The last time Griquas played a Currie Cup final it ended in tears
Griquas are back in the final after a surprise win against Northern Transvaal 52 years ago
Mannetjies Roux turned 83 in April and apologises for a memory he says is fading. But there is nothing faulty about his recall of a Saturday 52 years ago — on September 26 1970 — when he led Griquas to victory over Northern Transvaal in the Currie Cup rugby final in Kimberley — a triumph they said would never be repeated. This Saturday Griquas could prove those sceptics wrong.
Roux, about whom many remain lyrical even now, was carried off the field that day on the shoulders of the Kimberley faithful after an 11-9 win that was as unexpected as it was emphatic. Northern Transvaal, not yet in their Blue Bull guise, had swaggered into the city the day before, all ready to make the next day’s confrontation with the local selection a mere formality. For them it would end in tears, in one case literally...
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