The Griquas, the defending champions, have never lost in the competition, but the Purple People Eaters are backing themselves to change that. Additionally, Welkom is one of the toughest venues to secure a win, and the Griffons will be looking to make their home-ground advantage count.

Griffons centre Christopher Hollis, who previously played for the Peacock Blues, told OFM Sport that the team is in a very good space.

Captain Duan Pretorius. Photo: Morgan Piek

“They’re in great form at the moment – they’re the defending champions and are coming off big wins against both the Leopards and Border, including putting 100 points on Border,” said Hollis.

“That being said, we’ve also had some good results go our way. We started with a bonus-point win against Border, followed by a solid performance against Boland, which was a special game for the guys.

“Now, coming off our match against the Leopards and heading into the Griquas clash, we’re feeling confident. We played them a few months ago in the Currie Cup, and the result didn’t go our way. We didn’t play the way we wanted to, but four or five months later, we’re in a much better position. The team is in a good space, we’re feeling more confident, and we know we’ll have to play well.

“We expect their forwards to bring a lot of physicality, a strong kicking game, and pace out wide. But we feel ready, and I’m really excited for the game. Hopefully, we can give the fans something to cheer about.”

Saturday’s highly anticipated game 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