Cape Town - An inspired attacking display from Griquas saw them shock Western Province with a 44-34 Currie Cup win in Kimberley on Wednesday.
Province had started as overwhelming favourites, but in the end Griquas scored five tries to secure their first win of the season.
The Cape side also scored five tries but two yellow cards cost them dearly as the home side capitalised on both occasions.
After 13 minutes, WP scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage was sent to the sin-bin for not rolling away at a ruck inside his own 22m area. Griquas made the most of their numerical advantage when Liam Hendricks scored under the posts in the 16th minute after handing off Janse van Rensburg on his way to over the tryline.
Swarts added the extras which meant the hosts held a comfortable 10-0 lead.
WP opened their account midway through the half when Kurt Coleman landed a penalty but it did not take long before the home side scored again. Ederies Arendse rounded off after some slick footwork from skipper Adriaan Coertzen in the build-up.
WP's scrum dominated throughout the game and after 35 minutes they steamrollered their opposition which allowed Nizaam Carr to score an easy try off the back of the set-piece. The visitors showed more fight during the half's latter stages and were rewarded by after the half-time hooter, when Bjorn Basson went over in the right-hand corner.
This meant the hosts led 17-15 as the teams changed sides at the interval.
The away side continued to fight and early in the second half Seabelo Senatla showed blistering pace to score a converted try.
Griquas hit back in the 44th minute through a converted Renier Botha try. Coleman then produced a great individual try by selling a dummy to one defender and handing off another, which was followed by an SP Marais score to give WP a 10-point lead at 34-24.
But poor discipline hit the away side hard again as Marais was sent off for a high tackle moments after Griquas replacement scrumhalf Tiaan Dorfling crossed for a deserved try.
The home side then produced some magic when they set off on the attack from close to their own tryline in the 63rd minute. The move was rounded off when Jonathan Adendorf broke away and popped inside to Wendal Wehr to score a sensational five-pointer.
Reserve back George Whitehead then landed two late penalties to take the game away from WP and seal a memorable win for the home side.
The result means that WP slip down to sixth on the Currie Cup log, while Griquas move up to fourth.
Scorers:
Griquas 44 (17)
Tries: Liam Hendricks, Ederies Arendse, Renier Botha, Tiaan Dorfling, Wendel Wehr
Conversions: Andre Swarts (5)
Penalties: Swarts, George Whitehead (2)
WP 34 (15)
Tries: Nizaam Carr, Bjorn Basson, Seabelo Senatla, Kurt Coleman, SP Marais
Conversions: Coleman (2), Damian Willemse
Penalty: Willemse
Teams:
Griquas
15 Adriaan Coertzen (captain), 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Tertius Kruger, 12 Jonathan Francke, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 Andre Swarts, 9 Renier Botha, 8 Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 Pieter Janse van Vuren, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 2 Marius Fourie, 1 Liam Hendricks
Substitutes: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Stephan Kotzé, 18 Jonathan Adendorf, 19 DeWet Kruger, 20 Tiaan Dorfling, 21 George Whitehead, 22 Eric Zana
Western Province
15 SP Marais, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Michal Hazner, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Steph de Wit, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Substitutes: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Michael Kumbirai, 18 Jurie van Vuuren, 19 Jaco Coetzee, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Huw Jones, 22 Damian Willemse