Griquas have yet to assess the readiness of several key players who were confined to the sidelines due to various injuries.
THE TAFEL Lager Griquas will in all likelihood retain an unchanged squad to run on field in their third match of the Carling Currie Cup series when they clash with Airlink Pumas whom they host at Tafel Lager Park in Kimberley next Wednesday.
Griquas Operations manager Lance Salter said this was a likely scenario as Griquas have yet to assess the readiness of several key players who were confined to the sidelines due to various injuries.
Speaking to the DFA after the squad’s practice session on Thursday Salter said: “We are only playing in six days’ time so we have about a week to go. We will reassess the players (fitness) on Saturday and only then will we know in what state of physical fitness they are.”
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💪 First home fixture coming up !
📍 Tafel Lager Park, Kby !
Tafel Lager Griquas will host the Pumas on 02 Feb 2022 – kick off at 15:30.#TafelLager #CarlingCurrieCup pic.twitter.com/R9hsJKa8dT— Griquas Rugby (@GriquasRugby) January 12, 2022
Griquas tackled all opposition in this season’s opening two games without the reliable services of flyhalf George Whitehead. The latter was among a half a dozen players laid low by injury and so missed out on the initial games.
Griquas had confined several players to the recovery room including Whitehead, Hanru Sirgel, Andrew Beerwinkel, Ja-Cee Nel, Carl Els, André Swarts, Luyolo Dapula and Cameron Lindsay.
However, the high number of unavailable players has not bothered Griquas head coach Pieter Bergh who had taken the opportunity to give about a dozen debutants run-on opportunities for this series.
ALSO READ: Griquas announce new coaching team
In fact the Griquas coach went as far as picking as many rookies for their opening game against neighbours the Toyota Cheetahs as veteran players. The 30-20 end result from that game did nothing to deter the strategy of fielding rookies in the follow-up game against the Cell C Sharks.
In that game which was also away to the Sharks, more of the Griquas rookies made it into the starting line-up again. In this game Griquas struggled in the difficult weather conditions at the coast.
ALSO READ: Sharks show their depth against Griquas
The scoreline says the Sharks were lucky not to have defaulted to their perennial status of whipping boys to the Diamond Fields team, instead they came up tops with the slightest of margins 24-23 against the Peacock Blues.
Airlink Pumas are about as evenly matched in the profile statistics as Griquas in terms of wins and losses against each other. The Griquas hopeful are banking on their team getting its first win in the series by skinning the Pumas.
ALSO READ: ‘New’ Griquas primed and ready for Currie Cup campaign
The visiting Pumas have bagged one win from two matches. They sit snugly on the table behind leaders Vodacom Bulls who brooked no opposition and took home all match points on offer for a 10-point stand on the rankings.
Next Wednesday’s game at Tafel Lager Park could significantly change the log fortunes of both teams should Griquas take advantage of their homebase.
The match starts at 3.30pm.
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💥 Tafel Lager Griquas vs. Airlink Pumas
📍 Tafel Lager Park
⌚ 02 Feb 2022 – 15:30Personal Info will be requested upon sale and entry – this is not personal, it is the law ! pic.twitter.com/CEnbpSOuCL
— Griquas Rugby (@GriquasRugby) January 27, 2022
