The Griffons claimed a 49-26 bonus-point win against the Valke in round four of the Currie Cup qualifiers, while the SWD Eagles edged the Leopards 26-21.

The Griffons came into this contest on the back of one win and one defeat which put them a place below the Valke on the log. But the visitors were on song in Kempton Park, running in seven tries to hand the Valke a third defeat in the competition.

After a fast start, the hosts led 7-5 before the Griffons opened up an unassailable lead. Wing Warren Williams scored two of the winners’ first-half tries and completed his hat-trick two minutes after the break.

The Valke pulled three tries back in the second half, but sloppy defence saw them concede three in turn as the Griffons powered to a convincing victory.

In the only other game on Wednesday, flyhalf Hansie Graaff kicked 16 points as the SWD Eagles beat the Leopards in George. The match swung one way then the other, but in the end the hosts did enough to secure the victory that moves them up to third in the standings.

Valke (26) – Tries: Etienne Taljaard, Grant Janke, Reg Muller, Shane Kirkwood. Conversions: Karlo Aspeling (2), Damian Engledoe.
Griffons (49) – Tries: Daniel Pretorius, De Wet Kruger, Selvyn Davids, Tertius Maarman, Warren Williams (3). Conversions: George Whitehead (4). Penalties: Whitehead (2).

SWD Eagles (26) – Tries: Johan Steyn, Carlo Radebe. Conversions: Hansie Graaff (2). Penalties: Graaff (4).
Leopards (21) – Tries: Adrian Vermeulen, Wilmar Arnoldi. Conversion: Rhyno Smith. Penalties: Smith (3).

Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images