Western Province edged Griquas 24-23 at Newlands, while there were also Currie Cup qualifier wins for the Blue Bulls, Leopards and Griffons on Saturday.
Griquas were on a seven-match winning streak coming into round eight, and with a 13-10 lead at half-time, they looked well on their way to another victory. But WP rallied back in the second half to hand the men from Kimberley their first defeat.
The hosts led 10-3 after flank Janco Venter scored from the back of a driving maul and flyhalf Scott van Breda kicked the conversion and a penalty. But Griquas struck right back with a try by Jonathan van Rensburg to level the scores before Andre Swarts kicked a penalty.
Griquas were reduced to 14 players early in the second half and WP pounced. They ran in two quick tries, scored by Chad Solomon and Khanyo Ngcukana, either side of a Griquas three-pointer for a 24-16 advantage.
The visitors did grab another try to set up an exciting finish, but WP were able to hold on for the win.
In other matches on Saturday, flank Juan Jonck scored a last-minute try that saw the EP Kings snatch a dramatic 35-35 draw with the Golden Lions XV. Flyhalf Garrick Mattheus missed the conversion that would have given EP victory.
The Leopards lashed the Blue Bulls 51-26 at Loftus Versfeld and the Griffons obliterated the Welwitchias 101-0 in Windhoek.
Western Province (24) – Tries: Janco Venter, Chad Solomon, Khanyo Ngcukana. Conversions: Scott van Breda (3). Penalty: Van Breda.
Griquas (23) – Tries: Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, Tiaan Dorfling. Conversions: Andre Swarts (2). Penalties: Swarts (3).
Golden Lions XV (35) – Tries: Bobby de Wee, Ramone Samuels, Ricky Schroeder, Ruaan Lerm. Conversions: Shaun Reynolds(3). Penalties: Reynolds (3)
EP Kings (35) – Tries: Gregory Jackson, Juan Jonck, Somila Jho. Conversions: Garrick Mattheus (3). Penalties: Mattheus (3).
Blue Bulls (26) – Tries: Hanro Liebenberg, Joshua Stander, Kurt Webster, Renaldo Bothma. Conversions: Stander (3).
Leopards (51) – Tries: Henko Marais (2), Dane van der Westhuizen, Jeandré Rudolph, Johan Deysel, Marno Redelinghuys. Conversions: Rhyno Smith (6). Penalties: Smith (3).
Welwitchias (0)
Griffons (101) – Tries: Warren Williams (3), Tertius Maarman (2), Selvyn Davids (2), Dirk Grobbelaar (2), Boela Venter (2), Daniel van der Merwe, De Wet Kruger, Neil Rautenbach, Oshwill Nortje. Conversions: George Whitehead (13).
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
