Border Bulldogs coach Dumisani Mhani said his team would continue to fight on despite suffering another heavy loss when they went down 97-7 to the Suzuki Griquas in an SA Cup clash in Kimberley at the weekend.
The loss marked the third for the Border side after a 36-17 season-opening loss to the Griffons in Welkom before going down 57-22 to the SWD Eagles at home in KuGompo City when they capitulated in the second half after a gutsy display before the break.
While they were competitive in their loss to the Griffons away, the manner in which they succumbed against the Eagles pointed to their poor conditioning, which was ruthlessly exploited again by the marauding Griquas, who romped to 15 tries against a single one by the visiting team.
The Griquas dominated ball possession and territory, with flanker Marco de Witt again capitalising on the Bulldogs’ poor start by dotting down within seconds of the start.
The hosts scored four tries in the first half to propel themselves to a 47-0 lead going into the break.
The Bulldogs hit back after the interval when Sakhekile Dingile crossed the line with in-form flyhalf Isiphe Mbini converting.
But that only sparked Griquas back to life as they put the Bulldogs to the sword by raiding the opposition, scoring 11 tries with five of the players getting a brace.
Centre Thomas Nel grabbed his brace, while Gurshwin Wehr, Bobby Alexander, Carl Els and Sako Makata also dotted down, with kickers Zinedine Robinson and George Whitehead contributing a combined tally of 12 conversions.
Though the loss was the biggest for the Bulldogs this season, Mhani remained positive that his embattled side would turn the corner.
“We are a team in transition consisting of young players who are playing in the competition for the first time, so some will make mistakes here and there, but they are also learning,” he said.
The fact that the Bulldogs were able to register their names on the scoresheet was a small positive as they navigate their way further into the competition.
The Griquas have been in rampant form this season as they walloped the Leopards 101-7 to underline their intentions to run away with the competition.
They are perched atop the log standings in a three-horse race with the Boland Kavaliers and the Pumas, whose match against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein was called off due to inclement weather.
The Bulldogs will need to regroup ahead of their visit to fellow basement dwellers the Leopards in Potchefstroom on Saturday.
The match offers the Bulldogs an opportunity to finally register a win, as the Leopards are also struggling without a single victory this season, having lost 29-23 to the Griffons at the weekend.