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Lions run riot against Boland to book Currie Cup final spot

football13 September 2025 17:38| © MWP
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The Fidelity ADT Lions cruised into the Carling Currie Cup final with a ruthless 67-19 (41-5) win over the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon.

In a match where the Lions oozed pizazz and asserted their dominance with clinical switch plays and a suffocating defence, Angelo Davids stole the show, scoring four tries, including a first-half hat-trick.

From two minutes in, when Davids dotted over his first of four tries, it was clear that the Lions were not playing courteous hosts.

That point was hammered home with three more tries in the first 23 minutes.

Henco van Wyk scored a brace and SJ Kotze - the big loosehead prop - brought the house down with a sidestep that left defenders getting a taste of the Ellis Park turf.

By the standards of the match, a relatively subdued ten-minute spell followed and, despite Sidney Tobias adding solace for Boland when he crossed over from a powerful maul, the Lions were relentless in their audacity.

Davids ended the first half by plucking the ball out of the air, as if his hands and the ball had a magnetic attraction.

Boland’s misery was compounded at the start of the second half with James Tedder sin-binned for a deliberate knock down, gifting the hosts seven points thanks to the awarded penalty try.

And, of course, Davids was still not done. He added his fourth try of the match, and eighth of the season, by pouncing on a pinpoint chip kick from Smith, who seemed to have a direct line to Davids’ instinct.

The conversion was missed, but the damage was long done.

There were some late flashes of resistance from Boland. Jayden Bantom scored a superb solo try, chipping over the top and regathering to dot down, and Chriswill September added another later on to make the scoreboard look slightly more respectable.

But whatever Boland were going to do, the Lions always had a response.

Quan Horn wriggled through a vice grip to score under the posts to respond to Bantom’s effort while Renzo du Plessis woke up when September came knocking, sealing a 67-19 win.

With a ten-year Currie Cup drought and last year’s final loss haunting them, this performance suggests that the Lions are not just chasing redemption, they are demanding it through equal measures of ruthlessness and radiance.

© By Antoinette Muller

Scorers:

Fidelity ADT Lions – Tries: Angelo Davids (4), Henco van Wyk (2), SJ Kotze, Quan Horn, Renzo du Plessis, Penalty try; Conversions: Chris Smith (6); Penalties: Smith.

Sanlam Boland Kavaliers – Tries: Sidney Tobias, Jayden Bantom, Chriswill September; Conversions: James Tedder, Juan Mostert.

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