The Sanlam Boland Kavaliers overcame a 17-0 deficit to score five tries in an inspired 38-29 (halftime 14-17) comeback win over the Fidelity ADT Lions in a fifth-round Carling Currie Cup match played at Wits Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday afternoon.
The bonus-point victory took the Bolanders to third on the log with two rounds remaining – albeit with the weekend’s three other matches still to be played.
Replacement James Tedder’s penalty with a minute remaining finally decided a nine-try contest and, perhaps crucially, robbed the hosts of a losing bonus point at the death.
An instant Carling #CurrieCup Classic 🤯
— The Carling Currie Cup (@TheCurrieCup) August 14, 2026
The Sanlam Boland Kavaliers clinch a vital comeback win and secure the bonus-point in what was a dramatic back-and-forth contest at Wits University🔥#WhereChampionsRise pic.twitter.com/C4Z5vNqPLi
In a match of fluctuating fortunes between two well-matched outfits, the alarm bells were ringing loudly very early on for the Kavaliers when persistent penalties saw them reduced to 14 men inside the opening five minutes.
Centre Lunathi Nxele’s yellow card after repeated breakdown infringements was all the encouragement the Lions needed as they scored two tries in racing to a 17-0 lead after just 15 minutes.
How their fortunes would change by the end of the match.
First, a weaving run upfield by centre Exauce Kevani split open the opposition defence for the twinkling feet of right wing Keagan Smith, who scored two tries on the day, to do the rest.
Four minutes later, skipper and No 8, Jarod Cairns, employed blunt force to barge over for flyhalf Sam Francis to add his second conversion of the afternoon.
The Bolanders managed to fight their way back into the contest when loosehead prop Mthokozisi Gumede reached out to plant the ball underneath the posts for flyhalf Ashlon Davids to covert.
But no sooner had Gumede’s telescopic arm restored the Kavaliers’ focus than the 26-year-old front-ranker found himself seeing yellow from referee Hanru van Rooyen for a shoulder-to-head tackle.
But the rugby gods love to craft a good script, and for Gumede, a second try and a man-of-the-match award, completed a fairytale redemption arc in the fading Highveld light.
The Lions could not capitalise on their numerical advantage and it was the Kavaliers who grew into the match as the halftime break approached – an ever-tightening grip which they never quite loosened even as the match lost its structure in the final quarter.
They were rewarded four minutes before the interval when 27-year-old flanker Gift Dlamini dived over from close range after Lions hooker Mahle Sithole had been yellow-carded.
Davids added the extras to cut the deficit to just three points.
COMING TO A BOIL
The visitors continued to ride the wave into the second half, replacement flanker and former Lions player Sibu Sangweni diving over at the sticks after a five-metre tap penalty to give his side the lead for the first time: 21-17.
Left wing Xavier Mitchell looked to have broken the game wide open when he glided his way over in the left-hand corner on 50 minutes, only for the TMO review to identify clear obstruction by centre Nxele in the build-up.
The let-off allowed the Lions to claw their way back into the match, but the hosts could not capitalise on a couple of half-breaks as the match entered the final quarter.
Instead it was the visitors who extended their lead when replacement flanker Jeandré Leonard went in at the posts – his basketball-type reach even more impressive than that of Gumede earlier on – for another sub, Tedder, to convert. 28-17.
The Bolanders’ fifth try stung the Lions into action after 67 minutes when Smith found himself rounding off for his second in the left-hand corner, at the receiving end of a sweeping move upfield.
Gumede wasn’t to be outdone, ploughing his way over for his second five-pointer three minutes later as the match well and truly came to the boil, both sides throwing caution to the wind as the clock wound down. 35-22.
The frantic nature of the contest was always going to deliver further points, and the Lions duly obliged when inside centre Rynhardt Jonker burrowed over for Francis to add the extras and make it a six-point game.
Tedder’s last-gasp penalty hammered the final nail in the Lions’ coffin and the Kavaliers remain firmly in playoff contention with two rounds remaining of the world’s oldest provincial tournament.
Round five’s remaining action sees Suzuki Griquas welcome the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV to the Northern Cape on Friday evening; the DHL Stormers XXIII travel to the Lowveld to face the Airlink Pumas on Saturday; and the Vodacom Bulls XV will have it all to do in the final match of the weekend, against the high-flying, Faf de Klerk-inspired Cheetahs in Pretoria on Sunday.
SCORES
Fidelity ADT Lions 29 – Tries: Keagan Smith (2), Jarod Cairns, Rynhardt Jonker; Conversions: Sam Francis (3); Penalty: Francis.
Sanlam Boland Cavaliers 38 – Mthokozisi Gumede (2), Gift Dlamini, Sibu Sangweni, Jeandré Leonard; Conversions: Ashlon Davids (3), James Tedder (2); Penalty: Tedder.
© Duane Heath (Roots.rugby)