EP must hang tough if they want to defy odds against Griquas

EP’s Elephants must hang tough and stay in the fight for as long as possible if they want to defy the odds and pull off an upset win over Griquas in an SA Cup clash in Gqeberha on Saturday.

The Elephants cannot afford a slow start against a livewire Griquas outfit who will pounce on every opportunity at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (kickoff 5pm). The high-flying Kimberley outfit are unbeaten after five matches and have a full house of 25 log points after running in 53 tries.

EP have won only one of their opening five matches and are in eighth spot on the 10-team log. In a bid to galvanise home crowd support, EPRU Grand Challenge club rugby matches have been put on hold in a bid to boost Saturday’s attendance.

“Griquas have a big pack and we can expect an onslaught up front,” EP coach Allister Coetzee said. “EP have not been overpowered up front by any of the big teams we have played in the SA Cup.

“The challenge against Griquas is that they play with a lot of width and they will test us defensively because they have sprinters out wide. Griquas have a very quick back three, so we will be tested there. We know Griquas are a good side, but it is our home game and we will give it our best shot.”

EP Elephants coach Allister Coetzee (The Herald)

EP have yet to win at home this season after defeats against the Falcons and SWD Eagles and Coetzee is desperate to reverse that trend.

“In the second half we put the squeeze on the Leopards in Potchefstroom and EP were very good at cutting out mistakes,” he said. “We were clinical in scoring back-to-back tries in the second half and EP were also good at mauling, and we scored three tries from that.

“I was happy with the win and the performance delivered by the guys. It was an important victory, and we have to build on it against Griquas. The game against the Leopards showed the character of this EP team to always fight to the end.”

Griquas coach Pieter Bergh has warned his team EP will be a tough nut to crack on their home turf.

“EP are a better team than the log maybe suggests. They were 17-0 down against the Leopards away from home this past weekend and came back to score 43 points and win comfortably,” he said.

Playing away from home in a 5pm game in Gqeberha, if you’re not switched on they have the players, coaches and systems to hurt you. We have to make sure we’re ready for that
— Pieter Bergh, Griquas coach

“They’ll take a lot of confidence from that comeback. They also have an experienced international coaching staff with Allister Coetzee and [forwards coach] Matt Proudfoot. You can see the structure they have and the improvements they’ve made.

“Playing away from home in a 5pm game in Gqeberha, if you’re not switched on they have the players, coaches and systems to hurt you. We have to make sure we’re ready for that.

“Griquas do have a few injuries this week so we had to make a few changes. After a hard, physical game against Boland it’s always good to bring in some fresh faces and energy.

“Tiaan Lange is being rested after doing really well for us. Keagan Blackenberg has also been working incredibly hard and he deserves this opportunity. He joined us from Western Province and he’s really enjoying it here.”