The Toyota Cheetahs, Sanlam Boland Kavaliers and Valke were the biggest beneficiaries over the weekend following impressive victories in the sixth round of the SA Cup to ensure they remain in the race to qualify for the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division.

The two unbeaten front runners, Suzuki Griquas and the Airlink Pumas, secured comfortable victories to keep their winning runs intact.

The Toyota Cheetahs bagged their fourth win and second in a row when they overran the Phangela SWD Eagles 87-15 at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein to move into third spot on the league table.

The Sanlam Boland Kavaliers shrugged off their two previous losses by outgunning the Border Bulldogs 52-3 to move into fourth place on points’ difference, although they share the same amount of league points with the NovaVit Griffons and Valke.

The East Randers shrugged off a first-half blitz by the men from the Northern Free State to score two tries in the dying minutes to gain a thrilling 45-40 win in Kempton Park.

The Airlink Pumas brushed aside the Leopards 80-10 in Potchefstroom, while holders Suzuki Griquas opened the weekend’s action when they defeated Eastern Province by 70-17 in Kimberley on Friday afternoon.

With only three league rounds remaining before the playoffs, Griquas and the Pumas still lead the table on 30 points each; the Cheetahs are third on 22 points, which is two more than the Kavaliers, Griffons, and Valke.

EP are seventh on 12 points, with the defeat in the Northern Cape a big blow to their semifinal aspiration, while SWD (seven points), the Leopards (four) and Border (two) complete the standings.

CHEETAHS TOO STRONG FOR EAGLES

In the weekend’s action, the Toyota Cheetahs’ challenge for a top-four spot gathered more momentum when they overpowered Phangela SWD Eagles 87-15 after leading 26-15 in Bloemfontein.

The Free Staters scored 13 tries to two and pulled away in the second half after the Eagles had put up an admirable fight in the opening half. Cohen Jasper, Prince Nkabinde, and Rewan Kruger scored early for the Cheetahs, but the Eagles hit back with two tries through Kirwin Cupido and a conversion and penalty goal slotted by Roshwin Abrahams.

The home team dominated after the break as they raced away to score 10 unanswered tries, with five players – Marko Janse van Rensburg, Nkabinde, Kruger, Neels Volschenk and Pierre Uys – each going over twice. Clayton Blommetjies (five) and Jasper (six) shared 11 successful conversions between them.

Sanlam Boland Kavaliers got back on the winning wagon when they defeated the Border Bulldogs 52-3 in their league clash at Police Park in East London. The Kavaliers scored three tries and a conversion in the opening spell, while Border replied with a penalty goal by Maxwell Klaasen for their only points of this encounter.

Border’s resistance crumbled after the break when the Kavaliers piled on the pressure to score six more tries for this comfortable away win, which was their third of the campaign. Sydney Tobias was the recipient of two maul tries, while James Tedder and Ashlon Davids each succeeded with three conversions.

The Valke scored a thrilling comeback win over the NovaVit Griffons on Saturday afternoon in Kempton Park, where they fought their way back from a 40-7 halftime deficit to edge the team from Welkom 45-40 in one of the most extraordinary 40 minutes SA Cup rugby.

The Griffons were red hot in the opening spell and scored six tries – two by Kyle Cyster and one each through Keanu Vers, Willem van den Heever and Chris Nel – as well as five Andrew Kota conversions, to race into a 33-point first-half advantage. The hosts were stunned and replied with a Musa Tshabalala converted try during this period.

But the Valke came out a different beast in the second stanza, and once they scored their second try, again through Musa, they started a memorable fightback. They then proceeded to dominate possession and took full advantage of their scoring opportunities while also keeping the dangerous Griffons at bay with solid defence.

Adrian Joubert’s try six minutes from the end drew the teams level on 40-40 and with all the momentum on the side of the East Randers, they managed to send Sergio Stalmeester over for the winning score with the clock in the red.

Stalmeester played a pivotal role in the comeback win as he matched Kota with five conversions to keep the scoreboard pressure going, and although the Griffons will wonder how they let this one slip, they still returned to Welkom with two bonus points to keep their noses in front of the East Randers on the log.

PUMAS OUTMUSCLE LEOPARDS

The Airlink Pumas outmuscled the Leopards 80-10 in Potchefstroom as the side from Mpumalanga maintained their perfect league record to date. They were 47-10 ahead at the midway stage and they did not relent, scoring at will also in the second half to notch up their sixth win.

In the end, the Pumas scored 12 tries of which only two were not converted, while the Leopards replied with a converted try and a penalty goal.

Former Blitzbok speedster Darren Adonis maintained his prolific try-scoring form by helping himself to another hat-trick of tries, while Eddie Swart went over twice.

Pumas flyhalf Danrich Visagie was once more the playmaking maestro as he contributed 21 points via a try and eight conversions. Daniel Verster was the solo try scorer for the Leopards, with Charles Williams slotting the conversion and a penalty goal.

DOMINANT GRIQUAS VICTORIOUS

Unbeaten log leaders Suzuki Griquas delivered another dominant performance against Eastern Province when they triumphed 70-17 in the only Friday fixture played in Kimberley.

The hosts were closely matched during the first half and led 14-10 at the break, but they cut loose in the second stanza to add eight more tries to their tally of two in the first half to register another runaway win.

The match began with a strong start from the Kimberley outfit as Tertius Kruger scored their first try within the opening minutes, which was converted by ace kicker George Whitehead. EP responded with a try from Sherwin Slater and Christian Humphries added the conversion to level the score.

Dylan Maart then crossed the line for the Griquas for the first of his three tries as the hosts extended their lead. Just before the break, EP managed to score a penalty goal through Humphries to reduce the halftime deficit to just 14-10.

But the defending champions came out firing in the second stanza with Maart scoring two more tries in quick succession to complete his hat-trick. Cameron Hufke also added another try for Griquas to further extend their lead.

The men from Kimberley proceeded to score another six tries while EP managed one in reply as the defending champions gained their sixth win of a flawless campaign to date.

EP’s cause was further damaged when Diego Williams and Stefan Willemse were yellow-carded, while Gustav Erlank sat out 10 minutes for the Griquas.

All the teams have a break before the action resumes on the weekend of 25 April, with a top-of-the-table clash in Nelspruit between the Airlink Pumas and Suzuki Griquas.

On Saturday 26 April, Sanlam Boland Kavaliers host the Leopards in Wellington; Border and EP play their Eastern Cape derby in East London; the NovaVit Griffons welcome Phangela SWD Eagles to Welkom and Toyota Cheetahs are home to Valke, in Bloemfontein.

SCORERS:

Toyota Cheetahs 87 (28)

Phangela SWD Eagles 15 (15)

Cheetahs – Tries: Marko Janse Van Rensburg (2), Prince Nkabinde (2), Rewan Kruger (2), Neels Volschenk (2), Pierre Uys (2), Marco Janse van Vuren, Jandre Nel. Conversions: Cohen Jasper (6), Clayton Blommetjies (5).

Eagles – Tries: Kirwan Cupido (2). Conversion: Roshwin Abrahams. Penalty goal: Abrahams.

Border Bulldogs 3 (3)

Sanlam Boland Cavaliers 52 (17)

Bulldogs – Penalty goal: Maxwell Klaasen.

Kavaliers – Tries: Sidney Tobias (2), Lunathi Nxele, Peter-John Smit, Xavier Mitchell, Michael Benadie, Thurlow Marsh, Jurick Lewis. Conversions: James Tedder (3), Ashlon Davids (3).

Valke 45 (7)

NovaVit Griffons 40 (7)

Valke: Tries – Musa Tshabalala (2), Zeilinga Strydom, Blaine Golden, Sergio Stalmeester, Godfrey Muzanargwo, Adrian Joubert. Conversions: Stalmeester (5).

Griffons – Tries: Kyle Cyster (2), Keanu Vers, Willem van den Hever, Richman Gora, Chris Nel. Conversions: Andrew Kota (5).

Leopards 10 (10)

Airlink Pumas 80 (47)

Leopards – Try: Daniel Verster. Conversion: Charles Williams. Penalty goal: Williams.

Pumas – Tries: Darren Adonis (3), Eddie Swart (2), Stefan Coetzee, Darnell Osuagwu, Danrich Visagie, Dalvon Blood, Lundi Msenge, Ntsika Fisanti, Marvelous Mashimbyi. Conversions: Visagie (8), Stefan Coetzee (2).

Suzuki Griquas 70 (14)

Eastern Province 17 (10)

Griquas – Tries: Tertius Kruger (3), Dylan Maart (3), Cameron Hufke, Dylan Sjoblom, Gurshwin Wehr, Zane Bester. Conversions: George Whitehead (5), Tylor Sefoor (5).

EP – Tries: Sherwin Slater, Jayden Bantom. Conversions: Christian Humphries (2). Penalty goal: Humphries.