The Airlink Pumas secured a place in the semi-finals of the Currie Cup after beating the Windhoek Draught Griquas 27-17, which is a repeat of their amazing feat last year in the Currie Cup final.
The Windhoek Draught Griquas dominated most of the first half, however the defence of the Airlink Pumas kept the hosts from scoring untill the 38th minute when Lubabalo Dobela spotted a gap in the normally steadfast defence of the visitors to score the first try of the match.
However, the Airlink Pumas struck back three minutes later with a try by Deon Slabbert that levelled the score at 10-10 going into the second half.
The Windhoek Draught Griquas opened the scoring in the second half with Thabo Ndimande going over in the corner following some great work by Dobela. The Airlink Pumas responded almost immediately with a try by Francois Kleinhans who bulldozed his way over the tryline to level the score 17-17 and thirty minutes still to play in the second half.
A converted penalty by Tinus de Beer gave the Airlink Pumas a 20-17 lead and sixteen minutes left of the clock. With four minutes left to play Wian Van Niekerk scored the winning try for the Airlink Pumas to secure a place in the 2023 Currie Cup semi-finals.
Scorers:
Windhoek Draught Griquas: Tries: Lubabalo Dobela, Thabo Ndimande Ndimande. Conversions: George Whitehead (2). Penalty: George Whitehead.
Airlink Pumas: Tries: Deon Slabbert, Francois Kleinhans, Wian Van Niekerk. Convertions: Tinus De Beer (3). Penalties: Tinus De Beer (2)
Teams
Windhoek Draught Griquas: 15 George Whitehead, 14 Rosko Specman, 13 Jay-Cee Nel, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Luther Obi, 10 Lubabalo Dobela, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Carl Els, 7 Hanru Sirgel (c), 6 Thabo Ndimande, 5 Derik Pretorius 4 Dylan Sjöblom, 3 Janu Botha, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Kudzwai Dube. Replacements: 16 Sean Swart, 17 Cebo Dlamini, 18 Justin Forwood, 19 Johan Retief, 20 Stephan Smit, 21 Reagan Oranje, 22 Eduard Fouche, 23 Sango Xamlashe.
Airlink Pumas: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Andrew Kota, 13 Diego Appollis, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Etienne Taljaard, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Chriswill September, 8 Kwanda Dimaza, 7 Francois Kleinhas, 6 Andre Fouche, 5 Shane Kirkwood (c), 4 Deon Slabbert, 3 Simon Raw, 2 Pieter Jacobs, 1 Corne Fourie. Replacements: 16 Darnell Osuagwu, 17 Etiene Janeke, 18 Dewald Maritz, 19 Malembe Mpofu, 20 Ruwald van der Merwe, 21 Giovan Snyman, 22 Gene Willemse, 23 Wian Van Niekerk