Griquas on Lion hunt
TAFEL Lager Griquas will be hoping to maintain some sort of forward momentum following a two-week break from action after their historic and nail-biting win over the Western Province in Cape Town earlier this month.
Griquas were on cloud 9 after they managed to beat WP 30-28 in their Carling Currie Cup encounter; their first win over the Cape side in Cape Town in 110 years.
After last week’s game was cancelled due to the Bulls taking on the South African A team instead, Griquas have had some extra time to get their feet back on the ground and prepare for the upcoming fixture against the Sigma Lions in Johannesburg at 2.30pm on Wednesday.
Griquas’ last win over the Lions was back in June 2019 when they came away with a 45-26 win in a SuperSport Rugby Challenge match in Kimberley.
Since that win, however, the Lions have enjoyed three wins on the trot including a massive 61-31 win in a Currie Cup match played at Ellis Park. Wednesday’s game will be Griquas first clash in Joburg since that hammering.
1 Day to go!
— Griquas Rugby (@GriquasRugby) July 20, 2021
Tafel Lager Griquas take on the @LionsRugbyCo in the Currie Cup. Catch the action live on @SuperSportTV. #TafelLager #SixGunGrill #Nashua #Barzani #Klipdrift #OFM #Twizza #TsogoSun #HorseshoeInn #Chanbe #Vermeulens #OxygenBuddy #BananaskinZ #Leuko #TK #NCTourism pic.twitter.com/Vm20XFdbya
Griqua coach Scott Mathie spoke to the DFA before the team’s departure saying that they were aware of the challenge awaiting them in Gauteng.
“The boys have been assessed for the trip to Joburg and are looking forward to the game knowing that the Lions have a very strong set-piece – we are going to have to handle that. They are obviously a really dangerous team as they like to move the ball quite a lot and have some very quick runners who can get offloads.
“So it’s going to be a big test for our defence on Wednesday … we are going to have to nullify their threats, from the start of the set-piece,” Mathie said.
The coach also said that the team is brimming with positive energy. “We are looking forward to this seeing we missed a game last week and we are looking forward to the trip up there. There is a lot of energy in the team as well as plenty of positivity and we are looking forward to it,” Mathie concluded.
Following Wednesday’s match, the Kimberley team will have another extended break with their next game taking place on July 31 when they take on the Cell C Sharks in Durban, hoping to reverse the 16-30 loss inflicted on them by the KZN team in the Currie Cup last month.
Tafel Lager Griquas (15-1): Ashlon Davids, Daniel Kasende, Jay Cee Nel, Johnathan Franke, Eduan Keyter, George Whitehead, Stefan Ungerer, Ruan Steenkamp (c), Hanru Sirgel, Gideon van der Merwe, Cameron Lindsay, Adré Smith, Janu Botha, Janco Uys, Mox Mxoli. Bench: HJ Luus, Andrew Beerwinkel, Andries Schutte, Mzwanele Zito, Sibabalo Qoma, Raegan Oranje, Tinus de Beer, Ederies Arendse, Andrew Kuhn, Jeandre Leonard, Theo Boshoff.
— Griquas Rugby (@GriquasRugby) July 19, 2021