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Welkom - A second-half flurry from the Griffons saw them romp to a 62-10 victory over the Limpopo Blue Bulls in their opening Vodacom Cup clash in the North Section at the Bultfontein High School in Welkom on Saturday.
The quartet of AJ le Roux, Nicky Steyn, Japie Nel and substitute Sheldon Erasmus each secured a brace of tries, with flanker Martin Sithole and winger Norman Nelson also crossing the whitewash.
The only points for the visitors came courtesy of tries from Koning Janse van Rensburg and Divan Cronje, and their scoreless second half saw them slip to a dismal defeat to start off their campaign.
The home side got on the board as early as the eighth minute, as Le Roux completed a well-worked try. However, the response was instant, as Janse van Rensburg scored three minutes later, although the subsequent missed conversion left Limpopo still trailing by two points at 7-5.
The Griffons ran in a further two tries, but Cronje's score on the stroke of half-time went a long way in keeping Limpopo in the game, as they went into the interval trailing by just nine points.
But the complexion of the game changed considerably once the players returned, as Nel claimed his first try and a bonus point for his side just one minute after the restart. Steyn then bagged his second in the 43rd minute, and at that point, the Griffons were imperious.
Limpopo were able to hold out for the following 20 minutes, but the continued defensive workload took its toll, and Sithole's try in the 61st minute opened the floodgates.
The misery for the men from the North was completed in the final five minutes, as the hosts ran in three tries to take the score well beyond the 50 point mark and condemned Limpopo to a heavy defeat.
Scorers:
Griffons
Tries: AJ le Roux (2), N Steyn (2), J Nel (2), M Sithole, S Erasmus (2), N Nelson
Conversions: T Maarman, W Pienaar (5)
Limpopo Blue Bulls
Tries: KB Janse van Rensburg, D Cronje
