The Airlink Pumas broke Suzuki Griquas’ remarkable unbeaten run in the SA Cup with a close-fought 39-35 win in Nelspruit on Friday evening to move to the top of the standings after the seventh round, while there were valuable victories for the Toyota Cheetahs, Sanlam Boland Kavaliers and NovaVit Griffons, who all strengthened their positions in the race for Carling Currie Cup Premier Division qualification.
The Cheetahs solidified third place on the log table with a deserving 59-17 victory over the Valke in Bloemfontein; the Boland Kavaliers were in rampant mood in their 80-0 defeat of the Leopards in Wellington; and the Griffons ensured they also stayed in the hunt for qualification thanks to their 57-27 triumph over the Phangela SWD Eagles 57-27 in Welkom.
Meanwhile, Eastern Province emerged victorious 41-15 in their Friday afternoon Eastern Cape Derby with the Border Bulldogs in East London.
With just two regulation games remaining before the playoffs, Airlink Pumas moved into the lead on the log with 35 points, three more than the defending champions from Kimberley.
The leading duo are followed by the Cheetahs, whose fifth wins increased their points tally to 27, which is two more than the Boland Kavaliers (fourth) and the Griffons (fifth), with the Bolanders in that crucial fourth spot because of their better points’ differential.
The Valke find themselves just outside the top five with 20 points, followed by EP (17 points), the Eagles (seven points), Leopards (four) and Border (two points).
The seventh round delivered some thrilling rugby.
PUMAS DOWN GRIQUAS
In the weekend’s feature game at Mbombela Stadium, the Pumas finally got the better of the Suzuki Griquas when they emerged 39-34 winners on Friday evening.
Coming into the game both sides were unbeaten after six rounds, and the match lived up to its billing with both teams crossing over five times.
Griquas saw their incredible unbeaten run – this was their first defeat in the competition which was launched last year – shattered by the resolute Pumas, who registered their first win of the competition in three starts against their arch-rivals.
The Kimberley outfit won last year’s league encounter between the sides and were also victorious in the inaugural final.
The team from Mpumalanga took sweet revenge when they kicked on from their 25-19 halftime advantage and managed to hold on at the end, when the defending champions had two clear chances to steal the game in the dying moments but they twice squandered great opportunities.
Sango Xamlashe and Lundi Msenge each bagged two tries for the Pumas, while the reliable boot of ace goal kicker Clinton Swart proved crucial as he slotted four conversions and two penalty goals in addition to his try, taking his personal tally to 19 points.
Cameron Hufkie had a good game for in the Griquas No 15 jersey, and he led the charge with two tries.
Playmaker George Whitehead proved his worth with one try, three conversions and a penalty goal to keep the visitors in contention throughout.
EP TAME BULLDOGS
Earlier on Friday in East London, Eastern Province secured their third victory of the season with a 41-15 victory over Border Bulldogs at Police Park.
The visitors dominated the first opening spell and established halftime lead of 17-3.
The Bulldogs struggled to break through the EP defence, managing only a penalty goal kick by Maxwell Klaasen.
The second half saw EP extend that lead, scoring a total of seven tries in the end.
Rodney Damons was particularly impressive on the right wing, crossing the try line three times, while No 8 Diego Williams added two tries.
Despite their valiant efforts, the Bulldogs could only manage two tries in the second period, scored by Sakhe Dingile and Hlumelo Zitha, with Klaasen also adding conversion and penalty goal kick.
CHEETAHS TAKE DOWN VALKE
On Saturday, the Cheetahs strengthened their grip on third place with a commanding 59-17 victory over Valke in Bloemfontein.
They managed six tries in the opening half, including a try from Cohen Jasper two minutes after the start and the first of Michael Annies’ three tries which he would dot down on the day, to open a 23-point advantage at the break.
The Free State outfit continued in this vein in the second stanza, adding a further try three tries while the East Rand side could only manage one converted try, despite the hosts having Marco Janse van Vuren in the sin bin with a yellow card.
It was the impressive Annies who went over twice after the break as he completed his hat-trick as the hosts added 26 points in the second period.
Marko Janse van Rensburg and Jasper, who also contributed seven conversions, each also crossed the try line twice for the Bloemfontein hosts.
The Valke managed to score two tries in the end, one by Abulele Ndabambi and another by Musa Tshabalala, with Sergio Stalmeester contributing two conversions and a penalty goal.
KAVALIERS CRUSH LEOPARDS
In a dominant display of all-out attacking rugby, the Boland Kavaliers overwhelmed the Leopards with an 80-0 triumph victory in Wellington on Saturday afternoon.
The Kavaliers showcased their attacking prowess by scoring a total of 12 tries and keeping the Leopards scoreless throughout the match.
They set the tone early, racing to a halftime 33-0 lead as their relentless attack and solid defence left the Leopards struggling to gain any ground in an opening spell that produced five tries.
The second half saw the Kavaliers continue with their dominance, adding another 47 points to their tally.
Speedster Xavier Mitchell completed a hat-trick of tries, while Godlen Masimla finished with two tries to his name.
James Tedder was accurate from the kicking tee as he successfully kicked six conversions, while pivot Ashlon Davids also contributed four conversion kicks.
GRIFFONS BEAT EAGLES
Meanwhile, the Griffons defeated SWD Eagles 57-27 in Welkom on Saturday to ensure they stay in the hunt for qualification as they remain level on points with the Kavaliers.
The Northern Free Staters were the better side in the first half which saw them open a 26-10 gap at the halfway stage, dominating the Eagles, who had two front rankers sent off with yellow cards during this time.
The visitors from George were badly let down by their discipline as they conceded another two yellow cards in the second half to bring their match total to four, while the Griffons also had one player in the bin.
The hosts made full use of their numerical advantage as they piled on the pressure, eventually scoring nine tries while the Eagles responded with two.
Andrew Kota continued with his prolific scoring form as he went over twice and succeeded with six conversions for the Griffons, while Mingo Piti also managed to register two tries.
Sachin Toring was one of the Eagles’ three try scorers and he also added two successful conversion kicks.
Next weekend will feature the penultimate round of SA Cup league fixtures.
The action kicks off on Friday in George, where the SWD Eagles host the defending champions Griquas in a 6pm kick-off.
This is followed by four matches on Saturday, which are all scheduled to start at 3pm.
Boland Kavaliers will face a stern test at home in Wellington against new log leaders the Pumas; the Leopards are set to welcome the Valke to Potchefstroom; the Cheetahs will go up against Border in Bloemfontein; while EP will tackle the Griffons in Gqeberha.
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs 59 (33), Valke 17 (10)
Cheetahs – Tries: Michael Annies (3), Marko Janse Van Rensburg (2), Cohen Jasper (2), Louis van der Westhuizen, Prince Nkabinde. Conversions: Jasper (7).
Valke – Tries: Abulele Ndabambi, Musa Tshabalala. Conversions: Sergio Stalmeester (2). Penalty goal: Stalmeester.
Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 80 (33), Leopards 0
Kavaliers – Tries: Xavier Mitchell (3), Godlen Masimla (2), HP van Schoor, James Tedder, Khwezi Mafu, Sidney Tobias, Lunathi Nxele, Domenic Smit, Jurick Lewis. Conversions: Tedder (6), Ashlon Davids (4).
Leopards 0
NovaVit Griffons 57 (26), Phangela SWD Eagles 27 (10)
Griffons – Tries: Andrew Kota (2), Mingo Piti (2), Chris Hollis, Rian Olivier, Buhle Nojekwa, Calla Pienaar, Willem van den Hever. Conversions: Andrew Kota (6).
Eagles – Tries: Sachin Toring, Mpho Ntsane, Roshwin Abrahams, Clive Kruger. Conversions: Toring (2), Abrahams (2).
Airlink Pumas 39 (25), Suzuki Griquas 34 (19)
Pumas – Tries: Sango Xamlashe (2), Lundi Msenge (2), Clinton Swart. Conversions: Swart (4). Penalty goals: Swart (2).
Griquas - Tries: Cameron Hufke (2), Dylan Maart, George Whitehead, Janco Uys. Conversions: Whitehead (3). Penalty goal: Whitehead.
Border Bulldogs 15 (3), Eastern Province 41 (17)
Border – Tries: Sakhe Dingile, Hlumelo Zitha. Conversion: Maxwell Klaasen. Penalty goal: Klaasen.
EP – Tries: Rodney Damons (3), Diego Williams (2), Wayne Ngubane, Deon Plaatjies. Conversions: Jayden Bantom (2), Chadwin November.