With six wins on the bounce, respectively, the only remaining unbeaten sides in the SA Cup, the Airlink Pumas and Suzuki Griquas, have all but confirmed their spots in the competition’s semi-finals with three rounds to go.
Both sides are sitting pretty on a full house of 30 points, having won all their matchups with bonus points, with the Griquas topping the standings with a better points difference than the Pumas. And with the SA Cup doubling up as a qualifying competition for four available spots in the Currie Cup Premier Division, both teams are a win away from securing a spot in later this year’s big provincial competition.
Four Horse Race
And while the race for the SA Cup title looks like it will ultimately be decided between the Griquas and Pumas, who face each other in a Round Seven clash at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on 25 April, the Toyota Cheetahs (third), Sanlam Boland Kavaliers (fourth), Novavit Griffons (fifth) and Valke (sixth) are all in the race for the remaining two semi-final and Currie Cup Premier Division spots.
The Cheetahs consolidated their third place on the standings with a convincing 87-15 victory against the Phangela SWD Eagles on Saturday to bring up 22 log points, while the Valke won an entertaining tussle against the Griffons by 45-40 in Kempton Park.
Meanwhile, the Kavaliers climbed back into the top four in the standings after outclassing a Border Bulldogs team 52-3 at a windy Police Park in East London.
However their return to the top four is thanks to a better points difference as Boland, Griffons and Valke all have 20 log points.
Kavaliers Up For Qualifying Fight
And speaking exclusively to Telecom Asia Sport after their third win of the campaign, Boland head coach, Hawies Fourie, says his team is ready to fight to remain in the top four and are chasing three bonus point wins in the remaining three rounds before the knock outs.
Yes, points difference is going to ne vital at the back end of the competition but at least [after this win] we are back in the mix on 20 log points with the Griffons and Valke and only two behind the Cheetahs, so there is everything to play for in the next three games.
Today’s game against the Bulldogs was a difficult one with a strong westerly wind blowing here at Police Park that also sported a very uneven playing field with the grass only being cut a day before and on some parts of the field it looked as if it had not been cut properly.
I don’t think a competition with such importance should be played on pitches like these but it is what it is.
Kavaliers Showing Maturity After Inconsistent Run
Fourie however, praised his team for not falling into the same trap as they did in losses to the Griffons and Valke in previous SA Cup away games, where bad starts knocked them off their stride.
According to the Boland boss, his side came under early pressure after conceding early scrum penalties and watching team captain Lunahti Nxele sin-binned for a dangerous tackle.
But, he was impressed at seeing how his men then went back to the basics to totally overpower their hosts.
[After the bad start] we reacted well and played better in the second half, although the strong wind made it difficult to throw the ball around. We would have loved to score more points because the points difference is going to be important at the back end of the competition.
Round Six SA Cup Results:
- Griquas 70, Eastern Province 17;
- Leopards 10, Airlink Pumas 80;
- Cheetahs 87, Eagles 15;
- Valke 45, Griffons 40;
- Bulldogs 3, Boland 52
