In a back-and-forth tussle between the SA Cup front-runners, Griquas snatched a late victory against the Pumas to cement their spot at the top of the log.
With two rounds remaining, the 31-26 win on Friday in Kimberley put Griquas on the inside lane to host a home final.
In the first match on Saturday, the SWD Eagles hosted the Griffons, with the latter clinching a crucial 36-28 victory on the road.
Despite maintaining their third-place position on the log, the Griffons closed the gap to just one point behind the Pumas. Both the teams from Mpumalanga and the Northern Free State must secure wins in the last two round to keep their playoff hopes alive, but the Eagles have slipped to seventh on the log.
Meanwhile, at the Leeudoringstad Rugby Klub, the Leopards suffered their fourth defeat against a formidable Boland Kavaliers team, who won by 59-26.
WATCH: Massive hit on goose-stepping prop
The standout performance of the weekend came from the Cheetahs, who secured a resounding 68-17 victory over the Valke, scoring 10 tries to the Valke’s three.
Although this result didn’t alter the log, with the Cheetahs remaining in fourth place and the Valke in ninth, the Free Staters will remain hopeful for a final spot if they win their remaining games and one of the teams above them slips up.
In the final game of the weekend, Eastern Province claimed a 38-17 victory over the Border Bulldogs in their Eastern Cape derby, with EP fullback Mbembe Payi’s, hat-trick contributing to a comfortable bonus point win.
This triumph propelled Eastern Province up two places on the log, while the Bulldogs remain at the bottom, still seeking their first points of the season.
Scorers:
Griquas (31) – Tries: Thabo Ndimande, Cameron Hufke and Lubabalo Dobela. Conversions: George Whitehead (3) Penalty: Whitehead.
Pumas (26) – Tries: Ross Braude and Theuns Pretorius. Conversions: Clinton Swart (2). Penalties: Clinton Swart (4).
SWD (28) – Tries: Heinrich Roelfse, Mpho Ntsane, JP Duvenage and Sachin Toring. Conversions: Joshua Vermeulen (4).
Griffons (36) – Tries: Micheal Benadie, Thomas Ongera, Obbie Petzer, Domenic Smit and Dandre Delport. Conversions: Danrich Visagie (4). Penalty: Visagie.
Leopards (26) – Tries: Mncedisi Dlwengu (2), Sanele Zungu and Charles Williams. Conversions: Charles Williams (3).
Boland Kavaliers (59) – Tries: Thurlow Marsh, Bentley Geldenhuys (5), Xavier Mitchell, Riaan Louw and Gavern Skippers. Conversions: Garth April (7).
Valke (17) – Tries: Godfrey Muzanargwo and Anrich Richter (2). Conversion: Sergio Stalmeester.
Cheetahs (68) – Tries: Marnus van der Merwe, Mzwanele Zito, Sibabalo Qoma, Munier Hartzenberg (2), Sbu Nkosi, Tapiwa Mafura and Rethabile Mzamo (2). Conversions: Andell Loubser (9).
Eastern Province (38) – Tries: Temba Boltina, Mbembe Payi (3), Aya Oliphant and Luxolo Koza. Conversions: Darryle Kameel (2) and Ruben de Vos (2).
Border (17) – Try: Lwandile Mapuko. Penalties: Merlin du Plessis (4).
Photo: Mark Ward/Gallo Images
