Tafel Lager Griquas downed By the Lions in Semi Final
Once again the Xerox Golden Lions had the better of Tafel Lager Griquas, on Saturday in the semi final of the Currie Cup Premier Division, winning by 34 points to 19. Halftime score was 21-13 to the hosts. The match was played at the Emirates Airline Park (Ellis Park).
An extremely bitter and disappointing blow for the Griqua supporters, as Griquas had done so well up to the last two matches, both against the Lions, where they lost their round robin encounter a week earlier, in Kimberley by a solitary point.
One Griqua support had this to say, after the game, “Despite a brave performance that ensured that the game was in the balance till 10 min before the end, too many handling mistakes and missed tackles ensured that the team played catch up rugby all match. The scrumming struggled and over elaboration at the lineouts meant that the ball got to the backline under pressure. It is difficult to be sure how much Brent’s resignation affected the performance today but the match was a disappointing end to a very good season.”
However one of the SuperSport commentators said that Griquas plans did not work out accordingly and also for the last two weeks did perform to their full potential and asked the question if it was because of Brent Janse van Rensbug’s announcement that he was leaving as head coach.
Conditioning and fitness coach, Jacques du Toit told the DFA, “We were hoping to get one back over the Lions after last week’s loss but it was not meant to be.”
Du Toit continued saying, “Despite the loss, we are proud of the guys and how hard they have worked this season. We have put systems in place that can only take Griquas forward. The hard work done this year will allow us to have a good 2020 season and in conclusion well done to the players on reaching the semi finals, maybe next year we can go one step further and bring home the trophy”.
Meanwhile, the Xerox Golden Lions produced a mature performance in their effort, booking their first final since 2015.
Led by an inspirational performance by the loose trio, in particular Hacjivah Dayimani the Lions were sublime both on attack and defence as they kept Griquas at bay and never allowed them to take the lead in the game, eventually winning comfortably in the end.
Marnus Schoeman and Cyle Brink played an equally impressive part while the young lock Ruben Schoeman’s workrate stood out on the day.
Everything Griquas seemed to throw at the Lions they simply had an answer for, and scored when it mattered most to control the game.
Griquas, however, battled in the scrums and lineouts, but also enjoy the majority of the territorial play, but were unable to convert this into points. Another SuperSport commentator mentioned that he thought that the psychological pressure on Griquas was that they have not played in a semi final since 1998, which is quite a long time ago.
Point Scorers
Xerox Golden Lions – Tries: Madosh Tambwe, Stean Pienaar, Hacjivah Dayimani, Marnus Schoeman. Conversions: Shaun Reynolds (4). Penalties: Reynolds (2).
Tafel Lager Griquas – Try: Chris Smit. Conversion: George Whitehead. Penalties: Whitehead (4).
In the other Semi final fixture between the Cheetahs and the Sharks in Bloemfontein, the home side cruised through 51-30 to host the final next Saturday.