Kavaliers tank against Sharks

A host of errors by the visitors saw the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV outplay the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers for a 19-12 victory in Round Four of the 2026 edition of the Carling Currie Cup on Saturday at the Princess Magogo Stadium, in KwaMashu.

Thurlow Marsh, captain of the Kavaliers, rued his side’s error-ridden performance following a second consecutive loss in as many weeks.

Although the visitors made a fast start to take a 5-0 lead after just four minutes, it was the Sharks who would take a 14-5 half-time lead after capitalising on Boland errors.

The Kavaliers looked impressive in the first 20 minutes of the contest when left winger Jayden Bantom scored the game’s opening try.

But, against the run of play, Sharks and Junior Springbok winger Khuthi Rashivaga intercepted a pass, with Boland hot on the attack, to canter and dot down under the sticks, virtually untouched.

Sharks flyhalf Tim Swiel converted to give the hosts a 7-5 lead.

Shortly after, the Kavaliers got hit with another setback as Lunathi Nxele got sin-binned for 10 minutes for a high tackle on Sharks fullback and former Boland U18 Craven Week star Luan Giliomee.

Replays would, however, suggest that despite Nxele not making any contact with the head of Giliomee, he was still shown a yellow card for the tackle.

The Kavaliers did well to not concede any points in the 10 minutes they were reduced to 14 players – even making numerous forays into the Sharks’ 22-metre area.

A misread in defence from a Sharks line-out, however, saw loose forward Tino Mavesere make a line break before lock Johannes Slabbert dived over under the stick as the home side took a 14-5 half-time lead.

The second half turned into an arm wrestle as both sides struggled to convert opportunities. Winger Rashivaga, however, crossed for his second try as the final 10 minutes of the match approached.

A late try by replacement hardman Dewald Maritz gave the visitors hope of securing a draw with less than five minutes left on the stadium clock, 19-12.

The Kavaliers launched one final attack but the handling errors and ill-discipline at the breakdown once again turned possession over to the home side.

A consolation for the Kavaliers was that they picked up a bonus point for losing within seven points. A point that could prove to be very vital as the race to the final hots up.

In the post-match interview, Marsh affirmed that he and his Boland side will have to put in a much-improved performance if they want to keep hopes alive of reaching the Currie Cup semi-finals.

“Firstly, all glory to God and I want to thank the amazing crowd that came to support us tonight,” Marsh said afterwards. “This was not the result that we wanted but hats off to our forwards. We did well at set-piece time; we were up there physically.

“However, we did not convert the opportunities we created in their 22.”

He continued when asked about what went wrong on the night: “Ja, look, those mistakes crept in and then we started making them continuously.

“Like I said, we had a lot of possession in their 22 but we weren’t lethal enough. Especially in the first 20 to 25 minutes – we should have scored at least two to three more tries.”