Cape Town - Western Province, loaded with several United Rugby Championship (URC) stars, failed to topple Griquas in Kimberley and will have to win their final match and hope for favours from elsewhere to scrape into the Currie Cup playoffs.
The Peacock Blues played out of their skin to topple WP 38-29 with the visitors coming away with a solitary point for four tries. The men from Kimberley keep their chances of making the semi-finals alive, although marginally, but will also hope for favours if they are to make it.
They leapfrogged Province into fourth but the rest of the Currie Cup matches will dictate who ends in the fourth spot when the round is concluded on Saturday.
Province had Ruhan Nel, Leolin Zas, and Angelo Davids in the backline that featured in the URC final this past Saturday. While Neethling Fouche, Ali Vermaak, Ben-Jason Dixon, and Ruben van Heerden strengthened the pack of forwards.
But towards the end of the match, as it was delicately balanced, you could see which team had been playing together for longer in the competition.
Although Province had moments of good interplay, it was the Peacock Blues, playing in a pink jersey to avoid colours clashing, that showed the grit and determination to pull things through when it mattered.
A brilliant breakaway try by replacement centre Sango Xamlashe with just under 10 minutes left sealed the deal for his side after he slipped several attempted tackles to score next to the poles.
Flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela and replacement hooker Sean Swart were the other second-half try scorers that helped secure the turnaround for their team after trailing 19-14 at halftime.
It was Province who scored first in a fiery opening exchange when lively flanker Marcel Theunissen scored the first of his two tries to get his team on the scoreboard.
The home side didn't hang around to respond, though, as some good work by the forwards led to their first five-pointer by Dylan Sjoblom that tied the scores.
But the visitors soon found themselves behind Griquas' try line again when scrumhalf Paul de Wet went in for a second try not even five minutes after the home side hit back.
Theunissen's second try, while the Peacock Blues were a man down, showed that WP slightly dominated the first half and should maybe have milked the yellow card of flanker Thabo Ndimande.
They did not, and it came back to bite them as the home team's outside centre Jaycee Nel collected a kick just before halftime to get his team back in the game after they trailed 19-7 with the halftime hooter looming.
This was the crucial score for Griquas and by trailing by just five points at the break, they were quick out of the blocks with Dobela's try less than five minutes after the restart.
Province, in search of a fourth try for a bonus point, probably played too much rugby where they just had to get the points from penalties at goal, rather than looking for a fourth try for five points.
If they had built more scoreboard pressure with their kickable penalties, the result could've been different.
But they went with kicks to the corner and scrums, with their two lineout throwers struggling to find the jumpers.
This created turnover possession for Griquas and helped to relieve plenty of pressure on their try line.
The home side squandered a few opportunities in the second half and could possibly have won by more.
But, the crucial thing was a victory with a four-try bonus point and keeping Province winless in Kimberley since 2018.
Points scorers
Griquas 38 (14): Tries: Dylan Sjoblom, Jaycee Nel, Lubabalo Dobela, Sean Swart, Sango Xamlashe. Conversions: Whitehead (5). Penalty: Whitehead.
Western Province 29 (19) : Marcel Theunissen (2), Paul de Wet, Willie Engelbrecht. Conversions: Jurie Matthee (2). Penalty: Matthee
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