Griquas hold on to see off Lions' fightback in Currie Cup thriller

Griquas have held on in their Currie Cup encounter against the Lions as they ran out 25-21 winners in a match that thrilled throughout. 

The home side dominated the opening exchanges, resulting in a try for centre Jay-Cee Nel in the 4th minute.

Flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela converted to give Griquas an early 7-0 lead.

They controlled much of the play after that opening try and extended their score to 14-0 in the 15th minute when flanker Hanru Sirgel crashed over for a converted try taking a quick penalty near the Lions' try line. 

The Lions opened their account in the 23rd minute when they were awarded a penalty try after a dominant maul rolling towards the line was stopped by an illegal infringement by Griquas winger Sako Makata.

That cut the score to 14-7 with 17 minutes left in the half as Makata spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin.

Brilliant interplay between Sirgel and No 9 Johan Mulder saw Griquas extend their lead to 19-0 in the 29th minute.

The pair exchanged passed down the left-hand touchline before Mulder showed a clean pair of heels on his way to the line.

While the game continued at breakneck speed, the teams welcomed the half-time break, with Griquas taking a 19-7 lead into the shed.

The second half saw the Lions start on the front foot, and they were first to score thanks to former Blitzbok star JC Pretorius who peeled off an attacking maul to crash over.

Tiaan Swanepoel had no problem slotting the extras as the visitors cut the Griquas' lead to 19-14 in the 49th minute. 

The Lions continued to control the second stanza and were rewarded with another try in the 57th minute as replacement Morne Brandon squeezed over for a converted score to give the visitors a 21-19 lead. 

That spurred Griquas back into action and they camped