Rising stars in the Griquas ranks

With the 1st weekend of the 2009 Currie Cup Competition having come and gone, the Griquas top the log with thier bonus point win over the FS Cheetahs.

The Griquas will hope to carry their form in the first game through to the end of the competition, but it has to be said that the hard men from Kimberly will find it difficult to be any kind of contender for the cup, come the bussiness end of the competition. This team should however never be discounted on a game to game basis, especially when playing on the hard field of their home ground.

The Griquas have had some talented players plying their trade in Kimberly in the past, most recently, Zane Kirchner. As is the nature of the game though, those players quickly get snatched up by the larger unions.

Their are still a few exciting players to look out for in the Griquas team though. In my opinion, the two that stand out the most at this point are:

Forwards: Jonathan Mokuena

Jonathan Mokuena is an accomplished Springbok sevens star, having captained the team in the past. He is also the current Griquas captain. At 1.87m tall and 100kg, this powerful flanker is no slouch on the rugby field. Mokuena is dangerous, both in broken play and at the breakdown. He is no stranger to the 15 man game either. I’m interested to see how he plays in this years Currie Cup.

Backs: Sarel Pretorius

Sarel Pretorius was perhaps the spark in the team that lead to the Griquas superb win at the weekend. Having been yellow carded early in the game, the Cheetahs scored three tries in 19 minutes upon his return to the pitch. Pretorius was one of the key players in the Royal XV team that gave the B&I Lions a good run for their money earlier in the year. At 1.74m tall and 85kg, and having previously represented the Emerging Springboks in the Nations Cup, I feel it’s a matter of time before Sarel Pretorius is snatched up by one of the larger unions.

Keep a watchfull eye on these two rising stars.