29 September 2026
The Suzuki Griquas unleashed a devastating attacking masterclass to blow past Lusitanos 59-19 in a high-octane encounter. The South African side dominated from the opening whistle, exploiting gaps with blistering pace and clinical execution.
The Griquas ignited the scoreboard in the very first minute as JC Mars sliced through the defence for a lightning-fast try, converted smoothly by Liam Koen. Moments later, Sako Makata turned on the burners to cross the whitewash in the 5th and 15th minutes, rapidly stretching the lead to 19-0. Connor Mahoney then capitalised on relentless pressure to crash over in the 26th minute, leaving the Portuguese outfit reeling.
Refusing to surrender, Lusitanos ignited a spirited revival before the break. Maximilien Coutts barged over in the 30th minute to break the duck, followed closely by a gritty Joao Granate score that clawed the deficit back to 26-12. However, their momentum suffered a massive blow just before halftime when Abel da Cunha was sent to the sin bin with a yellow card.
Lusitanos struck first after the interval with a defiant Tomas Moreno Amado try, converted by Aubry Hugo to close the gap to seven points. The Griquas answered immediately, ruthless against the 14-man defence as Janus Venter and Caleb Abrahams crossed in quick succession to re-establish total control.
The final ten minutes turned into a procession as the Griquas exploited a tiring defensive line. Jack Hart pierced through to score in the 70th minute before powerhouse forward Marco De Witt rounded off the clinical performance, bagging a late brace of tries to seal the emphatic 59-19 victory.
Scorers:
Lusitanos: Tries: Tomas Moreno Amado, Maximilien Coutts, Joao Granate. Conversions: Aubry Hugo (2).
Suzuki Griquas: Tries: Sako Makata (2), Jack Hart, Janus Venter, Caleb Abrahams, Marco De Witt (2), Connor Mahoney, JC Mars. Conversions: Danrich Visagie (2), Liam Koen (5).
Teams:
Lusitanos: 1 Abel Da Cunha, 2 Nuno Mascarenhas, 3 Antonio Prim Da Costa, 4 Antonio Rebelo Andrade, 5 Martim Bello, 6 Guilherme Miguel Costa, 7 Francisco De Almeida, 8 Joao Granate, 9 Tomas Moreno Amado, 10 Aubry Hugo, 11 Jordan Lee Bacon, 12 Tomas Appleton, 13 Vasco Durao, 14 Maximilien Coutts, 15 Tomas De Barros Batista. Replacements: 16 Andre Bardizy, 17 Pedro Gaspar Vicente, 18 Jose Filipe Burne Filipe, 19 Pedro Ferreira, 20 Luis Carlos Avides Moreira, 21 Jose Monteiro, 22 Pedro Lucas, 23 Martim Dias.
Suzuki Griquas: 1 Corne Lavagna, 2 Janus Venter, 3 Bom Louw, 4 Lungi Mbiko, 5 Derik Pretorius, 6 Phumzile Maqondwana, 7 Carel Van Der Merwe, 8 Dillon Smith, 9 Caleb Abrahams, 10 Liam Koen, 11 Sako Makata, 12 Damian Markus, 13 Thomas Nel, 14 Connor Mahoney, 15 JC Mars. Replacements: 16 Willem Van Den Hever, 17 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 18 Mango Ngundue, 19 Marco De Witt, 20 Ntsika Fisanti, 21 Jack Hart, 22 Danrich Visagie, 23 Luke Burger.