Lions and Griquas make moves in Currie Cup fourth round

The Lions and Griquas made big moves in the Currie Cup over the weekend, while the Pumas jumped to the top of the log after the fourth round of fixtures.

The Lions were the big  movers, jumping from fifth to third on the log after their impressive come from behind 34-22 bonus point win over the Sharks at Ellis Park on Saturday.

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The Sharks held a 12-5 lead at halftime after a subdued first half from the home team, but they burst to life with four tries in the second half to secure a top win.

“I am impressed with the performance. Tactically, especially in the second half we got better. It was a far from clinical performance but we will take the win and build some momentum,” said Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi.

“For this group momentum is very important. So this result will mean a lot to the players and galvanise them going forward.

“The guys know they haven’t achieved anything yet and that a really good team in the Cheetahs are coming next weekend, but they will enjoy the win for the moment.”

The Griquas also produced a stunning come from behind win on Saturday as they upset Western Province 32-13 in Cape Town.

Dreadful first half

The visitors produced a dreadful first half to trail 13-0 at the break, but bounced back superbly with four unanswered tries in the second half to pick up a brilliant bonus point win.

Although the Griquas didn’t move any places on the log with them still sitting in sixth place, they moved level on points with the two teams above them, Western Province and the Sharks, making things a lot closer.  

In the other matches played on Friday the Pumas thrashed the Cheetahs 61-21 in Bloemfontein to move above them on the log, while the Griffons sensationally upset the Bulls 32-28 in Welkom.

The Pumas win was a bit of an anomaly as they were up against a second string Cheetahs side, with their first choice squad in France for their Challenge Cup knockout against Toulon, and with the Bloemfontein side now out of Europe they will play their strongest team going forward.

The Griffons will take a lot of confidence from their fantastic bonus point win over the Bulls, who slip further into despair with their fourth loss on the trot, and it will make other sides take note of the Welkom based team, while the Pretoria team has to somehow bounce back from a very poor start.