All eyes on play-off prize

The race for the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division semi-finals tightened further in round five, with the defending champions, Suzuki Griquas, underlining their status as front-runners, the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers producing a stirring comeback in Johannesburg, the Airlink Pumas continuing their upward curve in Mbombela and the Toyota Cheetahs winning a thriller in Pretoria to stay in the top two.

It was the Kavaliers who delivered a strong second-half performance to triumph 38-29 over the Fidelity ADT Lions at Wits Rugby Stadium in the first match of the weekend on Friday afternoon, ending their two-game away losing streak. Griquas then flexed their muscles in the next game, outplaying the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 55-21 in Kimberley.

On Saturday at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, the Pumas defeated DHL Stormers XXIII 29-7 to remain in contention for a semi-final spot. The round was completed on Sunday afternoon at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where the Cheetahs held out in a 114-point thriller to beat the Vodacom Bulls XV 62-52 after leading 47-17 at half-time.

With five rounds now completed and just two remaining, Griquas remain top of the standings on 21 points, with the Cheetahs on 21 points but the Free Staters are second on points difference. The Pumas (third on 17 points) and Boland (fourth on 16 points) also remain firmly in the play-off mix after bonus-point victories.

The top four are followed by the Lions (fifth, 13 points), Stormers XXIII (sixth, 11), Sharks XV (seventh, 10) and Bulls XV (eighth, four points).

The Kavaliers recovered from 17-0 down in the opening quarter to claim a vital away win and strengthen their play-off push. The Lions started brightly through Sam Francis' early penalty and converted tries by Keagan Smith and Jarod Cairns but Boland worked their way back through Mthokozisi Gumede and Gift Dlamini before half-time.

After the break, tries by Sibusiso Sangweni and Jeandré Leonard pushed the Kavaliers ahead and although Smith and Rynhardt Jonker kept the hosts in range, Gumede's second try and a late James Tedder penalty sealed the result for the men from Wellington as they bounced back from last weekend's loss to the Sharks XV.

In Friday's second encounter, Griquas produced the most emphatic result of the round, turning a narrow 26-21 half-time advantage into a commanding 55-21 bonus-point victory over the Sharks XV in Kimberley. The victory followed last week's success over the Lions, also on home soil.

The Northern Cape outfit outscored their visitors from Durban by eight tries to three, with Tiaan Lange and Dylan Maart each scoring three tries.

The Sharks XV scored three converted first-half tries but were kept scoreless after the interval. Tim Swiel scored a try and slotted three conversions for a personal tally of 11 points for the black-and-white jerseys.

In the only fixture staged on Saturday in Nelspruit, the Pumas delivered a composed effort, using their physicality and control at Mbombela Stadium to subdue the Stormers XXIII and record a 29-7 victory.

The hosts built on last week's narrow two-point win over the Bulls XV, while the Cape outfit were hoping to bounce back from their five-point loss to the Cheetahs. The Pumas scored four tries and added three conversions and a penalty, while the Capetonians could only reply with one converted try.

A 15-0 half-time lead gave the Mpumalanga outfit a solid platform, and they maintained scoreboard pressure after the break to secure a bonus-point win. The Stormers XXIII found a late converted try, but by then the Pumas had done enough to move into second place on the log. Nevaldo Fleurs scored nine points through his three conversions and a penalty goal.

In the final encounter of the round, played on Sunday in Pretoria, the Cheetahs survived a remarkable Bulls XV fightback to win a 17-try humdinger by 62-52 at Loftus Versfeld.

The visitors were electric in the opening half, racing to a 47-17 lead as Michael Annies and Prince Nkabinde both completed first-half braces, while Zander du Plessis, Neels Volschenk and Cohen Jasper also crossed the whitewash.

Jasper and Victor Sekekete added further tries after the restart as the Bloemfontein side stretched the lead to 59-17 before the Bulls XV launched a stirring comeback.

The home side, who had earlier scored through Riyaad Bam and Junior Boks Siphosethu Mnebelele and Kebotile Maake, finished strongly through further scores by Marnus Rademeyer, Brooklyn Newman, Nizaam Carr and Devon Williams.

However, Tiaan Swanepoel's long-range penalty after the hooter denied the hosts a losing bonus-point as the Cheetahs finished the game with 13 players on the field.

In next weekend's penultimate round of league fixtures, three games will be staged on Friday and the remaining one on Sunday afternoon.

Round six will kick off at Mbombela Stadium when the Pumas host Griquas from 3pm; the Bulls XV then take on the Stormers XXIII in Pretoria, where the action at Loftus Versfeld starts at 5.05pm; and the third Friday fixture sees the Sharks XV entertain the Lions at 7.15pm at Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.

The Cheetahs and Kavaliers complete the round on Sunday at 3pm in Bloemfontein.

Scores

Fidelity ADT Lions 29 (17), Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 38 (14)

Lions – Tries: Keagan Smith (2), Jarod Cairns, Rynhardt Jonker. Conversions: Sam Francis (3). Penalty: Francis.

Boland – Tries: Mthokozisi Gumede (2), Gift Dlamini, Sibusiso Sangweni, Jeandré Leonard. Conversions: James Tedder (5). Penalty: Tedder.

Suzuki Griquas 55 (26), Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 21 (21)

Griquas – Tries: Janus Venter, Penalty Try, Dylan Maart (3), Bobby Alexander, Tiaan Lange (3). Conversions: George Whitehead (2), Liam Koen (2).

Sharks XV – Tries: Tino Mavesere, Tim Swiel, Johan Momsen. Conversions: Swiel (3).

Airlink Pumas 29 (15), Stormers XXIII 7 (0)

Pumas – Tries: Thomas Bursey, Banie Britz, Jan-Henning Campher, JJ Scheepers. Conversions: Nevaldo Fleurs (3). Penalty: Fleurs.

Stormers XXIII – Try: Mfundo Ndhlovu. Conversion: Kyle Smith.

Vodacom Bulls XV 52 (17), Toyota Cheetahs 62 (47)

Bulls XV – Tries: Riyaad Bam, Siphosethu Mnebelele, Kebotile Maake, Marnus Rademeyer (2), Brooklyn Newman, Nizaam Carr, Devon Williams. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (6).

Cheetahs – Tries: Michael Annies (2), Zander du Plessis, Prince Nkabinde (2), Neels Volschenk, Cohen Jasper (2), Victor Sekekete. Conversions: Jaco van der Walt (7). Penalty: Tiaan Swanepoel.