The Valke registered their second draw of the Currie Cup season when Griffons scored a last-gasp try to have the score finish at 31-all at the Bosman Stadium on Saturday.
The match did not start well for the home side as they were put under pressure and were struggling in most departments, especially the scrum. They found themselves going behind after conceding a penalty from the set-piece with Danrich Visagie slotting the kick over.
Things got worse as the Griffons scored tries through Allistair Mumba and Duncan van Vuuren, after another dismal scrum for the home side gave the visitors a 17-0 lead.
Then almost as if a switch was turned on in the minds of the home side, they clicked into gear and put together a number of phases with Andrew van Wyk scoring to a try and Anrich Richter converting to have the half-time score at 17-7 in favour of the away side.
The early part of the second half belonged to the hosts as they showed dominance, even controlling the scrums.
They showed brilliance with interplay between the forwards and backs, leading to a try by loose forward Thabo Mabuza.
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There were more tries from the home side with Friedle Olivier and Hardus Pretorius getting over. Richter converted both tries to have the hosts leading 28-17.
Just as it looked like the Valke would run away with the match, the Griffons hit back through Jean Pretorius to set up a tense finish.
Richter then kicked a penalty over to give the hosts a seven-point lead.
The crowd were on the edge of their seats as the visitors had one wave of attack after another to fight back.
Chadley Wenn finally got the try for the visitors with just four minutes left to play to have the two sides share the spoils.
This was the Valke’s second draw of the season after they were held to a 33-all stalemate by the South Western District Eagles in the first match of the competition.
They remain undefeated in this year’s Currie Cup and are second, five points behind the Jaguares XV, who they host on August 10.
They are away to the Boland Cavaliers this weekend.
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