The heroic Sanlam Boland Kavaliers stunned the Toyota Cheetahs XV with a try in the 88th minute to clinch an amazing 37-35 come-from-behind win in a cracking Currie Cup encounter at the Boland Stadium in Wellington on Sunday afternoon.
It was the Kavaliers' first appearance in the Currie Cup since 2016 and they produced a strong first-half performance to put themselves in a good position, leading 27-14 at the break.
But the Cheetahs turned things around and hit back in the second half, led by a dominant scrum, as they scored three tries to take an eight point lead into the final minute, only for the Cavaliers to score just before the clock went red.
That gave them a chance to go 80 metres from the kick-off after the fulltime hooter as the Cheetahs kicked deep. The Kavaliers stayed incredibly disciplined to work their way up field, aided by a couple of penalties against the visitors.
A lineout on the 5-metre line was then stopped short, the Kavaliers sent a cross kick out wide and the offload found wing Donovan Don on the loop around to dive over in the corner and send the players and home supporters wild, ending an incredible match.
Donovan Don gets it over in the corner 😤🔥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 27, 2025
What a win for the Boland Cavaliers in front of their home crowd 🏉#CarlingCurrieCup | #SSRugby pic.twitter.com/QDnmcEbMov
At the start of the match the Kavaliers got off to a strong start, as they dominated possession and territory early on, with the Cheetahs forced to defend for long spells, leading to two early penalties which fullback James Tedder slotted for a 6-0 lead after 11 minutes.
The Cavaliers then received a third penalty in front, but chose to go to the corner which proved to be a good call as from the line out they went to the short side from a ruck, allowing flyhalf Ashlon Davids to dive over in the corner for a converted score and 13-0 after 17 minutes.
From downtown 😮💨👟
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 27, 2025
Ashlon Davids finishes off a spectacular Boland team effort 🤌🔥
📺 Stream #CarlingCurrieCup on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/CAG2npvL7C
That finally sparked the Cheetahs into life and from the kick-off they reclaimed possession and forced their way into the Cavaliers 22m, then kicked a penalty to the corner, but saw their maul driven out.
But the hosts then handed the visitors a gift as from the defensive lineout, Kavaliers hooker Sidney Tobias overthrew straight to Cheetahs hooker Marko Janse van Rensburg, who gleefully dived over for an easy seven pointer in the 20th minute.
Five minutes later the Cheetahs had staged a turnaround as they again attacked into the Cavaliers 22m, got close and scrumhalf Rewan Kruger sniped over from a ruck, with fullback Cohen Jasper adding the extras to make it 14-13.
But it was a costly final 10 minutes of the half for the Cheetahs, as first flank Gideon van der Merwe was yellow carded for repeated infringements.
The Kavaliers immediately took advantage as they attacked from a scrum in the Cheetahs 22m, with Davids offloading to Brits to flop over for a converted score to retake the lead.
Straight from the restart the Kavaliers broke through eighthman Sibusiso Sangweni, who found flank Gift Dlamini in support, with him brought down and the recycled ball finding Brits to return the favour with an offload to Davids as he crashed over for his second score.
Tedder slotted his fifth straight shot at goal to put the hosts into a 27-14 lead after 35 minutes, which they took into the break after the Cheetahs managed to defend a last attack on the halftime hooter.
CHEETAHS DOMINATE SECOND HALF
The second half mostly belonged to the Cheetahs, as they turned the tide thanks to some early subs in the front row saw them turn the scrums around, which in the first half belonged to the home side, but was dominated by the visitors in the second.
Hooker Vernon Paulo and prop Cameron Dawson made huge impacts after being introduced in the 43rd minute, as they helped earn a number of scrum penalties that put the Cheetahs in the driving seat.
In the 57th minute they scored their third try of the match, attacking from a lineout, with flyhalf Ethan Wentzel popping a chip over, and a kind bounce allowing replacement back Carel-Jan Coetzee to catch and crash over, as wing Ntokozo Makhaza added the extras to make it 27-21.
Six minutes later the Cheetahs hit the front again, as they earned a coupe of scrum penalties, kicked onto the Cavaliers 5m, set the maul from the lineout and rumbled over for Van Der Merwe to dot down, with Makhaza’s conversion putting them a point ahead.
In the 73rd minute the Cheetahs thought they had sealed the game as Paula scored off the back of a dominant rolling maul and the extras gave them a 35-27 lead heading into the final five minutes.
But with second remaining int the game the Cavaliers kept things alive when replacement back Juan Mostert sent a cross kick to wing Marcqiewn Titus to go over in the corner for an unconverted score, which cut the deficit to three points and set up the thrilling finale.
It's a statement win for the Boland Cavaliers in their #CarlingCurrieCup opener 👏🔥#SSRugby pic.twitter.com/9c1bkRF5qu
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 27, 2025
SCORERS
SANLAM BOLAND KAVALIERS: Tries - Ashlon Davids (2), David Brits, Marcqiewn Titus, Donovan Don; Conversions - James Tedder (3); Penalties - Tedder (2)
TOYOTA CHEETAHS XV: Tries - Marko Janse van Rensburg, Rewan Kruger, Carel-Jan Coetzee, Gideon van der Merwe, Vernon Paulo; Conversions - Cohen Jasper (2), Ntokozo Makhaza (3)