Whitehead final shiner a metaphor for victorious Griquas’ past SRC struggles

In a way, it was fitting that Tafel Lager Griquas captain George Whitehead was sporting a black eye in the immediate aftermath of their maiden SuperSport Rugby Challenge win – few relationships have been as abusive as that of the Kimberley side and this tournament.

Before yesterday’s 28-13 victory over the defending champion Pumas in the competition’s final at the Saldanha Sports Ground, Whitehead had been part of the two heartbreaks disguised as finals in the two preceding years.

Owing to the fact that they run the show on the field, few people take defeats more personally than flyhalves do, so to say Whitehead was a relieved man was an understatement, even though the experience appears to have turned him philosophical.

"It’s not nice losing in a final," began Whitehead, on whose educated boot the Griquas game is based. "But I guess success isn’t always winning a final, it’s how you play, how you live your life – obviously winning the final is a great reward."

For all the angst of turning up at a third successive final, against a team which had beaten them in last year’s final and in the round-robin stages, Whitehead – who scored 13 points in the game via three penalties and two conversions – said Griquas hadn’t gone into the final with the apprehension one would have expected.

"We knew we weren’t going to be defined by winning a final, we just wanted to play effective rugby, enjoy the game and allow our talent to come out on the field, it paid dividends today."

Whitehead claimed that the moment Pumas edged to within eight points of them at 21-13 with 12 minutes left, they were not reminded of last year, when they had a similar lead with four minutes remaining and lost after they conceded a converted try and a drop-goal in the last minute of the game.

"I don’t think there was any doubt at all,” he explained. "I think we were a bit lucky with that (72nd minute) penalty that was overturned. There was a little bit of a momentum shift there, but the guys stuck to their task and I’m very proud of them."

Whitehead attributed the change in Griquas’ fortunes to a few things: "We’ve got a bigger squad this year, improved structures, obviously we’ve got a new coach (in former Pumas coach Brent Janse van Rensburg) and we’ve got a hardworking ethic and new values."