Western Province beat the Blue Bulls 28-24 and Griquas defeated the Golden Lions 33-21 in the semi-finals of the Provincial Rugby Challenge in Mdantsane on Sunday.

Griquas will now travel to Florida Park in Ravensmead next Sunday to take on hosts Province in the inaugural final of the competition.

Griquas, who came into the contest on a nine-match winning streak after losing their opening match of the tournament, delivered a thrilling first-half display, running in three tries to take a 27-point lead.

The Lions gave a good account of themselves in the second half, as they responded with three tries to come within touching distance of Griquas. However, they couldn’t complete a fairytale comeback as Griquas closed out the game to secure the victory.

In the second match, Western Province extended their winning run to 11 games with a four-point victory over the Blue Bulls.

The Bulls had the ascendancy in terms of the scrums, possession and territory, but Province maintained their composure, despite trailing for the majority of the contest.

WP wrestled the lead away from the Bulls 10 minutes into the second half, only to relinquish it just minutes later, but an unconverted try by No 8 Jaco Coetzee was the difference between the sides.

Griquas (33) – Tries: Ederies Arendse, Ewald van der Westhuizen, Sias Koen. Conversions: George Whitehead (3).  Penalties: Whitehead (2), Andre Swarts (2).
Golden Lions XV (21) – Tries: James Venter, Madosh Tambwe (2). Conversions: Shaun Reynolds (3).

Western Province (28) – Tries: Luke Stringer, Godlen Masimla, Jaco Coetzee. Conversions: Kurt Coleman (2). Penalties: Coleman (3).
Blue Bulls (24) – Tries: Dries Swanepoel, Franco Naude, Dewald Naude. Conversions: Joshua Stander (3). Penalty: Stander.

Photo: @rugbychallenge/Twitter