DHL Western Province scored four tries, but went down 37-29 in a hard-fought Carling Currie Cup clash against the Suzuki Griquas in Kimberley on Friday.
It was the last match of the season for both teams and produced some entertaining rugby throughout, with the Suzuki Griquas finishing strong to take the win in the end.
The home side started with real intent and forced DHL Western Province to defend for long periods.
They were rewarded with a penalty and a try from wing Dylan Maart, which also saw Luke Burger shown a yellow card for an illegal tackle.
DHL Western Province got on the scoreboard with a penalty from Jurie Matthee, but Suzuki Griquas responded with a second try from lock Dylan Sjoblom, who scored from a line-out.
The visitors put their heads down and made use of their attacking line-out, with Marcel Theunissen scoring after an accurate back-ball from hooker Joseph Dweba.
Another clean line-out saw a break in midfield from Suleiman Hartzenberg, who found his skipper Dan du Plessis on his inside for the second try.
Suzuki Griquas kicked a second penalty just before half-time, which gave them a 20-15 advantage at the break.
DHL Western Province took the lead for the first time when Du Plessis claimed a cross-kick from Matthee and went over for his second try, but the see-saw battle continued as Suzuki Griquas responded with a try from their captain Marco de Witt.
A try from replacement centre Damian Markus looked to have sealed the win for the visitors, but the hosts finished strong with a late try and a penalty to claim the win.
The scorers:
For DHL WP:
Tries: Theunissen, Du Plessis 2, Markus
Cons: Matthee 3
Pen: Matthee
For Suzuki Griquas:
Tries: Maart, Sjoblom, De Witt, Alexander
Cons: Robinson 4
Pens: Robinson 3
DHL Western Province: 15 Luke Burger, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Dan du Plessis (captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Louw Nel, 7 Dave Ewers, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Wandisile Simelane, 23 Damian Markus.