The Griffons are heading into a challenging few weeks in the competition. As the defending champions, they will be up for the fight this Saturday, followed by a tough away fixture against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein for the Free State derby. That said, the team from the Northern Free State will be up for the challenge, and beating them in Welkom is always easier said than done.

The Purple People Eaters, as well as the Griquas, remain unbeaten in the competition, and Saturday’s clash promises to be a thrilling encounter.

Simon Westraadt when he still played for the Griquas. Photo: Morgan Piek

The Griffons, however, will be banking on home-ground advantage. The last time they played in Welkom, they stunned the Boland Cavaliers.

Seasoned Griffons hooker Simon Westraadt, who previously also played for the Griquas, told OFM Sport that the team is confident and ready for the game, knowing it will be one of their toughest matches of the season. “This is going to be our toughest game of the season so far,” said the former Griquas player.

“We played them in a warm-up game before the SA Cup started, and it was tough down in Kimberley – we took quite a beating. I think they scored about 10 or 12 tries against us down there, but we’ve improved a lot since then. We’ve had a couple of good results over the last three weeks, and obviously, beating the Boland Cavaliers was a big game for us.

“That was the game we had targeted to win, and we pulled it off, so we were very happy about that. We’re coming off some good wins, and last week was another big one for us.

“It's easy to become complacent after a big win like the one against Boland and then underperform in a game you’re expected to win because of overconfidence. But it was good for us to put in a strong performance against the Leopards in Potch as well.

“Three back-to-back wins for us – so we’re definitely going into this game with confidence and solid preparation. We know what we’re up against; they’re not the defending champions for nothing. They haven’t lost a game in the SA Cup since it started.

The Griffons centre, Christopher Hollis, is also a former Griquas player. Photo: Morgan Piek

“For us, playing at home is a huge advantage. We know teams don’t particularly enjoy coming to Welkom to face us on our turf, and we want to use that to our benefit. Of course, we’ll need to bring physicality to the game.”

Saturday’s clash between the Griffons and Griquas at the Down Touch Investments Stadium in Welkom kicks off at 15:00.

Griffons – TBA

Griquas - 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead (captain), 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Thabo Ndimande, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Cebo Dlamini, 2 Gustav du Rand, 1 Leon Lyons

Replacements - 16 Dandré Delport, 17 Corné Lavagna, 18 Corné Weilbach, 19 Athenkosi Khethani, 20 Stephan Smit, 21 Carl Els, 22 Bobby Alexander, 23 Connor Mahoney

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg