Lions roar to the top of the log

The Fidelity ADT Lions ended the Vodacom Bulls' unbeaten run in the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division to move top of the log but defeats for the Toyota Cheetahs and Airlink Pumas mean the 2023 and 2022 champions will be involved in a “quarter-final” this weekend to see who will join the Gauteng teams and the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV in the play-offs.

The two teams from Gauteng will host semi-finals with the Lions in pole position to finish the league phase at the top of the log after their victory over the Bulls in Centurion on Friday.

Suzuki Griquas and DHL Western Province were victorious over the Cheetahs and Pumas in Kimberley and Stellenbosch respectively and the KwaZulu-Natalians secured third spot on the log with a massive win over the NovaVit Griffons in Durban, in yet another thrilling round of action in the Carling Currie Cup.

In a closely contested affair in Kimberley, Griquas edged the Cheetahs with a 44-31 win in the early Friday afternoon fixture, inflicting some damage to the defending champions' semi-final aspirations.

The Lions were the biggest winners of the past weekend when they defeated the Bulls by 57-33 at Midstream College on Friday, to snap the Pretoria's side unbeaten streak and leapfrog them on the table into top spot.

Playing on Saturday afternoon in Durban, the Sharks had too much firepower for the Griffons, romping home to a 75-19 win to extend their unbeaten run to six games.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Western Province delivered one of their better performances to down the Pumas 39-30 in the weekend's last match staged at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch.

Griquas got the weekend's action off to an exciting start when they delivered their best performance of the campaign so far, outplaying the Cheetahs in Kimberley, where Lubabalo Dobela (flyhalf) controlled play well for the hosts as he contributed a try, conversion and a penalty.

Pieter Bergh's side made the most of their chances, scoring at regular intervals as they capitalised on the Free Staters’ mistakes. After leading 17-10 at the break, the Northern Cape hosts went on to score seven tries to four to clinch a deserved win.

A few hours later in Centurion, the Lions outplayed the Bulls with an impressive victory. The Joburg outfit, reinforced by several of their Vodacom United Rugby Championship squad members, delivered a formidable attacking performance, particularly from their dangerous backline who were impressive throughout.

Nico Steyn was influential at flhyhalf and he succeeded with five conversions and a drop goal for a personal tally of 13 points, while PJ Botha (hooker) scored a brace for the visitors. Despite the hosts’ valiant attempts to rally before an enthusiastic home crowd, they were unable to match their Gauteng neighbours on the day, resulting in their first defeat of the campaign.

Playing in Saturday's only fixture, staged in bright sunshine in Durban, the Sharks flexed their considerable muscle to overpower the Griffons by the second biggest score of the year so far. Also strengthened by several Vodacom URC stars, including the prolific Springbok Makazole Mapimpi, the Durban outfit simply had too much ammunition for their Welkom opponents.

Mampimpi was in rampant form as he scored three of his four tries before the half-time break, while his wing partner Eduan Keyter also dotted down three times. The Durbanites ended up scoring 11 times, with all but one try through their dangerous backline.

Former Springbok wing Courtnall Skosan bagged a hat-trick to help steer WP to a morale boosting triumph over the Pumas in Stellenbosch on Sunday. The Cape outfit trailed 15-17 at the break but managed to turn things around in the second period as they eventually prevailed by six tries to three for only their third win of the campaign.

With only the final round of league fixtures to come, the Lions are now leading the standings on 38 points, one more than the Bulls, who are on 37. The Sharks follow next on 31 points. These three teams are assured of their spots in the semi-finals.

However, six and seven points adrift respectively, the Cheetahs (25) and Pumas (24) will play out for the final spot in the top four when they clash on Saturday.

Griquas and WP (both on 19) and the Griffons (three) bring up the rear.

This weekend, Griquas are playing Western Province in Kimberley in the early Friday afternoon encounter (3pm). Immediately after that, the Lions host the Griffons in Johannesburg (5.15pm).

On Saturday, the Pumas and Cheetahs meet in a crucial make-or-break game from 1.30pm in Nelspruit, while the Sharks are up against the Bulls in Durban on Sunday (3pm) to complete the league phase.

Scores

Suzuki Griquas 44 (17), Toyota Cheetahs 31 (10)

Suzuki Griquas – Tries: Zane Bester, Dandre Delport, Lubabalo Dobela, Marco de Witt, Gustav du Rand, Connor Mahoney, Bobby Alexander. Conversions: Dobela, Thomas Bursey, Zinedine Robinson. Penalty: Dobela.

Toyota Cheetahs – Tries: Daniel Kasende, Ethan Wentzel, Ali Mgijima, Munier Hartzenberg. Conversions: Wentzel (4). Penalty: Wentzel.

Vodacom Bulls 33 (14), Fidelity ADT Lions 57 (33)

Vodacom Bulls – Tries: Corne Beets, Joe van Zyl, Katlego Letebele, Juann Else, Penalty Try. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (2), Jaco van der Walt.

Fidelity ADT Lions – Tries: PJ Botha (2), Erich Cronje, Ruan Venter, Morne van den Berg, Morgan Naude, Renzo du Plessis, Rabz Maxwane. Conversions: Nico Steyn (5), Sanele Nohamba (2). Drop goal: Nico Steyn.

Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 75 (40), NovaVit Griffons 19 (12)

Hollywoodbets Sharks XV – Tries: Makazole Mapimpi (4), Eduan Keyter (3), Lionel Cronje, Jordan Hendrikse, Francois Venter, Emmanuel Tshituka. Conversions: Lionel Cronje (6), Siya Masuku (4).

Novavit Griffons – Tries: Willem van den Heever (2), Gurshwin Wehr. Conversions: Andrew Kota, Dewald Human.

DHL Western Province 39 (15), Airlink Pumas 30 (17)

DHL Western Province – Tries: Courtnall Skosan (3), Wandisile Simelane, Damian Markus, Joseph Dweba. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2), Jurie Matthee. Penalty: Matthee.

Airlink Pumas – Tries: Etienne Janeke, Deon Slabbert, Ross Braude. Conversions: Clinton Swart (3). Penalties: Swart (3).