Griquas overwhelmed the Border Bulldogs 119-5 in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon, with captain and fly-half George Whitehead playing a big role in the home team's defeat, scoring an astonishing 17 tries. Ta.
The hosts were already leading 42-5 at halftime and applied pressure after the break, eventually more than doubling their points.
For the Kimberley men's team, Whitehead, Karl Els (number 8) and Dylan Maat (right wing) all scored hat-tricks, with Whitehead also scoring individually with an impressive 17 conversions. scored 49 points.
Is the Border and Leopard tournament a punching bag?
Three rounds have been played in the newly introduced 10-team competition, and the Border Bulldogs are one of three teams yet to win, along with the Falcons and Leopards.
The Leopards are at the bottom of the table, with the Borders in ninth place and the Falcons in eighth, occupying the last three spots in the table.
Border gave up 114 points last weekend, leaving them with a -173 point differential. The losses were against the Gryphons (52-8), SWD Eagles (40-25), and Griquas (119-5).
Although this is a bad statistic, it is better than the Leopards' points difference of -191 points after three games against Griquas (88-0), Cheetahs (76-5), and Gryphons (42-10). Not bad.
Explaining SA Rugby's hot new tournament
What is the SA Cup?
This is a new competition under SA Rugby and will mark the official start of the 2024 regional season. One of the interesting features of this tournament is that it includes five matches held on Sunday afternoons at various locations around the country.
The SA Cup will act as an important bridge between pre-season and the start of the Currie Cup Premier and First Division competitions, effectively replacing the Mzansi Challenge from 2023.
Who are the participating teams?
The new competition will feature 10 state teams (excluding United Rugby Championship franchise teams), with a total of 46 matches played over nine consecutive weeks.
The teams are Gryphons, Griquas, Leopards, SWD Eagles, Pumas, Cheetahs, Boland Cavaliers, Eastern Province, Valke and Border Bulldogs.
In 2025, the top four SA Cup teams will join the four Vodacom URC franchises in the Currie Cup Premier Division, with the remaining six teams competing in the First Division.