Rob Houwing – Sport24 Chief Writer

Right up to their thrilling 33-32 triumph over Western Province a few days ago, which made it a fairytale five out of five in the Currie Cup, I’d been amusing – or was it bemusing? – my Sport24 colleagues with my theory that log-leaders Griquas might yet “do a Hull City”.

In other words, a runaway start as surprise giant-killers of domestic rugby could yet crumple into, if not a dogfight against relegation, then at least failure to crack the semi-finals.

Premiership rookies Hull, for the benefit of those who may not follow English football religiously, shocked many comers in the early stages of last season, storming to the top of the table or thereabouts from August to October. Their boss Phil Brown was predictably named manager-of-the-month for September.

But by Christmas things were beginning to seriously unravel, to the extent that Hull eventually avoided relegation by the very skin of their teeth and could not win one of their last 10 matches.

There are certain parallels, even if Griquas are hardly “newly promoted” material in Currie Cup terms. The Kimberley crew have made a runaway start, leading the standings by five points from the Sharks at present, with Dawie Theron deservedly coach-of-the-month for July.

Already Griquas boast the scalps of three Super 14 franchises in the Cheetahs, Lions and now Province. And with 23 points to their credit, including three bonus points, they have already eclipsed their entire, 14-match tally of 19 from 2008, when they ended sixth out of the eight teams.

The nail-biting triumph against a WP team resurgent in certain areas – notably the once-powder-puff pack – served compelling notice that Griquas have the “bottle”, a truly team dynamic, willingness to get their hands and knees dirty, and a sprinkling of individuals like booming-booted fullback Riaan Viljoen, left wing tornado Bjorn Basson and slippery scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius, with real game-breaking qualities at times.

Also worthy of applause is their overall commitment to enterprise, headlined by a penchant for fast-paced counter-attack: it is nice to see a team not obsessively banging the ball up into the heavens in a “hoof and hope” endeavour.

Their own forwards are workmanlike, with a well-organised lineout and energetic leadership and open-play presence from Jonathan Mokuena … even if you wonder about the competence of a scrum featuring a fellow named “Buckle” at loose-head.

Jokes aside, though, Griquas are a XV who believe in themselves and play proudly and defiantly for each other. SuperSport commentator Bob Skinstad made the point, too, that they look smartly conditioned.

For all that, a nagging part of me wonders whether they can sustain all the way to the semis – even if week after week my “Hull” theory is getting more monotonous and seemingly tenuous.

There is still plenty of work to be done, after all, with nine rounds to go and now the Bulls, last year’s runners-up, to be downed in Kimberley this Saturday. A flu bug has apparently made an unwelcome appearance in the Griquas camp and that – plus the inevitable injuries — can be especially worrisome when you have limited squad depth.

Perhaps it’s time I finally learnt my lesson and backed the home win in the again-televised fixture this weekend. But you know what? If my life depended on it, I’d go with the Bulls!

A first defeat has to come some time, and a big challenge when “David” has finally been given a bloody nose by a Goliath is the ability to recapture prior momentum. Yes, the risk of a Griquas freefall cannot entirely be dismissed yet, I feel.

Remember that at the business end of the Currie Cup certain sides will benefit from likely mass infusions of Springboks — and Griquas’ contribution to the current Bok squad cause is a round zero.

The Tri-Nations ends for South Africa on September 12 in Hamilton, and round 11 of the Currie Cup comes a week later. Griquas’ last four outings? Lions at home, WP away, Bulls away and Sharks at home: they might find that their run-in rather extinguishes the romance for them.

So the next few weeks could be vital in their quest to rack up the requisite number of points to make the semis cut. For the record, the Lions sneaked into fourth last season with 41 points, so Griquas’ task is far from complete, and certain opponents will be wiser and warier as they square up a second time.

It is tempting to contemplate whether their early success this season is a good or bad sign for South African rugby. It could be interpreted as disturbing because certain big unions are perhaps too significantly weakened by Bok absences, but an opposite view might be that a flourishing minnow or “platteland” union indicates that power is better spread around the nation than we may have imagined.

Certainly in New Zealand, where the Air New Zealand Cup is admittedly in its infancy, they are generally viewing as a positive the fact that three smaller outfits – Bay of Plenty, Southland and Hawke’s Bay – lie among the top four on the table, having cheekily knocked over some “Super 14 franchises” similarly missing key All Blacks at present.

If Griquas do drop dramatically off the title-hunt radar, my “I told you so” trumpet will be reasonably muted, I promise.

Because I like what is happening in the Northern Cape. And a “good little ‘un” remains a delightful aspect of team sport the world over …

Rob Houwing is Sport24’s chief writer