4 October 2026
The Suzuki Griquas launched a lethal second-half onslaught to overpower a gritty Iberians outfit 48–15 at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia, securing the Tbilisi Cup title. Despite an early scare from the Spanish franchise, the Kimberley-based side found their rhythm to dot down eight tries in a fast-paced encounter.
The Iberians caught the Griquas napping with a blistering start in Tbilisi. Estanislao Vay crashed over for an early try in the 3rd minute, with Bauti Guemes adding the extras to hand the Iberians an immediate 7–0 advantage.
The Griquas hit back through a powerful surge from Thomas Nel, who crossed the whitewash in the 24th minute to open the South Africans' account. Danrich Visagie missed the conversion, leaving the Griquas trailing 7–5.
The Iberians extended their lead to 10–5 with a well-struck Guemes penalty in the 30th minute. The Griquas responded on the stroke of halftime as Connor Mahoney rounded off a slick backline move to score, with Visagie accurate off the tee to edge the Griquas ahead 12–10 at the break.
The Griquas turned on the style after the interval as Mahoney went on a rampage. The clinical winger scored twice in quick succession, securing his hat-trick in the 54th minute to break the Iberians' resistance and push the score to 24–10.
The Griquas emptied their bench to maintain the high tempo, introducing fresh legs across the pack and backline. Damian Markus capitalised on the momentum, slicing through the defence in the 65th minute to extend the lead to 31–10 following Liam Koen's conversion.
The Iberians showed glimpses of fight when Valentino Rizzo mauled his way over the line in the 68th minute to peg the score back to 31–15. However, the missed conversion left the Iberians too far behind to mount a serious comeback.
The Griquas finished with a flurry as the Iberians completely ran out of steam. Nel secured his brace to make it 36–15, followed by a fourth try for Mahoney at 41–15, and a final siren-beater from Luke Burger with a Visagie conversion to complete the 48–15 rout.
Scorers:
Suzuki Griquas: Tries: Damian Markus, Connor Mahoney (4), Luke Burger, Thomas Nel (2). Conversions: Danrich Visagie (2), Liam Koen (2).
Iberians: Tries: Estanislao Vay, Valentino Rizzo. Conversion: Bauti Guemes. Penalty: Bauti Guemes.
Temas:
Suzuki Griquas: 1 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 2 Corne Lavagna, 3 Mango Ngundue, 4 Lungi Mbiko, 5 Derik Pretorius. 6 Phumzile Maqondwana, 7 Carel Van Der Merwe, 8 Dillon Smith, 9 Jack Hart, 10 Danrich Visagie, 11 Sako Makata, 12 Damian Markus, 13 Luke Burger, 14 Thomas Nel, 15 Connor Mahoney. Replacements: 16 Janus Venter, 17 Ntobeko Shezi, 18 Bom Louw, 19 Lourens Reinart Oosthuizen, 20 Ntsika Fisanti, 21 Caleb Abrahams, 22 Liam Koen, 23 Stefan Coetzee.
Iberians: 1 Raul Calzon, 2 Santiago Ovejero, 3 Lucas Santamaria, 4 Ignacio Pineiro, 5 Imanol Urraza, 6 Vicente Boronat, 7 Matthew Foulds, 8 Valentino Rizzo, 9 Estanislao Vay, 10 Bauti Guemes, 11 Pau Aira, 12 Alvar Gimeno, 13 Inaki Mateu, 14 Martiniano Cian, 15 John-Wessel Bell Ibe. Replacements: 16 Diego Gonzales, 17 Cristian Moreno, 18 Ariol Franch, 19 Antonio Suarez, 20 Alex Saleta, 21 Nicolas Infer Arias, 22 Yago Fernandez, 23 Gauthier Minguillon.