SA Cup permutations: What happens in the event of a tied log?
SPOTLIGHT: With four teams still in the hunt for play-off and Currie Cup qualification spots, the final round of the SA Cup promises drama galore.
The Griquas and Pumas are safe in terms of qualification, but the Cheetahs, Boland, SWD and Valke are still in the hunt for a top four finish.
The Cheetahs have the daunting task of breaking Griquas’ unbeaten streak to ensure qualification, whilst Boland are the favourites to beat Eastern Province and the same counts for SWD against the Leopards.
The Valke have an outside chance but will bank on a Leopards upset against the Eagles.
Should the Cheetahs lose but salvage two bonus points, and Boland and SWD bank the full house in their respective games, all three teams will end on 32 log points – and this is where things get interesting.
The Cheetahs currently have a substantial points difference of +211, Boland are on +156, and SWD are on +11.
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But according to SA Rugby tournament rules, in the event of a points tie, the first tiebreaker is the number of games a team won before points difference comes into play.
In such a scenario, should the Cheetahs lose but get two bonus points from their game against Griquas, they would still miss out on qualification for the SA Cup play-offs and the Currie Cup tournament, as they would have five wins, while Boland and SWD have six.
In short, for the Cheetahs to avoid not being part of the Currie Cup for the first time in their prestigious history in the tournament, a win against Griquas is a non-negotiable.
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