Ako Makata, Marco de Witt and Connor Mahoney braces helped the Suzuki Griquas to a compelling 59-7 (halftime 24-7) Carling Currie Cup victory over the Novavit Griffons at Down Touch Investments Stadium in Welkom on Sunday afternoon.
Makata's two first-half tries and Mahoney’s second-stanza blitz plus De Witt's tries were part of Griquas' bonus-point victory as the away side outscored the Griffons by eight tries to only one and moved to 13 points on the log to keep their campaign alive in seventh position.
Now the Griquas are one point behind sixth-placed DHL Western Province.
Griquas started like a house on fire with left winger Sako Makata opening their try-scoring account just two minutes into the match.
Makata made a scintillating 50m sprint to finish off a brilliant interchange of passes from his backline.
Three minutes later, it was the turn of the other winger Dylan Maart to make his way over the line.
The electrifying fast-paced winger split the Griffons' defence line from a set play move close to the 55m line and galloped half of the field to the try line.
The Griffons finally responded 10 minutes into the game with a converted try from tight head prop Moango Ngundue, who powered his way over the line from close range.
Qamani Kota did the honours of adding the extras.
The momentum swung in favour of the home side, but they failed to capitalise after Dewald Human knocked the ball on right before the try line.
The game became physical with both sides exchanging big hits.
But it was the Griquas who came up tops in the mini battle and flexed their muscles to extend their lead with 10 minutes to halftime through flanker Marco de Witt, who was at the back off a well-oiled driving maul.
There was slight confusion whether flyhalf Zinedine Robinson’s conversion had crossed over the bar.
But after referee Morne Ferreira sent the matter to TMO Egon Seconds, it was judged that Robinson had slotted the conversion over after the ball ricocheted from the left side of the pole to the other.
COMFORTABLE HALFTIME LEAD
On the brink of halftime, Makata got his brace, finishing off a brilliant kick pass from Robinson inside the Griffons' 22m.
Griquas comfortably had a 24-7 lead at halftime.
The Griquas picked up where they left off despite Griffon's defense holding strong.
Scrum-half Bobby Alexander's quick passes from the base to his forwards ensured they built phase after phase in attack.
This eventually led to hooker Dandre Delport powering his way over the try line with just six minutes in the second stanza.
Griquas fullback Connor Mahoney slid and glided past defenders, slicing through a gap close to the halfway mark and running through to the line untouched.
𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 👏
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 18, 2024
There's just no stopping Connor Mahoney 😤⚡#CarlingCurrieCup pic.twitter.com/rdD011pzTR
The floodgates opened in Welkom, with the home side having no answer to Griquas' flurry of attacks.
Centre Tertius Kruger joined the party 53 minutes into the game, adding to the Griquas' try tally after his 50m sprint to the line.
Mahoney quickly turned from hero to villain as he was sent to the sin bin following a reckless tackle on Kota.
Griffons quickly looked to use the numerical advantage but were again let down by Human, who knocked the ball forward in front of the try line.
Mahoney made amends as soon as he stepped back onto the field, adding to the home side's misery with another long-range try.
De Witt put the final nail in the Purple People Eater's coffin with the final try as the men from Kimberly walked away with five points.
SCORERS
Novavit Griffons: Tries - Moango Ngundue
Conversions - Qhamani Kota
Suzuki Griquas: Tries - Sako Makata (2), Dylan Maart, Marco de Witt(2), Dandre Delport, Connor Mahoney (2), Tertius Kruger.
Conversions - Zinedine Robinson (6), Tyler Sefoor(2)