They became the first Griquas side to win back-to-back Currie Cup titles after edging the Pumas 23-16 in a tense and gruelling final on Saturday.

And fittingly, it took a late surge of power, courage and composure to get the job done. With the scores locked at 16-16 and just five minutes remaining, fiery hooker Janco Uys crashed over for the decisive try to send the home crowd into delirium.

Albert Liebenberg. Photo: Morgan Piek

For 75 minutes, neither side was prepared to blink. The Pumas threw everything at the defending champions, while the Griquas repeatedly had to dig deep to keep their title defence alive.

But when the biggest moments arrived, the Griquas delivered.

There were several crucial turning points in the closing stages, none bigger than flyhalf George Whitehead’s long-range penalty in the 70th minute.

The Griquas had been awarded the opportunity from more than 55 metres out, and Whitehead made no mistake, calmly splitting the uprights to put his side back in front.

George Whitehead’s 55m penalty. Photo: Morgan Piek

The Pumas responded almost immediately to level the scores, setting up a grandstand finish. Then Whitehead, playing his 150th game for the Griquas, produced another moment of class.

His perfectly executed 50-22 kick put the Griquas deep in Pumas territory and handed the home side the platform they needed.

What followed was arguably the most important maul of the Griquas’ season.

The forwards went to work, driving relentlessly towards the Pumas’ tryline before Uys found the gap and powered over. The stadium erupted.

The final whistle moments later confirmed what the Kimberley faithful had dared to dream about: the Currie Cup was staying at home.

For captain Albert Liebenberg, the victory was the culmination of a season in which the Griquas deliberately set out to transform themselves from a good side into a great one.

Speaking to OFM Sport after the final, Liebenberg said the team had refused to be defined by its early-season setbacks.

“What a game. I think if you take our first game against Province or the Stormers, people wrote us off, like, ‘Oh no, these guys aren’t going to make it.”

Janco Uys’ match-winning try. Photo: Morgan Piek

But rather than allowing the criticism to derail them, the Griquas used it as motivation. “And then we just shifted gears. We wanted to go from good to great, and that means we have to win again.”

That phrase became the team’s mantra throughout the campaign.

“That defined us. Coach Piet came up with that slogan, and we ran with it this whole year. It’s quite an important thing, and we built on game on game to dominate teams. That was the way we played.”

And ultimately, that journey took them all the way to a Currie Cup final in their own backyard. “That brought us to the final, that brought us to the final in Kimberley, and how we got the victory.”

For Liebenberg and his teammates, however, Saturday’s triumph was about much more than another trophy. It was about delivering on a promise to the people of Kimberley.

“We promised Kimberley we’ll bring them the final here, especially when we won it on Ellis Park, and that’s what we did. We delivered for the people, and the people showed up. It’s a full stadium, packed.”

The support was impossible to miss. Supporters travelled from across the Northern Cape to fill the stadium, turning the Currie Cup final into a celebration of Griquas rugby and the wider Kimberley community.

“That’s what you want in Kimberley. People from far, the whole Northern Cape, people came in and wanted to support the boys, and that's what they did.”

Tiaan Lange was the leading try-scorer in the Currie Cup. Photo: Morgan Piek

And that, Liebenberg said, made the victory even more special. “And so that’s why we celebrate with them. It’s, especially to us, for us, it’s for them the same.”

For head coach Pieter Bergh, the significance of the moment was equally profound. The coach admitted he became emotional after the final whistle because the scenes unfolding before him were exactly what he had dreamed of.

“You know, when I did a TV interview afterwards, I was very emotional because this scene here tonight after the final whistle was what I dreamed of, you know?”

Dylan Maart played in his 49th and last game for the Griquas. Photo: Morgan Piek

Bergh knows only too well how much the result meant to the people of Kimberley.

The disappointment of 2022 still lingers, while the Griquas’ defeat in the SA Cup final earlier this year had provided another painful reminder of how desperately the community wanted a major victory on home soil.

“People were so disappointed after 2022, myself included, and then this year’s SA Cup final, the crowd came in; it was a sold-out stadium for the SA Cup final, and we couldn’t give the victory to them.”

That made Saturday’s triumph all the more satisfying. “And it was just my dream, ever since last year’s Currie Cup final when we came back. It was my dream to give these people a Currie Cup win in Kimberley.”

Mnombo Zwelendaba. Photo: Morgan Piek

The Griquas had already made history by winning their first Currie Cup title in 55 years last season. But doing it again, and doing it at home, took the achievement to another level.

“It was special last year, first time in 55 years, but to do it in Kimberley in front of them was a dream, you know? I was taken from the coach’s box after the final whistle, just to remember it for myself, you know. It’s just, yeah, it’s just amazing.”

The achievement also gave Bergh the answer to a question he had been asking of his players all season. Could they turn a good team into a great one? His answer was emphatic.

Griquas supporters. Photo: Morgan Piek

“I told the players, and Albert touched on it now, our slogan from the beginning of the year was ‘good to great’, and I believe we’re a good team, but if you want to be known as a great team, you need to go back-to-back.”

The players did exactly that. “For the guys to do that, you know, it’s been incredible.”

And despite the celebrations barely having subsided, Bergh already has his eyes on the next challenge.

“What’s next? Yeah, got to go three in a row now.” That confidence tells its own story.

Monty Engelbrecht and André Markgraaf. Markgraaf has given the team R500,000 again for winning the Currie Cup. Photo: Morgan Piek

The 2026 Suzuki Griquas have now joined the 1970 champions in the history books as a side that lifted the Currie Cup on home soil.

But this group has the opportunity to build something even greater.

The legendary 1970 side remains the benchmark of Griquas rugby, but after back-to-back Currie Cup triumphs, Bergh and his players have earned the right to be part of that conversation.

The debate over the greatest Griquas team of all time may have just begun.

What is no longer up for debate is this: the Griquas are no longer simply a good team. They have gone from good to great.

 OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg