A last-gasp try by two-time World Cup-winning Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk gave the Toyota Cheetahs a nail-biting 31-26 (halftime 5-7) win over the DHL Stormers XXIII in a fourth-round Carling Currie Cup match played at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Sunday.
Faf said: I’ll take the corner! 💪
— The Carling Currie Cup (@TheCurrieCup) August 9, 2026
De Klerk’s late winner seals a dramatic bonus-point victory for the Toyota Cheetahs, who move level on points with the Suzuki Griquas at the top of the Carling #CurrieCup table.#WhereChampionsRise pic.twitter.com/q2Eb5YXrOY
The Cheetahs’ victory at the Stormers’ alternate home capped a fascinating foursome of fourth-round Cup clashes, which saw home wins for defending champions the Suzuki Griquas and a resurgent Hollywoodbets Sharks XV.
Apart from the Cheetahs’ heroics in the Mother City, the round’s other win on the road came in Pretoria on Saturday, where the Airlink Pumas hung on to edge the Vodacom Bulls XV 33-31 at Loftus Versfeld.
Griquas’ 31-19 win in Kimberley over the Fidelity ADT Lions in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday ensured the holders head into round five tied on 16 points with the Cheetahs at the top of the table with three rounds remaining – although it is the champions who hold the edge over their Bloemfontein arch-rivals on points difference.
The Sharks XV’s 19-12 win over the Sanlam Boland Cavaliers at the Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu on Saturday evening kept the Durbanites in the playoff race, while the Pumas got their campaign back on track with a second straight win on the road that dealt a blow to the Bulls XV’s semifinal hopes.
In a match played in front of an enthusiastic crowd on an clear and crisp Cape winter’s afternoon, it was the home side who initially adjusted best to the icy wind blowing down the length of the field, scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer dotting down after 10 minutes for his halfback partner Jean-Luc du Plessis to convert.
The Cheetahs responded almost immediately when live-wire left wing Prince Nkabinde raced over to cut the deficit to two points.
The rest of the half saw the Stormers XXIII enjoy almost total territorial dominance and this was eventually rewarded on the stroke of halftime when hooker Vernon Paulo tapped a five-metre penalty and barged his way through the opposition defences.
Du Plessis once again added the extra points to ensure the home side went into the sheds with a handy nine-point buffer.
MATCH-TURNING MOMENT
But it was the visitors who came out storming after the break, No 8 Neels Volschenk barrelling over after 45 minutes, converted by centre Alex-Zander du Plessis, to make it a two-point game once more.
Replacement Stormers flanker Wandile Mlaba capped off a weekend to remember for the 21-year-old when he powered over near the hour mark less than 48 hours after coming on for the senior team against the New Zealand All Blacks at DHL Stadium on Friday.
Mlaba, however, went from hero to zero two minutes later when he tip-tackled fellow replacement Daniel Maartens to earn a yellow card and allow the Cheetahs the opportunity to claw their way back into the game with a quarter of the match remaining.
In retrospect, it was a match-turning moment.
With the bit firmly between their teeth, the men in gold struck back when right wing Michael Annies sidestepped his way over the line despite the attentions of three Stormers defenders.
Du Plessis’s conversion from bang in front made it a two-point game again.
The visitors then pulled ahead with 10 minutes remaining when 21-year-old Stormers flanker Xola Nyali was deemed to have deliberately knocked on a De Klerk pass to Nkabinde with the tryline in sight.
The resultant penalty try and the sin-binning of Nyali changed the complexion of the match once more as the minutes began to tick away.
The Free Staters, however, didn’t account for that man Mlaba, who returned from his spell in the bin to round off a sweeping attack by the home side to register his brace and level the scores for his team.
And then as the final seconds ticked away, enter De Klerk, the forgotten World Cup-winning Springbok scrumhalf, who finished off a 25+ phase attack in the left-hand corner, to land the decisive blow in a highly entertaining match that always seemed destined not to end in deadlock.
UPCOMING ACTION
Round five’s action will get under way with two Friday matches: the Lions host the Cavaliers in Johannesburg and Griquas welcome the Sharks XV to the Northern Cape.
The Stormers XXIII will look to lick their wounds before travelling to the Lowveld to face the Pumas on Saturday, while the Bulls XV will have it all to do in the final match of the weekend, against the now high-flying, De Klerk-inspired Cheetahs in Pretoria on Sunday.
With seven of the eight sides still in with a realistic chance of reaching the semifinals, any dropped points at this stage of proceedings may just deal a fatal blow to their Cup dreams.
Scorers:
DHL Stormers XXIII 26 – Tries: Stefan Ungerer, Vernon Paulo, Wandile Mlaba (2); Conversions: Jean-Luc du Plessis (3).
Toyota Cheetahs 31 – Tries: Prince Nkabinde, Neels Volschenk, Michael Annies, penalty try, Faf de Klerk; Conversion: Alex-Zander du Plessis (2).