Carel Greeff scored two tries as Griquas clinched a 32-15 bonus-point win over the Pumas in Kimberley on Saturday.
The hosts have been well below par in weeks gone by, but delivered a spirited performance against an out-of-sorts Pumas side to claim their maiden win in this year’s competition.
Griquas dominated every facet of play and outscored the Pumas four tries to two, while the visitors’ cause was further compromised by the sin-binning of their captain Faf de Klerk in the first half.
In a lively start, Pumas flyhalf Justin van Staden and Griquas inside centre Clinton Swart traded penalties early on. That, though, was as good as it got for the Pumas in the opening 40.
Eighthman Carel Greeff struck a double blow when he barged over the tryline twice in quick succession. Swart goaled one of the two conversions, giving Griquas a comfortable 15-3 lead heading into the sheds.
There was no immediate fightback from the Pumas at the restart, rather a continuation of Griquas control. They added 10 more points to their tally when Swart nailed a second penalty kick before wing Jacquin Jansen beat the defence for a converted effort.
The action faded midway through the second half, but two scores by Marnus Schoeman and Rosko Speckman in the final 10 minutes gave the Pumas some scoreboard respectability.
However, their poor defensive structure was exposed again, when they conceded another try in the closing stages of the match as replacement prop Danie Mienie powered over for Griquas' fourth.
Griquas – Tries: Carel Greeff (2), Jacquin Jansen, Danie Mienie. Conversions: Clinton Swart (2), Gouws Prinsloo. Penalties: Swart (2).
Pumas – Tries: Marnus Schoeman, Rosko Speckman. Conversion: Justin van Staden. Penalty: Van Staden.
Griquas – 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Ruhan Nel, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Jacquin Jansen, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Tian Meyer (c), 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Kraai Adendorff, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Jaco Nepgen, 3 Stephan Kotzé, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Steph Roberts.
Subs: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Kop van der Westhuizen, 19 Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, 20 Wendal Wehr, 21 Dylan Frylink, 22 Gouws Prinsloo.
Pumas – 15 Hoffmann Maritz, 14 Bernado Botha, 13 Jerome Pretorius, 12 Deon Helberg, 11 Rosco Spekman, 10 Justin van Staden, 9 Francois de Klerk (c), 8 Jason-Colin Fraser, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 4 Rudi Mathee, 3 De-Jay Terblanché, 2 Francois du Toit, 1 Corné Fourie.
Subs: 16 Frank Herne, 17 Khwezi Mona, 18 Marius Coetzer, 19 Jaco Bouwer, 20 Reynier van Rooyen, 21 Hennie Skorbinski, 22 Wilmaure Louw.
Photo: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images
