SA Cup race to the play-offs: Three must fit into one

WRAP: The race for those coveted four semifinal spots of the SA Cup – and with that qualification to the Currie Cup – is going down to the wire.

The Boland Cavaliers, Griffons and Falcons are in the running for the final play-offs spot after the penultimate round was completed at the weekend.

Meanwhile, log leaders Pumas maintained their status as the only unbeaten side in the competition when they edged the Cavaliers 34-32 in an exciting match in Wellington at the weekend.

The two bonus points Boland managed to collect despite their narrow home loss keep them in fourth place on the log, just one point ahead of the Griffons, after Eastern Province did the Cavaliers a huge favour by beating the Northern Free Staters by 20-14 in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

The Falcons also ensured they stayed in the hunt for qualification following their crucial 45-31 win over the Leopards in Potchefstroom.

After suffering their first loss in the competition last week against the Pumas in Nelspruit, holders Griquas bounced back to winning ways courtesy of a 52-5 victory over the South Western Districts Eagles in George, while the Cheetahs overwhelmed the winless Border team 106-7 in Bloemfontein.

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

These three sides have booked their places in the semifinals, where they will be joined by one of Boland (27 points), the Griffons (26) or the Falcons (25) points. EP (21 points), South Western Districts (seven points), the Leopards (five) and Border (two) complete the log standings.

In next week’s last league matches, Griquas host the Cheetahs from in Kimberley, and that encounter is followed by the important clash in Welkom between the Griffons and Pumas.

The other fixtures are between the Leopards and South Western Districts in Potchefstroom, EP versus Boland in Port Elizabeth, and the Falcons against Border in Kempton Park.

This weekend, Eastern Province scored their fourth win of the campaign when they defeated Griffons 20-14 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, but unfortunately for the men from the Eastern Cape, other results mean they can’t make it into the top four anymore, despite this upset victory.

EP were not at their best in the opening half as they trailed by 3-14 following two converted tries, by Andrew Kota and Willem van der Hever. However, they came out much better organised in the second stanza to score two converted tries and a penalty goal, while the home team’s defence was also on song as they managed to keep the Griffons scoreless.

Wings Rodney Damons and Davian Swanepoel went over the line for the EP, while Christian Humphries succeeded with the important conversions to steer the Eastern Cape side to victory.

The Falcons emerged victorious against the Leopards with a hard-fought 45-31 win in Potchefstroom. They had to work hard for the win though as the hosts were only two points behind at half-time with the score at 19-17.

The East Randers scored seven tries to four in the end for a well-deserved win which keep their outside chance alive to qualify for the play-offs and a place in the Currie Cup.

Midfielder Musa Tshabalala scored a brace of tries while reliable place kicker Sergio Stalmeester succeeded with five of the seven conversions. The Leopards’ Shaun Baxter slotted all four his conversion attempts and he was also on target with a penalty goal.

The Cheetahs ran in 16 tries while conceding only one in their 106-7 romp over the Border Bulldogs in Bloemfontein. The Free Staters were already out of sight by the halfway stage with a 47-0 advantage.

Four players – Marko Janse van Rensburg, Prince Nkabinde, James Verity-Amm and Jandre Nel – left the field with braces behind their names. Tiaan Swanepoel and Verity-Amm succeeded with six conversions each as the Cheetahs solidified third spot on the league table.

The Pumas clinched a thrilling 34-32 win away win over the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington to stay in first place on the SA Cup log. The two teams were involved in a massive arm wrestle for the entire match and were locked at 15-15 at the sound of the halftime whistle.

Crucially for the team from Mpumalanga, they scored five tries compared to four of the Cavaliers, which proved to be the decider in the end. Hawies Fourie’s team did manage to collect two vital bonus-points in the process, which keep them fourth on the log.

HP Schoor scored twice for the Cavaliers while pivot James Tedder kept them in the hunt with a try, three conversions and two penalty goals for a personal tally of 15 points. Jay Cee Nel, with his two tries, and playmaker Clinton Swart, with three conversions and a penalty goal, were the architects of the Pumas’ close-fought win, which kept them first on the log.

The defending champions Griquas overpowered the South Western Districts Eagles 52-5 in George, scoring eight tries in the process whilst the Eagles could only reply with a solo first half try.

The men from Kimberley lost to the Pumas in Nelspruit last week for the time since the start of the competition early last year, but in George they were in a rampant mood as they returned to winning ways.

Griquas ran in eight tries in total, interestingly each one scored by a different player, with the forwards equalling the backs’ tally of four tries. Flyhalf Tylor Sefoor succeeded with six conversion kicks as the Kimberley outfit further solidified their place amongst the top two-placed teams.

* All the Round Seven scores and scorers are below …

Boland Cavaliers 32 (15), Pumas 34 (15)

Scorers

Boland
Tries: Van Schoor 2, Tedder, Smit
Cons: Tedder 3
Pens: Tedder 2

Pumas
Tries: Nel 2, Braude, Adonis, Van der Merwe
Cons: Swart 3
Pen: Swart

Teams:

Boland Cavaliers: 15 Domenic Smit, 14 Riaan Louw, 13 Lunathi Nxzele (vice-captain), 12 Jurick Lewis, 11 Xavier Mitchell, 10 James Tedder, 9 Chriswill September 8 Thurlow Marsh (captain), 7 Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Gift Dlamini, 5 Michael Benadie, 4 Khwezi Mafu, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Sithembiso Sithole.
Replacements: 16 HP van Schoor, 17 Wayrin Losper, 18 Dian Heunis, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Ludio Williams, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Erik Lambrecht, 23 Darian Hock.

Pumas: 15 Jaycee Nel, 14 Lundi Msenge, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Darren Adonis, 10 Clinton Swart 9 Ross Braude, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Andre Fouche, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 Jeandre Leonard, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Etienne Janeke.
Replacements: 16 Darnell Osuagwu, 17 Stephan de Jager, 18 Deward Maritz, 19 Heinz Bertram, 20 Ntsika Fisanti, 21 Russwill Fredericks, 22 Danrich Visagie, 23 Tino Swanepoel.

Referee: Griffin Colby

Cheetahs 106 (47), Border 7 (0)

Scorers

Cheetahs
Tries: Janse van Rensburg 2, Nkabinde 2, Verity-Amm 2, Jandre Nel 2, Ntsila, Rudolph, Janse Van Vuren, Swanepoel, Coetzee, Ferreira, Annies, Penalty try
Cons: Verity-Amm 6, Swanepoel 6, a penalty try does not require a conversion

Border
Try: Payi
Con: Shaw

Teams:

Cheetahs: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 13 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Michael Annies, 10 George Lourens, 9 Jandre Nel, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Sisonke Vumazonke, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Victor Sekekete (Captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Vernon Paulo, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Banele Mthenjane, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 20 Pierre-Raymond Uys, 21 Tiaan Swanepoel, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 Carel-Jan Coetzee

Border Bulldogs: 15 Maxwell Klaasen, 14 Simthembile Ntleki, 13 Mbasa Nkonki, 12 Ryan Maree, 11 Sakhekile Dingile, 10 Oliver Zone, 9 Abdur Smail, 8 Soso Xhakalashe, 7 Hlomla Payi, 6 Oyisa Balekile, 5 Caleb Radcliffe, 4 Ayabonga Nomboya, 3 Siphetho Manakaza, 2 Mangaliso Zixesha, 1 Luxolo Koza (captain)
Replacements: 16 Kamvelihle Fatyela, 17 Sokhana Mpemba, 18 Sibusiso Lali, 19 Camagu Dlisani, 20 Ntokozo Vidima, 21 Jayden Shaw, 22 Simthembile Zozi, 23 Zenande Mdledle

Referee: Lulutho Matomela

Leopards 31 (17), Falcons 45 (19)

The scorers

Leopards
Tries: Alexander, Keevy, Jaarts, Van Reenen
Cons: Baxter 4
Pen: Baxter

Falcons
Tries: Ndabambi, Strydom, Volschenk, April, Tshabalala 2, Joubert
Cons: Stalmeester 5

Teams:

Leopards: 15 Luan van der Walt, 14 Sino Tshontyi, 13 Matthew Fortuin, 12 Bryan Breda, 11 Naiden Jaarts, 10 Brandon Keevy, 9 Chad Adams, 8 Eben Verster, 7 Uzile Tele, 6 Gcino Mletshe, 5 Chris van Heerden, 4 Hanro Potgieter, 3 Ig Prinsloo, 2 Jason Alexander, 1 Jason Jansen
Replacements: 16 Ricardo Fourie, 17 Tatenda, Chayayi, 18 Werner Geldenhuys, 19 Lood Prins, 20 Didi Sekati, 21 Sanele Zungu, 22 Shaun Baxter, 23 Clyde Lewis

Falcons: 15 Mbembe Payi, 14 Adrian Joubert, 13 Musa Tshabalala, 12 Waqar Solaan, 11 Ezrick Alexander, 10 Sergio Stalmeester, 9 Wernich Aucamp, 8 Zingisa April, 7 Godfrey Muzanargwo, 6 Abulele Ndabambi, 5 Andrew Volschenk (captain), 4 Mihlali Stamper, 3 Blaine Golden, 2 An Other, 1 Kayden Kiewit
Replacements: 16 Pierre Rabie, 17 Lindokuhle Seteni, 18 Thabo Ntunja, 19 Philip Apea-Adu, 20 Tyler Jonker, 21 Liam Kloosman, 22 Zeilinga Strydom, 23 Molwa Mafuma

Referee: Hanru van Rooyen

Eastern Province 20 (3), Griffons 14 (14)

The scorers

Eastern Province
Tries: Damons, Swanepoel
Cons: Humphries 2
Pens: Humphries 2

Griffons
Tries: Kota, Van den Hever
Cons: Kota 2

Teams

Eastern Province: 15 Jaden Bantom, 14 Rodney Damons, 13 Sherwin Slater, 12 Troy Delport, 11 Davian Swanepoel, 10 Chris Humphries, 9 Shirwin Cupido, 8 Athi Manentsa, 7 Jac van der Walt, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 Stefan Willemse (captain), 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 Huishamen, 20 Laken Gray, 21 Wayne Ngubane , 22 Chadwin November , 23 JD Jooste.

Griffons: 15 Keanu Vers, 14 Christiaan Nel, 13 Aphiwe Stemela, 12 Chris Hollis, 11 Qamani Kota, 10 Duan Pretorius, 9 Richman Gora, 8 Ulrich Stander, 7 Thomas Ongera, 6 Mingo Piti, 5 Curtly Thomas, 4 Lungi Mbiko, 3 Buhle Nojekwa, 2 Willem van der Hever, 1 Simon Westraadt
Replacements: 16 Chadley Wenn, 17 Xolani Jacobs, 18 Mthokozisi Gumede, 19 Matt Gray, 20 Calla Pienaar, 21 Rian Olivier, 22 Kyle Cyster, 23 Quan Eymann, 24 Jared Kruger, Joshua Paris, 29 Jaywinn Juries

Referee: Dylen November

South Western Districts Eagles 5 (5), Griquas 52 (31)

The scorers

South Western Districts
Try: Ntsane

Griquas
Tries: Liebenberg, Bursey, Khethani, Oosthuizen, Uys, Alexander, Mahoney, Wehr
Cons: Sefoor 6

Teams:

South Western Districts Eagles: 15 Roshwin Abrahams, 14 Rosco Syster (co-captain), 13 Clive Kruger, 12 JP Duvenhage (captain), 11 Mpho Ntsane, 10 Eric Zana, 9 Sachin Toring, 8 Leighton van Wyk (co-captain), 7 Dian Basson, 6 Wayne Khan, 5 Gaywin Smith, 4 Azola Mati, 3 Christo Swanepoel, 2 Stephan Leonard, 1 Cole Haggard.
Replacements: 16 Marco Fuhri, 17 Stefaan Grundlingh, 18 Cecil Rittles, 19 Ethan Stuurman, 20 Gerschwin Muller, 21 Marlo Weich, 22 Edwin Sass, 23 Dehovine Johannes.

Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Gurwin Wehr, 10 Tylor Sefoor, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Carl Els, 7 Marco de Witt (captain), 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Athenkosi Khethani, 3 Cebo Dlamini, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Leon Lyons.
Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Ntobeko Shezi, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Gustav Erlank, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 Zane Bester, 23 Connor Mahoney.

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys