Griquas win Potch thriller
Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:58
Crash course: Leopards wing Shuaib Samaai collides with Griquas rival Bjorn Basson
Griquas put their Currie Cup campaign firmly back on track with a nailbiting 34-33 win over a rejuvenated Leopards team in a thrilling match in Potchefstroom on Friday.
The four-tries-to-two, bonus-point win cemented Griquas' place in the top four and they could even find themselves in third place by the end of the weekend - depending on the Saturday matches.
For the Leopards, who showed great heart, it was scant consolation to get only a losing bonus point.
The siren sounded, Sean Plaatjies kicked the ball out and the final whistle was blown at Olën Park in Potchefstroom on a warm spring night and you would not have known by body language which team had won, as the exhausted players dropped their heads, put hands on knees or sank to the ground. They were finished. It was a an all-action game but those last seven minutes were positively frantic.
It was a magnificent match, a wonderful advert for Currie Cup language as the fortunes ebbed and flowed. The lead changed no fewer than seven times and in the end there was just one point in 67 between the two teams.
It was not just the last seven minutes that made the game; they were just the champagne explosion.
The Leopards kicked two penalties, both for high tackles, and got to 34-33. At this stage they were all over the Griquas who were making mistakes.
Riaan Viljoen kicked out on the full - for the third time in the match - and the Leopards were in Griqua territory. Inside centre Basil de Doncker broke sharply and the Leopards were seriously threatening the Griqua line. Flyhalf Cecil Dumond went well back from a tackle/ruck in front of the posts, but the pass from Jean Tiedt was an unfriendly one. Dumond went ahead with the drop but it missed.
Viljoen dropped out deep but Tiedt bounced a diagonal kick out on the Griqua 22. Suddenly Shuaib Samaai countered from the left, the sturdy man speeding towards the right. The passing went securely to the right as the Leopards rushed at the line. Then Jovan Bowles did a switch with right wing Danie Dames. It was a sharp pass with Griquas in attendance. Dames juggled, juggled again as the ball eluded him and then he dived to catch it as it dropped but it beat him to the ground - in in-goal. He was that close to scoring.
Viljoen failed to find touch from the ensuing scrum but the Griquas were quick to smother any counterattack, won a turnover and kicked the ball out.
It was a thrilling finish to a thrilling match. There is an ancient rugby cliche which goes: It's a pity there had to be a loser. That applied. There is another cliche: Rugby was the winner. And that applied loudly. Rugby won on the banks of the Mooi River.
The heavier Griquas pack at times threatened to overpower their opponents and their line-outs almost sterilised the Leopards but the men of the Northwest kept running wide, making the heavier opponents work to the very edge of exhaustion. The Leopards ended much the stronger team.
They started well, too. Prop Nardus Lombard had two good charges and Wilmaure Louw was penalised at a tackle. Dumond goaled. 3-0 after two minutes. Russell Jeacocks had two good runs and Jonathan Mokuena was penalised at a tackle. 6-0 after four minutes.
But then Lombard was penalised at a scrum and from a long way out Viljoen, on a night of great goal-kicking, made it 6-3 after seven minutes.
Olivier broke clean through and headed for the posts. Man ahead, he chipped and the ball went into the Leopards in-goal where Samaai gathered the ball and started running. The next thing the Griquas were scurrying in defence on the half-way line. This was the nature of the game.
Back came the Griquas on the attack and going left Louw drew his man and gave a perfect pass to Trompie Nontshinga and the speedster was over in the left corner. From the left corner Olivier converted. 10-6 after 18 minutes.
Three minutes later Mokuena was again penalised at a tackle and it was 10-9.
First Samaai broke from a line-out then Thabo Mamojele had a long run till Olivier brought him down and then came the Leopards' try. From a tackle big Rudi Mathee ran over Dougie Hellmuth and then when two Griquas closed on him he got an inside pass away to Samaai who had a clear run to the posts. 16-10.
Olivier kicked a penalty when Mamojela was penalised for a high tackle and then Dumond made it 19-13 when Albertus Buckle was penalised for a high tackle.
There were several high tackles in a match of many, many tackles.
The Griquas started the second half set on scoring tries. They were men with a purpose. They nearly scored when Barry Geel broke and grubbered but Basson knocked on. The Griquas then destroyed the Leopards scrum and got their own put-in five metres from the line. The Leopards were penalised and Griquas made it a five-metre line-out which they mauled and Rayno Barnes was the one to drop down and score. 20-19 after 44 minutes.
That lead did not last long. From the kick-off the Griqua supporters were penalised for closing obstructively around Jacques Lombard. 22-20 to the Leopards.
Back came the Griquas with great determination. They kicked a goalable penalty out and then tapped two penalties till Olivier got a great pass to Geel who sprinted over. 27-20 after 51 minutes.
The Leopards came countering back from the left and surged at the Griqua line till Bowles popped a pass over a Griqua head to Dames who scored. The conversion was astray but the score was 27-all with 22 minutes to play.
The bonus-point try had an element of luck about it. Near the half-way line a Leopard pass went astray and Basson footed it far ahead into empty territory. He stretched his long legs and then the ball did its quirky worst, striking the padding and going left while Basson scrambled on the right but just managed to get the touchdown ahead of De Doncker. 34-27 with 14 minutes to play.
Two high tackles, first by Ruaan du Preez and then by Sean Plaatjies, brought the score to 34-33 with those thrilling seven minutes left.
Man of the Match: Michael Bondisio was again the Leopards' star but for what he, a light flank, managed in the line-outs our Man of the Match is Davon Raubenheimer.
The scorers:
For the Leopards:
Tries: Dames, Samaai
Con: Dumond
Pens: Dumond 7
For Griquas:
Tries: Barnes, Basson, Geel, Nontshinga
Cons: Olivier 4
Pens: Olivier, Viljoen
Teams:
Leopards: 15 Russell Jeacocks, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Jovan Bowles, 12 Basil de Doncker, 11 Shuaib Samaai, 10 Cecil Dumond, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Christo van
Niekerk, 7 Thabo Mamojele, 6 Wilhelm Koch (captain), 5 Edrich Linde, 4 Rudi Mathee, 3 Philip Lemmer, 2 Marthinus van der Westhuizen, 1 Nardus Lombard.
Replacements: 16 Gavin Williamson, 17 Os van der Walt, 18 Bennie Adams, 19 Riaan Swanepoel, 20 Jean Tiedt, 21 Clayton Durand, 22 Nicky Kritzinger.
Griquas: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Barry Geel, 11 Trompie Nontshinga, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Dougie Hellmuth, 8 Jonathan Mokuena (captain), 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Rohan Kitshoff, 5 Jacques Lombard, 4 Cecil Kemp, 3 Albertus Buckle, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Zane Killian.
Replacements: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Ruaan du Preez, 18 Nolan Clark, 19 Sean Plaatjies, 20 Sarel Pretorius, 21 Jaco Bekker, 22 Gavin Passens.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Assistant referees: Sewes Terblanche, Reuben Rossouw
TMO: Michael Cupido
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