An Anthony Volmink hat-trick helped the Tafel Lager Griquas seal their place in the SuperSport Rugby Challenge semifinals with an emphatic 45-26 (halftime 24-14) win over the Xerox Golden Lions XV at Tafel Lager Park in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon.
Griquas left wing Volmink was in top form to run in three tries during the match, while prop Khwezi Mona crashed over twice and flyhalf George Whitehead added 13 points with the boot through five conversions and a penalty to set up the comfortable win.
The victory ended the small chance the Lions had of sneaking into the semifinal positions, while making sure that the Griquas would finish second on the North section log behind the unbeaten ISG Pumas.
The Griquas will only know their opponent after the final two games in the South section are completed at the SuperSport Rugby Challenge Festival at Florida Park in Cape Town on Sunday.
The first half was a back and forth affair with the Griquas scoring three converted tries to two from the Lions, while Whitehead's successful penalty pushed their lead out to 10 points at 24-14 at the break.
The second half was then very similar, also ending with the Griquas scoring three tries to two, while Lions flyhalf Eddie Fouche missed one of his conversion attempts, leaving the score 45-26 at fulltime.
Scorers
Griquas - Tries: Anthony Volmink (3), Khwezi Mona (2), Gideon van der Merwe, Conversions: George Whitehead (5), Tinus de Beer, Penalty: George Whitehead
Lions - Tries: James Venter, Mandisi Mithiyane, Dillon Smit, Kenedy Mpeku, Conversions: Eddie Fouche (3)