BIG GAME FOR EP AGAINST GRIQUAS
EP side looking for fourth consecutive win in quarterfinal against Griquas in Kimberley
ARESURGENT EP Kings side will be chasing their fourth consecutive win when they face Griquas in a SuperSport Rugby Challenge quarterfinal in Kimberley tomorrow.
Wins over the Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs and SWD Eagles allowed the Kings to reach the playoffs by ending second in the South Pool behind Western Province.
The Kings won five of the eight games they played and are building up a head of steam ahead of the business end of the competition.
The Kings will be led by No 8 Lusanda Badiyana in this key game.
After watching his team run in eight sparkling tries against Boland, EP coach Robbi Kempson will be calling for more of the same against Griquas.
Against Boland, Neil Maritz ran in a hat-trick of tries and there were two for Keanu Vers as the Kings booked their berth in the playoffs.
Other players to cross in the whitewash were Michael Willemse, Malcolm Jaer and Tango Balekille.
The momentum gained with recent wins over Boland and the Border Bulldogs will be tested by a Griquas side who are always formidable opponents at home.
Griquas booked their spot in the quarterfinals courtesy of a 49-35 victory over the Griffons at Tafel Lager Park in Kimberley
It was the Kimberley outfit’s sixth win in eight outings, which saw them secure top spot in the Central Pool ahead of the Sharks XV.
In a highly entertaining match in the Northern Cape, 12 tries were produced, with the victorious hosts claiming seven of them.
The win meant that Griquas automatically advanced to the next round, with the all-important home ground advantage in the quarterfinals.
Griquas were the pool winners, while the Kings were the runnersup.
In other quarterfinal match-ups, Western Province will host a double-header at the Green Point Track in Cape Town on Sunday.
WP were the only unbeaten side in the competition and had the most log points after the pool stages.
The Capetonians will face the Free State XV (third-placed team with second-most log points) while the Sharks (runners-up with most log points) and Blue Bulls (runners-up with second-most log points) will be in action in the first quarterfinal on Sunday.
Tomorrow, the Golden Lions XV (pool winner with second-most log points) and Pumas (third-placed team with most log points) will square off at Emirates Airline Park in a curtain-raiser to the Super Rugby match between the Lions and the Sunwolves. EP Kings: Xandre Vos, Tango Balekile, Roche van Zyl, Sintu Manjezi, Cameron Lindsay, Brandon Brown, Stefan Willemse, Lusanda Badiyana (capt), Ricky Schroeder, Pieter-Steyn de Wet, Sonwabo Majola, Waylon Murray, Stokkies Hanekom, Neil Maritz, Keanu Vers. Replacements: Robin Stevens, Lupumlo Mguca, Kevin Kaba, SF Nieuwoudt, Rouche Nel, Garrick Mattheus, Simon Bolze. Griquas: Liam Hendricks, AJ Le Roux, Nicolaas Oosthuizen, Jonathan Adendorf, Pieter Janse van Vuuren, Wendal Wehr, Sias Koen, RJ Liebenberg, Renier Botha, George Whitehead, AJ Coertzen (capt), Tertius Kruger, Koch Marx, Ederies Arendse, Eric Zana. Replacements: Marius Fourie, Ewald van der Westhuizen, FP Pelser, Devon Nash, Christiaan Meyer, Andre Swarts, Kyle Steyn. The quarterfinal lineups: Saturday: 2pm: Golden Lions XV v Steval Pumas (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg). 3pm: Griquas v EP Kings (Kimberley). Sunday: 12h45: Sharks XV v Blue Bulls (Green Point Track, Cape Town). 3pm: Western Province v Free State XV (Green Point Track, Cape Town).