CURRIE CUP WRAP: Cheetahs take pole position

The past weekend delivered another round of thrilling Carling Currie Cup Premier Division action, headlined by the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers, who secured their third win of the campaign by defeating the Vodacom Bulls 28-20 on Sunday in Wellington, while there were also important victories for the Fidelity ADT Lions, Toyota Cheetahs, and Suzuki Griquas.

Griquas saw off a spirited challenge from the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV to run out 26-17 winners in Kimberley on Friday. On Saturday in Nelspruit, the Lions edged the Pumas 36-35, while DHL Western Province went down 31-24 to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

With the single-round competition now past the halfway stage, the Cheetahs have moved into pole position with 16 league points, the same amount as second-placed Boland, who have a slightly weaker points differential.

Griquas and the Lions each have 15 points and three wins to their credit – the same number of victories as the Cheetahs and Boland. The top four are followed by the Pumas (13 points), Bulls (10 points), and WP and the Sharks XV, who both have a single point and are still winless after four rounds.

Suzuki Griquas continued their impressive home form, securing a hard-fought 26-17 victory over the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV at the Suzuki Stadium in Kimberley on Friday. This win, clinched with four tries to two, marked Griquas' third triumph – all at home – in four league outings.

The Sharks XV took an early lead with a penalty goal from Junior Bok flyhalf Vusi Moyo in the 14th minute, but Griquas responded with a try from Caleb Abrahams, converted by George Whitehead, to nudge ahead 7-3, while the visitors’ Nick Hatton was in the sin bin.

Moyo’s SA Under-20 halfback partner Ceano Everson then managed to score a try, converted by Moyo, to give them a 10-7 halftime lead.

Griquas ramped up the pressure in the second half, with Lourens Oosthuizen scoring a crucial try in the 54th minute, though the conversion was missed. The Sharks XV briefly regained momentum with a converted try from Diego Appollis in the 58th minute.

However, ill-discipline cost them dearly, with Junior Bok loose forward Matt Romao receiving a yellow card and Jean Smith following suit just before the end.

Griquas capitalised on these advantages, with Dylan Maart crossing for a try in the 61st minute before Cameron Hufke sealed the victory with another converted score six minutes from fulltime. The hosts’ Lourens Oosthuizen was also shown a yellow card, but they were deserving winners for their third win on the bounce after losing away to the Pumas in their opening-round fixture.

In a pulsating clash at Nelspruit Rugby Club, the Fidelity ADT Lions secured a dramatic 36-35 victory over the Airlink Pumas.

The Joburgers’ triumph came after a narrow loss to Boland in the previous round, while the men from Mpumalanga, fresh off a fantastic win against the Vodacom Bulls, will be left to rue a missed opportunity at home. They were, however, able to earn two valuable bonus points for scoring four tries and losing by a single point.

The first half was a try-fest, with both teams exchanging blows. The Pumas opened the scoring through Ruwald Van Der Merwe, converted by Danrich Visagie. The Lions quickly responded with tries from Kelly Mpeku and Angelo Davids, both converted by Lubabalo Dobela.

Not to be outdone, the Pumas added further five-pointers from Ross Braude and Darren Adonis, with Visagie adding the extras. The Lions' Renzo du Plessis then crossed, converted by Dobela, to ensure the teams went into halftime deadlocked at 21-21.

The second half continued in the same high-tempo fashion. The visitors edged ahead with a penalty goal from Dobela, followed by tries from Dylan Sjoblom and a second for stalwart Du Plessis, with Dobela adding two more points via a conversion.

The Pumas fought back valiantly, with Jan-Henning Campher and Tiaan Pretorius scoring late tries, both converted by Visagie, but it wasn't enough to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as the penalty goal by Dobela proved to be the difference in the end.

The Toyota Cheetahs, despite ending the match with 13 men, secured a gritty 31-24 bonus-point victory over DHL Western Province at Toyota Stadium on Saturday afternoon. This win continues the Free Staters’ strong run, while Province earned their first point of the season despite remaining winless.

The hosts started with intent as wing Cohen Jasper opened the scoring with a converted try, and flanker Mihlali Mosi added another, pushing them to a 12-3 lead. Western Province, however, showed resilience, with flyhalf Jurie Matthee slotting a penalty goal and Blitzbok speedster Shilton van Wyk scoring a converted try just before halftime, narrowing the deficit to 12-10.

The Cheetahs extended their lead after the breakthrough a quick tap try from Banie Britz and a bonus-point try from lock Juan Venter. Then a superb counter-attacking effort, finished by No 8 Neels Volschenk, stretched their advantage to 31-10.

However, the Cape outfit staged a spirited comeback which saw Jared Africa and Enos Ndiao scoring converted tries, reducing the gap to 31-24.

The Cheetahs' discipline then faltered, with centre Marco Jansen van Vuren receiving a second yellow, turned into a red card, and replacement hooker Marko Janse van Rensburg also seeing a yellow late on. Despite being down to 13 men, the Cheetahs bravely held on against a surging WP, who squandered late chances, securing a vital five points.

On Sunday, the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers’ dream season continued after they managed to beat the Vodacom Bulls 28-20 at a sold-out Boland Stadium in Wellington to move into the top two places of the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division.

Hawies Fourie’s team trailed 12-7 at halftime and also fell 20-14 behind in the second half of an incident-packed encounter, but despite their indiscretions which saw them earning four yellow cards, they showed enormous character to stay in the fight.

The Kavaliers eventually reeled the powerful visiting team in and held off the visitors’ rally in the end to secure their biggest win to date, adding the Bulls’ scalp to that of the Cheetahs and the Lions.

Sidney Tobias, the prolific Donavan Don, Kwezi Mafu, and former Bulls front ranker Dayan van der Westhuizen each scored a try, while playmaker Ashlon Davids added four conversions to keep them in touch with the visitors despite the four yellow cards.

Blitzbok Don, the top try scorer in the competition this season, wrestled his way over the whitewash despite the Bulls' defence to score his seventh try of the competition.

The meeting was a feisty affair, with the Kavaliers matching the Bulls’ famed physicality. With the visitors also losing two players to the sin bin, a total of six yellow cards were flashed in this crunch match.

Doctor Booysen, Louis Schreuder, Michael Benadie, and Godlen Masimla were the Kavaliers players shown yellow cards, while Cornel Smit and Junior Bok hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele received cards on the Bulls’ side.

This coming weekend, the Pumas and Boland kick off the round-five action when they meet from 5pm in Nelspruit, before the Sharks XV and WP go head-to-head from 7:10pm in a match that will hand the winner their first victory this season.

On Saturday, the Cheetahs face the Lions from 2pm in Bloemfontein, while the Bulls and Griquas round up the action on Sunday in their 3pm kick-off in Pretoria.

Scorers:

Suzuki Griquas 26 (7), Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 17 (10)

Griquas – Tries: Caleb Abrahams, Dylan Maart, Lourens Oosthuizen, Gurshwin Wehr. Conversions: George Whitehead (3).

Sharks XV – Tries: Ceano Everson, Diego Appollis. Conversions: Moyo (2). Penalty goal: Moyo.

Airlink Pumas 35 (21), Fidelity ADT Lions 36 (21)

Pumas – Tries: Ruwald van der Merwe, Ross Braude, Darren Adonis, Jan-Henning Campher, Tiaan Pretorius. Conversions: Danrich Visagie (5).

Lions – Tries: Kelly Mpeku, Angelo Davids, Renzo du Plessis (2), Dylan Sjoblom. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (4). Penalty goal: Dobela.

Toyota Cheetahs 31 (12), DHL Western Province 24 (10)

Cheetahs – Tries: Cohen Jasper, Mihlali Mosi, Banie Britz, Juan Venter, Neels Volschenk. Conversions: Jasper (3).

WP – Tries: Shilton van Wyk, Jared Africa, Enos Ndiao; Conversions: Jurie Matthee, Tristan Leyds (2). Penalty goal: Matthee.

Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 28 (7) Vodacom Bulls 20 (12)

Boland – Tries: Sidney Tobias, Donavan Don, Khwezi Mafu, Dayan van der Westhuizen. Conversions: Ashlon Davids (4).

Bulls – Tries: Jean Erasmus, Jaco Grobbelaar, Nama Xaba. Conversion: Boeta Chamberlain. Penalty goal: Chamberlain.