JOHANNESBURG: Griquas stunned defending champions Golden Lions and Sharks replaced Free State Cheetahs as league leaders in the third round of the South African Currie Cup this weekend.
Going down 30-24 in Kimberley was a rude awakening for the Lions, who won all 12 matches last year to lift the trophy while Griquas lost nine of 10 to finish bottom.
A bonus-point 41-20 victory for Sharks at Boland Cavaliers created a one-point lead over Cheetahs, who triumphed 32-25 at Western Province.
Blue Bulls got on top in the second half to defeat visiting Eastern Province Kings 49-35 in a 12-try feast while Pumas had a bye in the nine-team competition.
Once difficult to beat at home, Griquas have been unable to retain their best players and coaches in recent years and visiting sides have found victories much easier to achieve in Kimberley.
Although short of nine stars on Springbok duty in the Rugby Championship, Lions were expected to win comfortably after scoring 68 points last weekend.
But after hooker Akker van der Merwe scored a try to give the Johannesburg outfit an early seven-point advantage, Griquas hit back hard.
They built a 13-point advantage, led 20-12 at half-time and, after Lions came within a point, Griquas scrum-half Poerie van Rooyen dived over after taking a quick tap penalty.
A penalty by replacement fly-half Andre Swarts stretched the lead to 11 points before substitute forward Corne Fourie closed the scoring with a try for the Lions.
"Griquas were better than us," conceded Lions skipper and centre Howard Mnisi, who once played for the Kimberley outfit.
"We did not retain possession enough and showed only glimpses of the form that won us the Currie Cup last season."
A powerful first-half showing set up Sharks for victory as they turned over 29-3 ahead at Wellington near Cape Town.
Among the try scorers for the Durban outfit was centre Andre Esterhuizen, his third in as many Currie Cup matches.
Fly-half Fred Zeilinga kicked six penalties and two conversions as Cheetahs overcame a 18-13 half-time deficit to succeed and keep Province winless after an earlier loss at Bulls.
Province outscored Cheetahs by three tries to two, with Scotland centre Huw Jones among those who crossed the line for the Cape Town side, but the 22 points of Zeilinga proved decisive.
Bulls fly-half Tian Schoeman was another goal-kicker in sparkling form, converting all seven tries in Pretoria, including his own.
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