By Patrick Compton.
In a breathless game of Currie Cup rugby which featured 12 tries, the Windhoek Draught Griquas enjoyed a rampant second half to beat the Cell C Sharks 48-40 in Kimberley on Sunday with their flyhalf, Lubabala Dobela, booting 16 points in a perfect exhibition of kicking.
The Sharks had looked comfortable at halftime after scoring four tries and picking up a bonus point as they led 28-10 against an error-strewn home team.
But the Griquas who emerged from their dressing-room for the second half were a completely different team from their former stumbling incarnation.
Tries in the first 10 minutes from Stephan Smit, Luther Obi and and Hanru Sergill – all converted by Dobela – turned that 18-point deficit into a three-point lead.
The visitors were completely blown away by the Griquas’ intensity and accuracy, barely getting into their opponents’ half as the home team hammered away at their line in a frenzy of attacking rugby.
Further scores by Johan Mulder and a pushover try from Janco Uys in the 65th minute meant that Griquas had scored 38 points without reply from the bewildered Sharks who were now 20 points behind.
GRIQUAS TRANSFORMED
One of the keys to Griquas’ performance was their ability to profit from the wind at their backs, with substitute flyhalf George Whitehead marshalling play superbly with long kicks into Sharks’ territory.
There was a late response from the Sharks, with flanker Dylan Richardson, who had a fine game for the visitors, scoring two late tries, but it was too little too late as the Griquas were able to celebrate a famous victory.
The first half was a scrappy affair, with both teams making plenty of errors. Griquas enjoyed most of the possession but their lineouts weren’t functioning and the Sharks were much more clinical in their opponents’ 22, making it tell every time they visited.
Griquas were the first on the board with a penalty and a penalty try after Hanro Jacobs had collapsed a maul, but the Sharks responded with four tries from Francois Venter and Fez Mbatha with Cameron Wright and Yaw Penxe finishing off superb team moves.
If the Sharks thought they could stroll through the second half they were rudely disabused of that notion as the transformed home team blew them off the park in the second half, only relaxing at the death when the result was already confirmed.
Just as most things had gone right for the Sharks in the first half, everything went right for the Griquas in the last 40, including the referee’s whistle.Scorers:
Windhoek Draught Griquas (10) 48: Tries– Penalty try, Stephan Smit, Luther Obi, Hanru Sergil, Johan Mulder, Janco Uys; Conversions – Lubabalo Dobela (5); Penalties: Dobela (2)
Cell C Sharks (28) 40: Tries– Francois Venter, Fez Mbatha, Cameron Wright, Yaw Penxe, Dylan Richardson (2); Conversions – Fred Zeilinga (4), Lionel Cronje.
Meanwhile Toyota Cheetahs smashed the Griffons 52-12 in the Free State derby in Sunday’s Currie Cup games in the center of the country.