Down to wire for Boland, Griffons and Falcons

ROUND NINE PREVIEW: The SA Cup is going down to the wire with only one semifinal spot and a coveted qualifying place in the Currie Cup Premier Division at stake in the last round of league matches this weekend.

All five of the weekend’s games in the final round of the regulation season will kick off at 15.00 on Saturday.

Heading into the weekend’s final round fixtures, the Pumas are in pole position with 40 points, three more than the Griquas, with the Cheetahs third on 32 points.

These three sides have secured their places in the semifinals, where they will be joined by one of the Boland Cavaliers (27 points), the Griffons (26 points), or the Valke (25 points).

Eastern Province (21 points), the SWD Eagles (seven points), the Leopards (five points), and Border (two points) complete the log standings and are not in contention for the semifinals, but they can still make life difficult for the other sides.

The teams that managed to end in the top four positions after this weekend’s ninth round qualify for the forthcoming Currie Cup Premier Division, while the rest will battle each other in the First Division.

The defending champion Griquas host the Cheetahs in Kimberley, while the important clash between the Griffons and Pumas will be staged in Welkom.

In Potchefstroom, the Leopards and SWD Eagles will be hoping to finish the competition on a high, while Eastern Province can make life difficult for the Boland Cavaliers in a crunch battle in Gqeberha. The fifth match is in Kempton Park, where the Valke should have too much firepower for the Border Bulldogs.

It will be a case of playing to consolidate their top-three positions for Griquas and the Cheetahs, with both teams probably using this encounter to give some much-needed squad rotation with the all-important semi-finals looming.

Griquas’ only blemish on their league form is a loss to the Pumas two weeks ago, while the Cheetahs have managed to steady the ship and stacked up six wins after a slow start.

The men from Bloemfontein can still finish second on the log, but to do that, they must beat their neighbours by a big margin while also denying them a try-scoring bonus point.

The Griffons must win to stay in contention, which will be a challenging task against the unbeaten log leaders from Mpumalanga, although they have home ground advantage in Welkom.

Last season, the Pumas comfortably defeated the Griffons in Nelspruit, and with the momentum on the side of the visitors, the Northern Free Staters face an uphill battle.

Boland has everything to play for as they are currently in the driving seat to clinch that fourth spot. However, Allister Coetzee’s Eastern Province side has won four of their eight games, including last week’s home meeting with the Griffons, and will take momentum and belief into the clash.

The Cavaliers’ two-point home loss to the Pumas meant they collected two crucial points, which means a bonus-point victory at the NMU Stadium will secure them a spot in the semi-finals.

With the Valke playing the last-placed and winless Border at home on the East Rand, all the pressure will be on Boland and the Griffons not to lose in their last league games.

*Article continues below…

Saturday, May 10

Griquas vs Cheetahs
(Kimberley Stadium, Kimberley – Kick-off: 15.00)

Teams

Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Gurwin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead (captain), 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Phumzile Maqondwana, 6 Thabo Ndimande, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Cebo Dlamini, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Corne Lavanga.
Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Ntobeko Shezi, 19 Athenkosi Khethani, 20 Stephan Smit, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 Tylor Sefoor, 23 Zane Bester.

Cheetahs: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 13 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 12 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 George Lourens, 9 Jandre Nel, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Pierre Uys, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 1 Hencus van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Sisonke Vumazonke, 20 Neels Volschenk, 21 Tiaan Swanepoel, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 Franco Smith

Referee: Morne Ferreira

Griffons vs Pumas
(Welkom Stadium, Welkom – Kick-off: 15.00)

Teams

Griffons:15 Keanu Vers, 14 Christiaan Nel, 13 Aphiwe Stemela, 12 Chris Hollis, 11 Qamani Kota, 10 Duan Pretorius, 9 Richman Gora, 8 Calla Pienaar, 7 Thomas Ongera, 6 Jared Kruger, 5 Matt Gray, 4 Rian Olivier, 3 Edwin Nxumalo, 2 Willem van den Hever, 1 Xolani Jacobs
Replacements: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Mthokozisi Gumede, 18 Buhle Nojekwa, 19 Joshua Paris, 20 Lungi Mbiko, 21 Mingo Piti, 22 Kyle Cyster/Ulrich Stander, 23 Quan Eymann

Pumas: TBC

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

Leopards vs SWD Eagles
(Olen Park, Potchefstroom – Kick-off: 15.00)

Teams

Leopards: 15 Luan van der Walt, 14 Sino Tshontyi, 13 Brandon Keevy, 12 Bryan Breda, 11 Naiden Jaarts, 10 Shaun Baxter, 9 Chadd Adams, 8 Gcino Mdletshe, 7 Ghudian van Reenen,
6 Ricardo Fourie, 5 Stephan Krugel, 4 Uzile Tele, 3 Ig Prinsloo (captain), 2 Jason Alexander, 1 Jason Jansen
Replacements: 16 Liyema Mgwigwi, 17 Tatenda Chayayi, 18 Werner Geldenhuys, 19 Hanro Potgieter, 20 Eben Verster, 21 Sanele Zungu, 22 Indiphile Tyeda, 23 Clyde Lewis

Eagles: 15 Roshwin Abrahams, 14 Rosco Syster, 13 Clive Kruger, 12 JP Duvenhage (co-captain), 11 Mpho Ntsane, 10 Eric Zana, 9 Sachin Toring, 8 Leighton van Wyk, 7 Dian Basson, 6 Wayne Khan, 5 Mncedisi Dlwengu (co-captain), 4 Azola Mati, 3 Hlomla Zondani, 2 Marco Fuhri, 1 Tandolwetu Matolengwe.
Replacements: 16 Stephan Leonard, 17 Cole Haggard, 18 Christo Swanepoel, 19 Ethan Stuurman, 20 Gawywin Smith, 21 Marlo Weich, 22 Edwin Sass, 23 Quaid Langeveldt.

Referee: Hernus Coetzee

Eastern Province vs Boland Cavaliers
(Nelson Mandela University Stadium, Gqeberha – Kick-off: 15.00)

Teams

Eastern Province:15 Jayden Bantom, 14 Rodney Damons, 13 Sherwin Slater, 12 Troy Delport, 11 JD Jooste, 10 Chadwyn November, 9 Shirwin Cupido, 8 Athi Manentsa, 7 Jac van der Walt, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 Stefan Willemse (c), 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Duncan du Buisson, 2 Deon Plaatjies, 1 Siya Nzuzo
Replacements: 16 Masikane Mazwi, 17 Arno Gustafson, 18 Andile Ngonyama, 19 Johannes Huisamen, 20 Laken Gray, 21 Wayne Ngubane, 22 Aya Oliphant, 23 Layron Milborrow

Boland: 15 James Tedder, 14 Riaan Louw, 13 Erik Lambrecht, 12 Lunathi Nxele, 11 Xavier Mitchell, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Chriswill September, 8 Thurlow Marsh, 7 Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Gift Dlamini, 5 Michael Benadie, 4 Khwezi Mafu, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Wayrin Losper
Replacements: 16 HP van Schoor, 17 Lamla Nunu, 18 Dian Heunis, 19 Schalk Oelofse, 20 Ludio Williams, 21 Sauliegh Arendse, 22 Godlen Masimla, 22 Domenic Smit

Referee: Jonathan Lottering

Falcons vs Border Bulldogs
(Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park – Kick-off: 15.00)

Teams

Falcons: 15 Mbembe Payi, 14 Adrian Joubert, 13 Musa Tshabalala, 12 Waqar Solaan, 11 Valentino Wellman, 10 Sergio Stalmeester, 9 Liam Kloosman, 8 Zingisa April, 7 Tiaan April, 6 Kelvin Kanenungo, 5 Eddie Evans (captain), 4 Mihlali Stamper, 3 Blaine Golden, 2 Pierre Rabie,1 Lindokuhle Seteni
Replacements: 16 Pierre Rabie, 17 Kayden Kiewit, 18 Thabo Ntunja, 19 Philip Apea-Adu, 20 Zander van der Merwe, 21 Wernich Aucamp, 22 Zeilinga Strydom, 23 Mosolwa Mafuma

Border: 15 Mbasa Nkonki, 14 Zenande Mdledle, 13 Awonke Sondishe, 12 Hlumelo Zitha, 11 Sakhekile Dingile, 10 Oliver Zono, 9 Abdur Ismail, 8 Soso Xhakalashe, 7 Hlomla Payi, 6 Oyisa Balekile, 5 Caleb Radcliffe, 4 Camagu Dusani, 3 Hlumelo Ndongana, 2 Kamya Fatyela, 1 Sibusiso Lali Koza
Replacements: 16 Mangaliso Zixesha, 17 Luxolo Koza, 18 Siphetho Manakaza, 19 Ayabonga Nomboyo, 20 Ntokozo Vidima, 21 Jayden Shaw, 22 Ryan Maree, 23 Simthembile Ntleki

Referee: Paul Mente