The Suzuki Griquas took absolute control from the opening whistle against Georgia’s Black Lion, securing a 56-21 win.
Lock Lungi Mbiko crossed the try line inside the very first minute following a powerful break by No 8 Dillon Smith. The Griquas' forward pack relentlessly bullied the visitors at scrum time, capitalising on a host of errors from a heavily rotated Black Lion side.
The highlight of the half came from a highly inventive midfield lineout variation, which bamboozled the Georgian defence and saw Dillon Smith crash over for the team's third try. The Peacock Blues went into the halftime break with a commanding 28-00 lead.
The Griquas showed no signs of slowing down after the restart. Captain Phumzile Makondwana extended the lead with a quick try shortly after halftime. Black Lion finally broke their duck when No 8 Giorgi Sinauridze forced his way over for a try, but any hopes of a fightback were swiftly snuffed out.
The match took a dramatic turn when Griquas flyhalf Liam Koen received a red card for head contact in a tackle. Despite playing with 14 men, the Griquas completely dominated the remaining minutes. They ran in two more spectacular tries while short-handed to comfortably cross the 50-point mark and secure the 56-21 blowout victory.
Scorers:
Suzuki Griquas: Tries: Lungi Mbiko, Jack Hart, Dillon Smith, Tom Nel, Phumzile Makondwana, Keagan Blanckenberg, Cephas van Biljon, Caleb Abrahams. Conversions: Liam Koen (6), Simon Liversage (2).
Black Lion: Tries: Giorgi Sinauridze, Guga Ganiashvili, Shalva Aptsiauri. Conversions: Merlynn Pieterse, Luka Tsirekidze (2).
Teams:
Suzuki Griquas: 1 Leon Lyons, 2 Keagan Blanckenberg, 4 Lungi Mbiko. 5 Carel Van Der Merwe, 6 Phumzile Maqondwana, 7 Marco De Witt, 8 Dillon Smith, 9 Jack Hart, 10 Liam Koen, 11 Sako Makata, 12 Simon Liversage, 13 Thomas Nel, 14 Connor Mahoney, 15 Cameron Hufke. Replacements: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 18 Bom Louw, 19 Ulrich Van Der Westhuizen, 20 Cephas Van Biljon, 21 Carl Els, 22 Caleb Abrahams, 23 Zane Bester.
Black Lions: 1 Giga Kobakhidze, 2 Tamaz Tchamiashvili, 3 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 4 Guram Ganiashvili, 5 Giorgi Nikoladze, 6 Lasha Tsikhistavi, 7 Giorgi Kervalishvili, 8 Giorgi Sinauridze, 9 Giorgi Spanderashvili, 10 Merls Pieterse, 11 Amirani Shvangiradze, 12 Zaur Lutidze, 13 Bachana Moniava, 14 Shalva Aptsiauri, 15 Alexander Todua. Replacements: 16 Shota Kheladze, 17 Bachuki Baratashvili, 18 Badri Tsikhistavi, 19 Mikheili Babunashvili, 20 Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 21 Mikheil Kachlavashvili, 22 Giorgi Pruidze, 23 Luka Tsirekidze.