The Sanlam Boland Cavaliers delivered a spirited performance despite going down 29-31 to the Airlink Pumas in Friday night’s first SA Cup semifinal at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
A penalty try and five pointers by Xavier Mitchell and captain Thurlow Marsh saw Boland take a 28-25 lead after taking advantage of a 12-man Pumas side with three players sin-binned for 10 minutes.
However, two penalties in the final 10 minutes of the game by flyhalf Danrich Visagie saw the home side regain the lead at Mbombela Stadium and book a place in next weekend’s SA Cup Final.
The Cavas will feel they could have won this game if it wasn't for costly handling errors and some inaccuracy on the attack during a closely fought first half.
Coach Hawies Fourie would also not be so happy with the number of penalties his team conceded throughout the game, especially during the championship minutes.
The Cavaliers were particularly heavily penalised as the Pumas team got back to full strength after the sin-binned players returned.
NERVOUS START
Both teams started the game nervously. Boland fullback James Tedder and Visagie traded penalties, with the scores tied at 3-3 after 14 minutes of play.
The Pumas struck the first big blow a few minutes later as Darnell Osuagwu powered his way over the whitewash for the game’s first try. But, throughout this season’s SA Cup campaign, Boland have been known for not letting early setbacks get to them.
They struck back from a smart lineout maul move, as backline players joined the arm wrestle to help power hooker Sidney Tobias over the chalk before Tedder brought the scores back to a stalemate.
After that score, Boland seemed to have all the momentum on their side, pinning the Pumas in their half with astute kicking and some brilliant interplay between backs and forwards.
Unfortunately, the visitors could not capitalise as handling errors and miscommunication between players made them turn over the ball too quickly.
And for those errors, Boland got punished as Visagie kicked his second penalty of the night before scrumhalf Ross Braude scored the Pumas’ second five-pointer, with the Cavas trailing 10-20 at halftime.
After the break, Boland would have a mountain to climb as winger Lundi Msenge scored the Pumas’ third five-pointer early after the restart.
However, the Cavas deserve plaudits for putting the Pumas under pressure after that score. They forced the home side to make mistakes and concede penalties, which gave referee Sean Muller no option but to dish out yellow cards. The scoreboard was quickly turned on its head with Boland leading.
Unfortunately, they could not keep up the momentum as their SA Cup race ended. Still, there will be lots of positives for them to lean on as Fourie and his coaching staff start preparing Boland for a return to the Currie Cup Premier Division that kicks off in late July.
SCORERS:
Airlink Pumas 31 (20) – Tries: Darnell Osuagwu, Ross Braude, Lundi Msenge. Conversions: Danich Visagie (2). Penalties: Visagie (4)
Sanlam Boland Cavaliers 28 (10 )– Tries: Sidney Tobias, Penalty Try, Xavier Mitchell, Thurlow Marsh. Conversions: James Tedder (2). Penalty: Tedder