The Gauteng outfit built up an encouraging 19-7 halftime lead, but they had to dig deep in a competitive second half to seal the victory after Tafel Lager Griquas secured their bonus-point try and took the lead with 10 minutes to play. 

Reynolds' first penalty goal, in the 74^th minute, pushed them into the lead and they managed to hold onto that for the win. Tafel Lager Griquas booked their place in the top four last week.

The Xerox Golden Lions made a strong statement from the outset as they retained possession and attacked at will, which earned them three first-half tries to one by the hosts, and another in the second half, with Stean Pienaar (wing) scoring a brace.

Pienaar struck first in the seventh minute as he gathered an intercept at his bootlaces to dash to the tryline, and in-form fullback Tyrone Green added their second try minutes later as he ran out wide and snuck through two defenders at pace.

The visitors continued to dominate on attack as the half progressed and their efforts paid off as Madosh Tambwe (winger) received a great pass by Green and made his way over the tryline to push the side 19-0 ahead.

Tafel Lager Griquas finally broke through for their first points of the match on the stroke of halftime thanks to a try by flanker Gideon van der Merwe from an effective rolling maul, which saw them enter the break 19-7 down.

The hosts built on this 11 minutes into the second half with another strong rolling maul steering hooker AJ le Roux over the tryline, which allowed them to reduce their deficit to five points.

They added their third try of the match several minutes later as replacement hooker Wilmar Arnoldi powered his way over a defender to touch down after some good patience on attack by the team, and flyhalf George Whitehead’s third conversion nudged them into a 21-19 lead.

This, however, was short-lived as Pienaar showed his class for his second try as he navigated his way through and around the Tafel Lager Griquas defence, which pushed them back into a narrow lead.

The Tafel Lager Griquas refused to lie down, with Van der Merwe using his pace after receiving the ball following a great break in the middle of the field, which saw them take a two-point lead with 10 minutes to play.

But Reynolds had the last say with the penalty goal that pushed the visitors into a 27-26 lead with five minutes to play, and they held onto the ball in the dying minutes to seal the win. 

Scorers:

Tafel Lager Griquas 26 (7) – Tries: Gideon van der Merwe (2), AJ le Roux, Wilmar Arnoldi. Conversions: George Whitehead (2), Chriswill September.

Xerox Golden Lions 27 (19) - Tries: Stean Pienaar (2), Tyrone Green, Madosh Tambwe. Conversions: Shaun Reynolds (2). Penalty Goal: Shaun Reynolds.