Three-horse race for semi spot

Currie Cup Premier Division qualification for the Boland Kavaliers, Griffons and Valke is going down to the wire after the penultimate round of the 2025 SA Cup.

Meanwhile, log-leaders Pumas maintained their unbeaten status in the competition this season after edging the Kavaliers 34-32 in Wellington on Saturday.

Boland collected two bonus points that keeps Hawies Fourie’s men in fourth place on the table – a point ahead of the Griffons, after Eastern Province did the Kavaliers a favour by beating the Northern Free Staters 20-14 in Gqeberha.

The Valke ensured they stayed in the hunt with a 45-31 win over the Leopards in Potchefstroom.

After their first loss in the competition last week against the Pumas in Nelspruit, title-holders Griquas bounced back courtesy of a 52-5 victory over the SWD Eagles in George, while the Cheetahs overwhelmed Border 106-7 in Bloemfontein.

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

All three teams have booked their places in the semi-finals, where they will be joined by one of Boland (27 pts), Griffons (26 pts) or the Valke (25 pts). EP (21 pts), SWD (7 pts), Leopards (5 pts) and Border (2 pts) complete the standings.

In round 9, Griquas host the Cheetahs, followed by a clash in Welkom between the Griffons and Pumas. Also in action are the Leopards and SWD in Potchefstroom; EP and Boland in Gqeberha; and Valke against Border in Kempton Park.

Round 8 results and scorers:
Boland Kavaliers 32-34 Pumas
Boland – Tries: HP van Schoor (2), James Tedder, Domenic Smit. Conversions: Tedder (3). Penaltiess: Tedder (2).
Pumas – Tries: Jay Cee Nel (2), Ross Braude, Darren Adonis, Ruwald van der Merwe. Conversions: Clinton Swart (3). Penalty: Swart.
Cheetahs 106-7 Border
Cheetahs – Tries: Marko Janse van Rensburg (2), Prince Nkabinde (2), James Verity-Amm (2), Jandre Nel (2), Andisa Ntsila, Jeandre Rudolph, Marco Janse Van Vuren, Tiaan Swanepoel, Carel-Jan Coetzee, Schalk Ferreira, Michael Annies, Jandre Nel (2), penalty try. Conversions: James Verity-Amm (6), Tiaan Swanepoel (6).
Border – Try: Hlomla Payi. Conversion: Jaden Shaw.
Leopards 31-45 Valke
Leopards – Tries: Jason Alexander, Brandon Keevy, Naiden Jaarts, Ghudian van Reenen. Conversions: Shaun-Christian Baxter (4). Penalty: Baxter.
Valke – Tries: Abulele Ndabambi, Zeilinga Strydom, Andrew Volschenk, Zingisa April, Musa Tshabalala (2), Adrian Joubert. Conversions: Sergio Stalmeester (5).
Eastern Province 20-14 Griffons
EP – Tries: Rodney Damons, Davian Swanepoel. Conversions: Christian Humphries (2). Penalties: Humphries (2).
Griffons – Tries: Andrew Kota, Willem van den Hever. Conversions: Kota (2).
SWD Eagles 5-52 Griquas
SWD – Try: Mpho Ntsane.
Griquas – Tries: Albert Liebenberg, Thomas Bursey, Athenkosi Khethani, Lourens Oosthuizen, Janco Uys, Bobby Alexander, Connor Mahoney, Gurshwin Wehr. Conversions: Tylor Sefoor.

Photo: @TheCurrieCup/Twitter