And then there were two unbeaten teams.
The Fidelity ADT Lions and Vodacom Bulls moved to the summit of the Carling Currie Cup log as both sides posted their first home wins to remain unbeaten at the end of round three of the domestic tournament.
Elsewhere there was a return to form for the Airlink Pumas and DHL Western Province, as both scored away wins to get their campaigns on track as the log starts to take shape and the tournament gets into the swing of things.
Ngundue won't forget his first Currie Cup try in a hurry 😤💥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 21, 2024
📺 Stream #CarlingCurrieCup live: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/WCfeem7TGa
For the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld it was a welcome return home, with one of their lesser seen stars - former Grey College and Edinburgh fullback Henry Immelmann, playing on the wing, who set the scene alight with a brace of tries in their 25-13 victory.
The tries - which came at either end of the halftime whistle, allowed the Bulls to take their lead from 12-6 to 22-6 in the matter of minutes, and ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides on the night in a competitive game of rugby.
Celimpilo Gumede, who was training with the Springboks last month, got the other try for the Bulls, who missed out on a bonus point but will be happy with the victory while the Cheetahs scored only one try through Daniel Maartens on the night.
Earlier on Friday it was the Fidelity ADT Lions, who followed up their 70 point massacre of the Pumas with a hard-fought 25-13 win over Suzuki Griquas, matching the scoreline in Pretoria that would comes a few hours later.
Three tries to the Lions - a penalty try and scores by Rynhardt Jonker and scrumhalf Nico Steyn were enough to seal the victory, while Carl Els and Zinedine Robertson score for Griquas. The crucial moment came in the second half when Griquas conceded two yellow cards, effectively ending their hopes of victory.
𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: Fidelity ADT Lions 25 – 13 Suzuki Griquas
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) July 19, 2024
A hard-fought victory, thank you Joburg for showing up for us.#LionsPride🦁 pic.twitter.com/4zj1LOA5o4
The Hollywoodbets Sharks XV still are without a victory after they tried to rally late from 24-0 at halftime, eventually losing 31-21 to the Pumas in an error-ridden game.
JP Pietersen's task looks even harder in a side bereft of any stars and trying to find their feet while the Pumas put their mistakes to the sword and capitalised on the inefficiencies in the Durban team on their home soil.
With five tries coming from Clinton Swart, Darren Adonis, Nsika Fisanti, Eduan Swart and Phiko Sobahle, the Pumas managed to claw some respectiibility back after their big loss to the Lions last week, and left Durban with a bonus point for their efforts.
In the final game of the weekend, a hat-trick by midfielder Jonathan Roche gave Western Province a big 64-15 win over the Novavit Griffons, in a one-sided game in Welkom on Sunday.
Roche's hat-trick was added to a brace of tries each by Angelo Davids and CJ Velleman while Luke Burger, Clayton Blommetjies and Hendre Stassen all added their names to the scoresheet as Province grabbed their first victory of the tournament.
Round three results
Fidelity ADT Lions 25 Suzuki Griquas 13
Vodacom Blue Bulls 25 Toyota Cheetahs 13
Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 21 Airlink Pumas 31
Novavit Griffons 15 DHL Western Province 64
Round four fixtures
Friday
Novavit Griffons v Toyota Cheetahs (15.00)
Airlink Pumas v Suzuki Griquas (19.00)
Saturday
Fidelity ADT Lions v Hollywoodbets Sharks XV (15.00)
Vodacom Bulls v DHL Western Province (17.15)