Mentz hat-trick puts Griquas right
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:41
A flurry of tries, including a hat-trick from wing MJ Mentz, saw the Griquas put on their performance of the season against the Falcons on Saturday, to win 59-19 in their Currie Cup clash in Kimberley.
The Griquas bonus-point victory helped the Kimberley side subsequently move up two notches from the bottom of the tournament standings, and into sixth position.
Mentz scored three of the Griquas four first-half tries, the other going to scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius in the 21st minute, at a sparsely attended ground at Absa Park.
The Falcons had a star of their own in the first half, with captain Hanno Coetzee running in two tries for himself.
Barnard stuck with the kicking duties for the Griquas, after Riaan Viljoen missed a penalty attempt - slotting three out of four conversions in the first half. Poerie van Rooyen slotted one out of two conversions for the Falcons.
The Falcons predicament wasn't helped either with a yellow card going to prop Rassie van Vuuren in the second quarter. The home side lead at the break 29-12.
The visitors' only points in the second half came through a Nicky Kritzinger interception try - which Van Rooyen duly converted - while the home side scored four more tries of their own.
This time the forwards stamped their authority for the Griquas - with tries going to hooker Hans Van Dyk, prop Albertus Buckle, replacement flank Rohan Kitshoff, as well as wing Bjorn Basson.
Barnard continued to kick with efficiency in the second half, adding to the Griquas mounting points tally.
The Falcons received their second yellow card of the match in the 78th minute, which pretty much epitomized the fate that was due for the visiting East Randers.
Scorers:
For Griquas:
Tries: Mentz 3, Pretorius, Basson, Van Dyk, Kitshoff, Buckle.
Cons: Barnard 5
Pens: Barnard 3
For Falcons:
Tries: Coetzee 2, Kritzinger
Cons: Olivier, Van Rooyen
Teams:
Griquas: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Lafras Uys, 12 Herkie Kruger, 11 MJ Mentz, 10 Conrad Barnard, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Heinrich Stride, 7 Stephan Gerber, 6 Gareth Krause (captain), 5 Brendon Snyman, 4 Wayne van Heerden, 3 Ruaan du Preez, 2 Hans van Dyk, 1 Albertus Buckle.
Replacements: 16 James van der Walt, 17 Bees Roux, 18 Jacques Lombaard, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Dougie Helmuth, 21 Barry Geel, 22 Egon Seconds.
Falcons: 15 Nicky Kritzinger, 14 Dewald Pretorius, 13 Rouan Cloete, 12 Hanno Coetzee (captain), 11 Ernie Kruger, 10 Len Olivier, 9 Poerie van Rooyen, 8 Sean Plaatjies, 7 Emile Verster, 6 Warren Perkins, 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Wouter Moore, 3 Nico Pretorius, 2 Jody Jeneker, 1
Rassie van Vuuren.
Replacements: 16 Frik Venter, 17 Rayno Barnes, 18 Ruhan van Jaarsveld, 19 Doepie du Preez, 20 Dean Okkers, 21 Gerrie Odendaal, 22 Mpho Matsaung.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Touch judges: Lourens van der Merwe, Archie Sehlako
