais who straightened and accelerated away to score.
However, Marais was not on the field for much longer as he was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle and Griquas took advantage by scoring their bonus-point try through Tiaan Dorfling.
The home side were back in front as flank Wendal Wehr ran in a long range try, to give them a 38-34 advantage with just over 15 minutes left to play.
Two penalties from George Whitehead sealed the win for the home side.
Man of the match: You can look at the attacking ability of Ederies Arendse, or the defence of Jonathan Franck. Then there was the enormous workrate of replacement Jonathan Adendorf. However, our award goes to Griquas flyhalf Andre Swarts - who produced a masterclass in flyhalf play.
The scorers:
For Griquas:
Tries: Hendricks, Arendse, Botha, Dorfling, Wehr
Cons: Swarts 5
Pens: Swarts, Whitehead 2
For Western Province:
Tries: Carr, Basson, Senatla, Coleman, Marais
Cons: Coleman 2, Willemse
Pen: Coleman
Yellow cards: Dewaldt Duvenage (Western Province, 3 - cynical; foul, killing the ball at the tackle), Sarel Marais (Western Province, 60 - foul play, high tackle)
Teams:
Griquas: 15 Adriaan Coertzen (captain), 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Tertius Kruger, 12 Jonathan Francke, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 Andre Swarts, 9 Renier Botha, 8 Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 Pieter Janse van Vuren, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 2 Marius Fourie, 1 Liam Hendricks.
Replacements: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Stephan Kotzé, 18 Jonathan Adendorf, 19 DeWet Kruger, 20 Tiaan Dorfling, 21 George Whitehead, 22 Eric Zana.
Western Province: 15 Sarel Marais, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Michal Hazner, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Steph de Wit, 5 John Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 Jacobus Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 17 Michael Kumbirai, 18 Jurie van Vuuren, 19 Jaco Coetzee, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Huw Jones, 22 Damian Willemse.
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant referees: Mpho Matsaung, Nico Schmahl
TMO: JJ Wagner