Griquas claimed a 57-33 victory over the Valke, while there were also big wins for the Leopards and Griffons in round six of the 2015 Currie Cup qualifiers.
Heading into the final round of matches next week, Griquas and the Leopards are the only teams in contention for the available spot, sitting at 21 and 20 log points respectively.
In a dominant first-half display, Griquas stormed to a 33-7 advantage courtesy of five tries by No 8 Carel Greeff, scrumhalf Tian Meyer, centre Jonathan Francke and a double by wing AJ Coertzen, while Gouws Prinsloo nailed four conversions. Wing Kyle Hendricks’ converted effort accounted for the Valke’s only points.
Depsite Griquas’ continued onslaught, which resulted in four more tries, the Valke fought back to put some respectability to the scorecard. Hendricks ran in a second-half hat-trick coupled with his earlier effort to end the match with four tries. But in the end, Griquas proved just too strong for the hosts.
The Leopards stayed in the hunt with a comprehensive 61-17 win over the Boland Kavaliers at Profert Olen Park in Potchefstroom.
The winners were quick off the mark and led 26-0 in as many minutes, after scrumhalf Dillon Smit, flyhalf Ashlon Davids, fullback Rhyno Smith and centre Tyler Fisher scampered in for tries. Boland replied with a converted score and a penalty goal before the break, but the Leopards cancelled out seven of those points when they crossed for a fifth try to lead 33-10 at the interval.
It was one-way traffic after that as the Leopards continued along their merry ways with another four tries, while Boland only managed to add seven more points to their score.
And in Welkom, a strong second-half surge earned the Griffons a 43-20 triumph over the Border Bulldogs.
Nicky Steyn and Japie Nel combined for four of the Griffons’ six tries as the home team claimed their second win of the campaign to move off the foot of the standings. Border managed two converted tries and two penalty goals for their 20-point haul. The result was academic, though, as both teams are already out of top-flight Currie Cup contention.
Griquas (57) – Tries: AJ Coertzen (2), Carel Greeff (2), Tian Meyer, Hugo Kloppers, Jonathan Francke, Clinton Swart, Ntabeni Dukisa. Conversions: Gouws Prinsloo (6).
Valke (33) – Tries: Kyle Hendricks (4), Arno Poley. Conversions: Juan Kotze (4).
Leopards (61) – Tries: Dillon Smit (2), Ashlon Davids, Ryno Smith (2), Tyler Fisher, Adriaan Vermeulen, Sizo Maseko, Damian Engeldoe. Conversions: Adriaan Engelbrecht (8).
Boland Kavaliers (17) – Tries: Arno Fortuin, Danwel Demas, Eric Zana. Conversion: Christian Rust.
Griffons (43) – Tries: Tertius Maarman, Nicky Steyn (2), Enver Brandt, Japie Nel (2). Conversions: Franna du Toit (2), Louis Strydom (3). Penalty: Du Toit.
Border Bulldogs (20) – Tries: Penalty try, Drex Mapimpi. Conversion: Thembani Mkokeli, Oliver Zono. Penalties: Logan Basson (2).
Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images
