Griquas Top Cheetahs Again in Tense Kimberley Currie Cup Clash

Griquas top Cheetahs again — and this time it felt entirely deserved. A hard-fought 24-21 victory at Suzuki Stadium in Kimberley keeps the home side firmly in the mix in this Currie Cup campaign, and from where I was watching, the Cheetahs never truly found an answer to Griquas' relentless pressure across both halves.

Having played the game at the highest level for over a decade, I know what it takes to grind out a win like this — and Griquas ground it out. Five tries scored, two yellow cards conceded by the visitors, and a scoreline that flatters the Cheetahs slightly when you consider how this one unfolded.

Currie Cup · Full-time

Griquas 24   Cheetahs 21

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A fast start that set the tone

The Cheetahs drew first blood through Simon Miller, with Cohen Jasper converting to put the visitors 7-0 up early. But Griquas responded with real purpose. Tiaan Lange crossed for his first try of the afternoon, George Whitehead adding the conversion, before Carl Els and Bobby Alexander both dotted down to swing the momentum emphatically in the home side's favour. By the time Faf de Klerk picked up a yellow card for the Cheetahs before the break, the writing was already starting to appear on the wall.

Tiaan Lange — an absolute machine

I have to talk about Tiaan Lange, because I am genuinely excited about this young man. He was an absolute machine from start to finish. His work rate was unbelievable — the kind of engine that you simply cannot coach into a player, they either have it or they don't, and Lange clearly has it in abundance. He came back in the second half and scored again, with Whitehead converting, and those two tries were the backbone of Griquas' win. As a former No. 8 myself, I watch back-row forwards with a very particular eye, and Lange has something special. I am really excited to see where his career takes him — players with that combination of physicality, skill and relentless effort do not stay under the radar for long.

Cheetahs fight back but come up short

Credit where it is due — the Cheetahs did not lie down. Marko Janse van Rensburg crossed in the second half, Jasper converting, and then Prince Nkabinde added a further try with Jasper again slotting the extras to make it a genuine contest at 24-21. For a moment it looked as though the visitors might snatch something from this. But Juan Venter's yellow card — the Cheetahs' second of the afternoon — effectively ended any chance of a late comeback. You simply cannot keep gifting the opposition a numerical advantage and expect to win away from home. Discipline cost the Cheetahs this game as much as anything else.

What this means going forward

Griquas top Cheetahs again, and there is a growing sense that this Kimberley outfit has the character and the personnel to be a genuine force in this Currie Cup. The Cheetahs, meanwhile, need a serious conversation about their discipline — two yellow cards in one match is a pattern that will derail a season if it is not addressed urgently. For me, though, the story of the afternoon is Tiaan Lange. Watch that name closely. If he keeps producing performances like this, it will not be long before the bigger franchises start taking a very hard look at him — and I for one would not blame them.

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