Lions outside back Tapiwa Mafura on his way to the tryline during their Currie Cup match against the Pumas at the Mbombela Stadium on Friday night. Picture: Johan Orton/Gallo Images
There were massive wins for the Lions, Bulls and Cheetahs on the second weekend of Currie Cup action as all three sides also kept their unbeaten records firmly intact with impressive results.
The Lions and Bulls both claimed thumping away wins, 75-21 over the Pumas in Mbombela and 52-10 over the Griffons in Welkom respectively, while the Cheetahs notched up another strong home win, 37-17 over Western Province in Bloemfontein.
The Lions result was arguably the biggest surprise as they were expected to receive a much sterner challenge from a Pumas team that has reached the last two Currie Cup finals, while winning the competition in 2022.
The match will be remembered for former Junior Springbok flyhalf Sam Francis announcing himself in his first senior appearance as he scored a try, slotted eight out of 10 conversions and nailed three penalties for a personal haul of 30 points.
Former Pumas outside back Tapiwa Mafura, who was recently signed from the Cheetahs, also returned to haunt his former team with a hattrick of tries off the bench after he replaced recent Springbok debutant Edwill van der Merwe after he picked up a worrying injury in the first quarter.
For the Bulls they were predictably too good for the Griffons as they outscored them eight tries to two for a big bonus point win.
The visitors from Pretoria ran in four tries in the opening quarter, two from loose forward Mpilo Gumede, that saw them streak into a 26-0 lead, before reaching halftime 31-5 up, with them adding another three tries in the second half to seal a solid win.
At the Free State Stadium, the Cheetahs were given a run for their money in the first half by Western Province, with the teams reaching the break locked at 10-all, before the visitors ran out of steam in the second half, as the hosts scored four more tries while conceding one.
The other match on the weekend saw a superb fightback from the Griquas stun the Sharks in a 34-31 win at Griqua Park.
The Springbok bolstered Sharks, who had Makazole Mapimpi, Trevor Nyakane, Andre Esterhuizen and Aphelele Fassi all starting after being released by the Boks for the weekend, stormed into a 24-7 lead at halftime.
However the never-say-die Griquas produced a brilliant second half showing to take a 31-24 lead with nine minutes left, only for the Sharks to level the scores with a converted try, followed by 79th minute penalty from Lubabalo Dobela to settle the game in the home side’s favour.
Griquas 34-31 Sharks
Pumas 21-75 Lions
Cheetahs 37-17 Western Province
Griffons 10-52 Blue Bulls
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