Pumas edge Kavaliers in SA Cup thriller

A dominant line-out and maul performance helped the Airlink Pumas edge the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers, 38-31, at the Mbombela Stadium in Round Eight of the 2026 SA Cup on Sunday.

The win means the home side consolidates their second-placed home semi-final spot, hoping to successfully defend their SA Cup title. With the two bonus points – one for losing within seven and scoring four tries – the Kavaliers find themselves in the all-important top four positions on the log.

With one round of matches left, the top four sides not only make the semi-finals but automatic qualification into the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division competition.

Tries for the visitors in the first half came via Sidney Tobias, Louis Schreuder and Jayden Bantom. Bantom converted two of his three attempts, handing the Kavaliers a slender five-point lead at the half-time break, 19-14.

The educated boot of Clinton Swart kept the Pumas within touching distance at times when the home side were trailing. It was the very Swart, whose try in the right-hand corner minutes away from the final whistle, that proved to be the difference between the two sides.

The Kavaliers dominated the territory and possession stats in the opening half, outscoring the Pumas by three tries to two.

A seesaw battle in the opening 20 minutes of the match ensured an entertaining encounter but it also led to the home side converting their opportunities into points. Tobias crashed over from close range for his fourth try of the campaign.

Ruwald van der Merwe and Lundi Msenge gave the Pumas a 7-point lead early in the first half, each scoring a try apiece, with Swart converting both scores, 14-7.

The powerful inside centre Jurick Lewis broke through two Pumas defenders before passing to Schreuder on his inside, who dove across under the uprights.

Bantom, who took over the kicking duties following injuries to Juan Mostert (shoulder) and James Tedder (concussion), succeeded with his attempt, levelling matters with minutes left in the opening stanza.

It was Bantom who had the final say in the first 40, the elusive fullback receiving the ball on the halfway line showing a clean pair of heels to canter in for what was arguably the try of the match.

The home side, however, came out firing in the second half when Gustav du Rand crashed over, for his first of two five-pointers, which handed the lead back to the Pumas, 21-19. Du Rand scored his second try in reply to Kavaliers’ replacement front-ranker, Dayan van der Westhuizen, who crashed over from close range after collecting the ball at the back of a line-out after a throw that went awry.

Swart converted both Du Rand’s scores, handing the home side a four-point lead, 28-24, as the final 20 minutes of the match drew closer.

Kavaliers’ head coach, Hawies Fourie, used the replacement bench effectively. Sauliegh Arendse got his name on the scoreboard with the subsequent conversion successful, which set the scene for an emphatic finish as the final 10 minutes approached, 31-28.

A series of silly errors by both sides took play deep into the visitors’ territory, with Swart receiving the ball off the back of an attacking five-metre scrum, powering his way across the whitewash with three Kavaliers closing in on him as he went to ground. Referee Stephan Geldenhuys awarded the try despite protests from Thurlow Marsh and Bantom, the latter doing so from virtually underneath Swart’s body.

The successful conversion meant the Pumas had to hold on for three minutes without conceding a try, to register a 38-31 victory and with that five log points.