Leading the Falcons 26-12 at half-time in the Currie Cup premier-division fixture played in very warm conditions at Absa Park, Kimberley, on Saturday afternoon, Griquas were made to fight all the way by Piet Krause’s team before coming from behind to win the match 36-27.
It needed an excellent try by Griqua skipper Gareth Krause, with one minute remaining, for the home team to clinch their hard-fought victory.
In a match of contrasting halves, the Falcons scored four tries to Griquas’ three.
Determined to beat the Falcons in Kimberley after losing to the Vodacom champions in their first-round meeting in Brakpan, Griquas were good value for their 13-5 first-quarter lead.
Elusive Falcons scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius found the home team’s defence wanting when he broke through from 22m to score his team’s second five-pointer. Flyhalf Louis Strydom’s conversion kick in front of the Griqua posts sailed between the uprights and the lead was suddenly slashed to a solitary point.
Griquas flyhalf Conrad Barnard, who had a very good first half, calmly slotted home further penalties in the 27th and 32 minutes to keep his team in front, and when replacement scrumhalf Tertius Carse broke through the forwards, ran hard and was on hand to round off a fine movement after receiving excellent support from loose forwards Gareth Krause and Wayne van Heerden.
Griquas, 26-12 up at the break, were now well placed to amount a second-half assault.
But the never-say-die Falcons came roaring back after the changeover. Strydom’s penalty made it 26-15 before Pretorius’s second try of the match saw the game swinging the Falcons’ way.
Almost immediately Pretorius stole the ball at a Griqua scrum, kicked downfield and with the Griqua defence at sixes and sevens, left-wing Mpho Matsaung gave chase. It needed a fantastic Krause tackle on the speedster to prevent him scoring his team’s bonus-point-earning fourth try.
The Falcons were now dominant, especially up front, and in the face of consistent pressure it came as no surprise when with 10 minutes remaining the visitors went ahead for the first time in the match through centre Dean Okkers’s converted try (Falcons 27-26) .
Behind for the first time in the match, Griquas showed character and went all-out to regain the lead. Barnard now narrowly missed a number of kickable penalties before, to the relief of his teammates and the home supporters, he landed one from 43m to give Griquas a 29-27 lead with three minutes remaining.
Griquas mounted one final attack down the right flank and with right wing Vuyani Dlomo and hooker Tiaan Liebenberg combining well, Griqua captain Gareth Krause received and ran through to score far out.
Barnard’s excellent last-minute conversion put the match beyond the Falcons’ reach. — Sapa