Tsimba puts Griffons up for promotion
Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:21
The Griffons claimed the second, and final, Currie Cup promotion/relegation play-off position when they beat the SWD Eagles 26-19 in their First Division 'shoot-out match' in George at the weekend.
The Griffons led 20-5 at half-time of this winner-takes-all match, with evergreen flyhalf Kennedy Tsimba the man of the moment once again; scoring 21 points through a try, two conversions and four penalties.
SA Sevens wing Howard Noble, on loan to the Griffons from the Free State Cheetahs, scored the Griffons' other try as they beat the defending First Division champions to give themselves a shot at playing in the Currie Cup Premier Division next year.
The top two sides on the First Division log (the Leopards and the Griffons) will now play home-and-away promotion/relegation matches against the bottom two teams in the Currie Cup Premier Division in October (the Boland Cavaliers and the Falcons) - this all for the right to participate in next year's Currie Cup Premier Division.
The first promotion/relegation play-offs will take place on Saturday, October 18, with the second leg games set for Friday, October 24 - a day before the 2008 Absa Currie Cup Final.
At this stage, the Leopards are likely to play against the Falcons (who are presently in eighth place on the Premier Division log), with the Griffons coming up against the Boland Cavaliers (seventh place).
These play-off fixtures will be confirmed at the conclusion of this coming weekend's final round of Premier Division games.
For now, however, the Griffons need to shift their attention to the First Division play-offs on October 4 (semifinals) and October 10 (Final).
The Griffons (second place on the log), despite their efforts on Saturday, will once again come up against the SWD Eagles (third place), although this time they will play in Welkom.
The table-topping Leopards, meanwhile, will host the Pumas (fourth place) in Potchefstroom in the other semifinal.
The Pumas also concluded their regular season fixtures at the weekend, beating the BA Mighty Elephants 32-24 at Adcock Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
The Pumas simply needed to avoid a big defeat to book their place in the semifinals, but they went on the rampage in the second half against the Elephants, with the scores having been tied at 14-14 at half-time.
Both teams scored four tries in an exciting match, but the boot of Rudi Vogt - he kicked three conversions and two penalties - proved to be the difference between the two sides as the Men from Witbank set up a semifinal meeting with the Leopards.
