The Boland Kavaliers and Valke remain in the race for Currie Cup Premier Division qualification after big wins in round 6 of the SA Cup.
Boland shrugged off two previous losses to bully the Border Bulldogs 52-3 on Saturday and move into fourth place, edging the Griffons and Valke on points difference.
The East Randers shrugged off a first-half blitz from the Northern Free Staters to score two tries in the dying minutes and clinch a thrilling 45-40 win in Kempton Park.
In Bloemfontein, the Cheetahs bagged their fourth win and second in a row when they overran the SWD Eagles 87-15 at Free State Stadium to move into third spot on the table.
Meanwhile, unbeaten front-runners Griquas and the Pumas banked comfortable victories to sustain their momentum.
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Jimmy Stonehouse’s Pumas brushed aside the Leopards 80-10 in Potchefstroom, while holders Griquas opened the weekend’s action with a 70-17 rout of Eastern Province in Kimberley on Friday afternoon.
With only three league rounds remaining, Griquas and the Pumas lead the table on 30 points each. The Cheetahs are third on 22 points, which is two more than the Kavaliers, Griffons and Valke.
EP are seventh on 12 points, with the defeat in the Northern Cape a big blow to their semi-final aspirations, while SWD (7 pts), the Leopards (4) and Border (2) complete the standings.
The competition pauses over Easter before the action resumes with a sumptuous, top-of-the-table clash between the Pumas and Griquas in Nelspruit on Friday, 25 April.
On the following day, the Kavaliers host the Leopards in Wellington, Border and EP play their Eastern Cape derby in East London, the Griffons welcome SWD to Welkom and the Cheetahs are home to Valke.
Round 6 results and scorers:
Cheetahs 87-15 Eagles
Cheetahs – Tries: Marko Janse Van Rensburg (2), Prince Nkabinde (2), Rewan Kruger (2), Neels Volschenk (2), Pierre Uys (2), Marco Janse van Vuren, Jandre Nel. Conversions: Cohen Jasper (6), Clayton Blommetjies (5).
Eagles – Tries: Kirwan Cupido (2). Conversion: Roshwin Abrahams. Penalty: Abrahams.
Border Bulldogs 3-52 Boland Cavaliers
Bulldogs – Penalty: Maxwell Klaasen.
Kavaliers – Tries: Sidney Tobias (2), Lunathi Nxele, Peter-John Smit, Xavier Mitchell, Michael Benadie, Thurlow Marsh, Jurick Lewis. Conversions: James Tedder (3), Ashlon Davids (3).
Valke 45-40 Griffons
Valke – Tries: Musa Tshabalala (2), Zeilinga Strydom, Blaine Golden, Sergio Stalmeester, Godfrey Muzanargwo, Adrian Joubert. Conversions: Stalmeester (5).
Griffons – Tries: Kyle Cyster (2), Keanu Vers, Willem van den Hever, Richman Gora, Chris Nel. Conversions: Andrew Kota (5).
Leopards 10-80 Pumas
Leopards – Try: Daniel Verster. Conversion: Charles Williams. Penalty: Williams.
Pumas – Tries: Darren Adonis (3), Eddie Swart (2), Stefan Coetzee, Darnell Osuagwu, Danrich Visagie, Dalvon Blood, Lundi Msenge, Ntsika Fisanti, Marvelous Mashimbyi. Conversions: Visagie (8), Stefan Coetzee (2).
Griquas 70-17 EP
Griquas – Tries: Tertius Kruger (3), Dylan Maart (3), Cameron Hufke, Dylan Sjoblom, Gurshwin Wehr, Zane Bester. Conversions: George Whitehead (5), Tylor Sefoor (5).
EP – Tries: Sherwin Slater, Jayden Bantom. Conversions: Christian Humphries (2). Penalty: Humphries.
Photo: @TheCurrieCup/Twitter
