Griquas recover from hiding to beat Bulls and top Currie Cup log

Griquas recover from hiding to beat Bulls and top Currie Cup log

Griquas went from a 54-point hiding by the Cheetahs last weekend to a 37-15 triumph at the Blue Bulls Saturday, and claimed a two-point lead in the South African Currie Cup.

Currie Cup
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The amazing transformation of the cinderella side came after they fell 10 points behind after 15 minutes against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria.

However, fears of another thrashing quickly disappeared as two tries from Zak Burger and superb goal-kicking by skipper George Whitehead established a 20-10 half-time advantage.
Griquas stretched the lead to 17 points before Bulls scored through Springbok Marco van Staden after a rolling maul.
That was as close as the once-mighty Bulls came to turning the game around and Victor Sekekete scored to help earn the visiting team a bonus-point victory for scoring four tries.
"We pitched up tonight whereas we did not pitch up last Saturday," said Whitehead when asked to explain the dramatic turnaround.
"Fighting back is part of the DNA of Griquas rugby. We set out tonight to prove we were better rugby players than the result in Bloemfontein suggested.
"We are top of the table and have a bye next weekend before hosting Western Province and the Golden Lions in our remaining league matches.
"Griquas now control their destiny and that is a very nice position to be in for a team that was written off as outsiders before the season began."
They have 15 points, the Lions 13, the Cheetahs 11, Western Province and the Pumas seven each, defending champions the Sharks six and the Bulls five.
The best four finishers after a single round qualify for the semi-finals and Griquas, one of only two contenders who have never played Super Rugby, are poised to reach the semi-finals.
Earlier, Pumas upset the Sharks 27-20 in Nelspruit to end a run of three losses since the beginning of a season shortened due to the Rugby World Cup starting in Japan on September 20.
On Friday, the unbeaten Lions maintained a run of dramatic come-from-behind victories by overcoming a 19-point deficit to pip the Free State Cheetahs 24-22 in Bloemfontein.

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