Blommetjies reignites Cheetahs' Currie Cup hopes

03/30/2025 06:54 AM

WRAP: Griquas and the Pumas continued their winning runs in the SA Cup to remain unbeaten after four rounds, while the Cheetahs and Boland secured important victories on Saturday to remain in the race to the semifinals.

The defending champions from Kimberley beat the Griffons by 52-33 in Welkom, while last year's runners-up from Nelspruit posted a 50-35 win over the Falcons in Kempton Park.

The Free Staters had to work hard to defeat Eastern Province 47-35 in Gqeberha; the Bolanders easily overcame the SWD Eagles 71-21 in Wellington; and in East London, the Leopards downed Border 28-25 for their first win of the season.

With the competition edging towards the halfway stage, Griquas and Pumas lead the standings with a full house of 20 points each, with the holders placed first due to a healthier points differential.

The Griffons remain third on 16 points despite their home defeat, followed by the Boland (fourth, 13 points) and Cheetahs (fifth, 12 points). The Falcons slipped to seventh on 11 points, four more than Eastern Province and five better than the Eagles.

The Leopards' first win increased their tally to four points, while Border has two points. The top four teams at the end of the single round of fixtures will qualify for the Currie Cup.

This past weekend was the first time this year that all five games were staged on a Saturday afternoon, with the Pumas extending their winning run with a deserving 50-35 triumph over the Falcons at Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park.

The home team did well to stay in the fight, especially in the opening half, as they managed a slender 22-19 lead. However, the visitors from Mpumalanga hit their stride in the second half, registering four more tries in another convincing display, outscoring the East Randers by eight tries to four.

The first half was a ding-dong affair, as the men from Mpumalanga took the lead through Sampie Swiegers shortly after kick-off. The Falcons responded when Mbembe Payi scored their opening try, and Keagan Fortune then added a penalty goal to the conversion.

Musa Tshabalala's try barely extended the hosts' lead, then Darren Adonis grabbed his first as the Pumas struck back, but Valentino Wellman crossed the whitewash for another Falcons try as the arm wrestle continued.

Jay Cee Nel went over just before halftime, and when Clinton Swart converted, the visitors had cut the halftime deficit to three points.

The second half saw the men from Mpumalanga take control of the game. Adonis scored his second out wide as they surged into the lead, while Sampie Swiegers and Llewellyn Classen also crossed. Swart was instrumental as he converted five tries, ensuring the Airlink Pumas kept their unbeaten status intact.

Griquas saw off a brave challenge by the Griffons for a convincing 52-33 win to extend their unbeaten run in the competition. Playing at home in Welkom, the Griffons scored five tries; however, they found the physicality and pace of the Northern Cape side too much to handle.

It was a memorable afternoon for Griquas right wing Dylan Maart as he grabbed four tries, while fellow outside back Cameron Hufke helped himself to a brace. The champions eventually scored eight times, six of which were converted by ace goalkicker George Whitehead.

The team from Kimberley started strong with Maart scoring their first two tries inside the 20-minute mark, but the hosts responded through a converted try by Willem van den Hever before Griquas continued their dominance with more tries from Marco De Witt and Hufke, with Whitehead adding the extras. Mingo Piti added his name to the Griffons' score sheet as the visitors took a 33-14 halftime lead.

The second half saw the holders extending their lead when former Blitzbok Gurshwin Wehr went over against his erstwhile team, while Maart completed his hat-trick five minutes after the break, adding his fourth later. The Welkom hosts fought back through a penalty try and further tries from Keanu Vers and Jared Kruger, but it wasn't enough to close the gap.

Clayton Blommetjies starred at flyhalf and provided a valuable spark for the Cheetahs as they gained a hard-fought 47-35 victory over Eastern Province at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.

The Bloemfontein outfit had to do it the hard way, fighting for only their second win of the campaign. EP gave a good account of themselves and held a 22-21 lead at the halfway mark. With Blommetjies directing play, the Free Staters' greater experience proved the turning point in the second stanza as they pulled away to outscore EP by seven tries to four for a morale-boosting win.

A Christian Humphries penalty goal gave EP an early lead, and they went further ahead when Shirwin Cupido and Troy Delport each went over, while stalwart CJ Velleman also struck on the stroke of halftime to edge the hosts into a one-point lead. Cheetahs backs Michael Annies, Litha Nkula, and Ali Mgijima each grabbed a try in the opening spell.

After the resumption, Annies and Mgijima were again among the scorers for the Free Staters, while Verno Paulo and Sisonke Vumazonke added late tries to seal an important away win. Jayden Bantom was EP's sole second-half scorer, with Humphries adding the rest via his boot.

Meanwhile, the Boland won their first game since the opening round as they trounced the SWD Eagles 71-21 in their fixture at the Boland Stadium in Wellington.

After suffering two away defeats in a row, the Kavaliers kicked into free-scoring mode as they raced towards a 50-7 halftime lead, eventually scoring 11 tries to three for an important win in their quest to stay amongst the frontrunners. They registered six tries in a dominant first-half display, which included a brace by outside centre Lunathi Nxele.

Strong-running Nxele led the charge as he completed his hat-trick in the second half, with replacement hooker HP van Schoor also grabbing a brace. Boland pivot James Tedder showed his worth by adding eight conversions to his try for a personal tally of 21 points.

The Leopards managed to earn a hard-fought 28-25 victory over the Border Bulldogs in East London to register their first win after trailing 17-12 at the break. The two sides were evenly matched, and each scored three tries; however, it was the all-round display of Leopards playmaker Charles Williams that proved the difference between the two last-placed sides on the log.

Williams got a try, added two conversions, and more importantly, succeeded with three penalty goals for a personal contribution of 18 points. Uzile Tele and Lwandile Mapuko were the other two try scorers for the Leopards.

Border were full of fire during the opening spell, but they couldn't fight off the Leopards' late charge. Maxwell Klaasen kicked two of the three conversions over while also adding two penalty goals for his tally of ten points.

The scores and scorers below...

Falcons 35-50 Pumas

For Falcons:
Tries: Valentino Wellman, Abulele Ndabambi, Mbembe Payi, Musa Tshabalala.
Cons: Keagan Fortune 3
Pens: Fortune 3

For Pumas:
Tries: Ross Braude 2, Darren Adonis 2, Jay Cee Nel, Sango Xamlashe, Sampie Swiegers, Llewellyn Classen
Cons: Clinton Swart 5

Teams: 

Falcons: Falcons: 15 Mbembe Payi, 14 Valentino Wellman, 13 Musa Tshabalala, 12 Waqar Solaan, 11 Ezrick Alexander, 10 Keagan Fortune, 9 Wernich Aucamp, 8 Abulele Ndabmbi, 7 Godfrey Muzanargwo, 6 Kelvin Kanenungo, 5 Andrew Volschenk (co-captain), 4 Eddie Evans (co-captain), 3 Thabo Ntunja, 2 Pierre Rabie, 1 Kayden Kiewit
Replacements: 16 Joshua Eras, 17 Lindokuhle Seteni, 18 Blaine Golden, 19 Philip Apea-Adu,
20 Zingisa April, 21 Tiaan Jonker, 22 Liam Kloosman, 23 Zeilinga Strydom

Pumas: 15 Jaycee Nel, 14 Stefan Coetzee, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Darren Adonis, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Kwanda Dimaza, 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Ntsika Fisanti, 5 Tiaan dce Klerk, 4 Jeandre Leonard 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Llewellyn Classen, 1 Etiene Janeke.
Replacements: 16 Darnell Osuagwu, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Eduan Swart, 19 Heinz Bertram, 20 Andre fouche, 21 Conor van Eden, 22 Danrich Visagie, 23 Lundi Msenge

Referee: Dylen November

Griffons 33-52 Griquas

For Griffons:
Tries: Keanu Vers, Mingo Piti, Jared Kruger, Willem van den Heever, Penalty try.
Cons: Andrew Kota 3

For Griquas:
Tries: Dylan Maart 4, Cameron Hufke 2, Marco de Witt, Gurshwin Wehr.
Cons: George Whitehead 6

Teams: 

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

Griquas:15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead (captain), 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Thabo Ndimande, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Cebo Dlamini, 2 Gustav du Randt, 1 Leon Lyons
Replacements: 16 Dandre Delport, 17 Corne Lavagna, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 Athenkosi Khetani, 20 Stephan Smit, 21 Carl Els, 22 Bobby Alexander, 23 Connor Mahoney

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

Eastern Province 35-47 Cheetahs

For EP:
Tries: CJ Velleman, Shirwin Cupido, Troy Delport, Jayden Bantom.
Cons: Christian Humphries 3
Pens: Humphries 3

For Cheetahs:
Tries: Ali Mgijima 2, Michael Annies 2, Vernon Paulo, Litha Nkula, Sisonke Vumazonke.
Cons: Clayton Blommetjies 6

Teams: 

Eastern Province: 15 Jaden Bantom 14 Rodney Damons, 13 Sherwin Slater, 12 Troy Delport, 11 JD Jooste, 10 Chris Humphries, 9 Shirwin Cupido, 8 Athi Manentsa, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 Hannes Huisamen, 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Zuki Sali, 2 Deon Plaatjies, 1 Siya Nzuzo
Replacements: 16 Masikane Mazwi, 17 Arno Gustafson, 18 Duncan Du Buisson, 19 Laken Gray, 20 Diego Williams, 21 Wayne Ngubane, 22 Chadwn November, 23 Ayabonga Oliphant

Cheetahs: 15 Micheal Annies, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 13 Marco Janse van Vuren, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Litha Nkula, 10 Clayton Blommetjies, 9 Rewa Kruger, 8 Sisonke Vumazonke, 7 Pierre Uys, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Pieter Janse van Vuren, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Vernon Paulo, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Banele Mthenjane, 18 Laurence Victor, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Andisa Ntsila, 21 Reagan Oranje, 22 Jandre Nel, 23 Andell Loubser.

Referee: Jonathan Lottering

Boland 71-21 SWD Eagles

For Boland:
Tries: Lunathi Nxele 3, HP van Schoor 2, James Tedder, Sidney Tobias, Taine-Randall Booysen, Xavier Mitchell, Michael Benadie, Riaan Louw.
Cons: Tedder 8

For SWD:
Tries: JP Duvenage, Dian Basson, Kirwan Cupido
Cons: Marlo Weich 3

Teams: 

Boland Cavaliers: 15 Domenic Smit, 14 Riaan Louw, 13 Lunathi Nxele, 12 Jurick Lewis, 11 Xavier Mithcell, 10 James Tedder, 9 Chriswill September, 8 Gift Dlamini, 7 Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Sauliegh Arendse, 5 Marlyn Williams (captain), 4 Michael Benadie, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Vernon Matongo
Replacements: 16 Emile Booysen, 17 Wayrin Losper, 18 Doctor Booysen, 19 Schalk Oelofse, 20 Taine-Randall Booysen, 21 Bentley Geldenhuys, 22 Garth April, 23 Erik Lamprecht

SWD Eagles:  15 Roshwin Abrahams, 14 Kirwan Cupido, 13 JP Duvenage, 12 Edwin Sass (co-captain), 11 Mpho Ntsane, 10 Marlo Weich, 9 Sachin Toring, 8 Leighton van Wyk, 7 Dian Basson, 6 Damon Royle (co-captain), 5 Laim Tettersall, 4 Ethan Stuurman, 3 Stefaan Grundlingh, 2 Marco Fuhri, 1 Haggard Cole.
Replacements: 16 Stephan Leonard, 17 Tandolwetu Matolengwe, 18 Cecil Rittels, 19 Mncedisi Dlwengu, 20 Michael Cloete, 21 Arden-Lee Meyer, 22 Quaid Langeveldt, 23 Jordan Beukes.

Referee: Eon van Zyl

Border Bulldogs 25 - 28 Leopards

For Border:
Tries: Soso Xakalashe, Awonke Sondishe, Oyisa Balekile
Cons: Maxwell Klaasen 2
Pens: Klaasen 2

For Leopards:
Tries: Uzile Tele, Lwandile Mapuko, Charles Williams
Cons: Williams 2
Pens: Williams 3

Teams: 

Border Bulldogs:15 Mbasa Nkonki, 14 Simthembile Zozi, 13 Awonke Sonishe, 12 Ryan Maree, 11 Sakhile Dingile, 10 Maxwell Klaasen, 9 Hlumelo Pantyo, 8 Soskuphumla Xakalashe, 7 Hlomla Payi, 6 Oyisa Balekile, 5 Calbe Radcliffe, 4 Camagu Dlisani, 3 Hlumelo Nondonga, 2 Kamvelihle Fatyela, 1 Luxolo Koza (captain)
Replacements: 16 Mangaliso Zixesha, 17 Sibusiso Manakaza, 18 Sipheto Manakaza, 19 Mzamomuhle Vidima, 20 Uyathandwa Fana, 21 Esethu Zenani, 22 Jaden Shaw, 23 Aphiwe Sidloyi

Leopards: 15 Lwandile Mapuko, 14 Sino Tshontyi, 13 Bryan Breda, 12 Mihlali Nchukana (vice-captain), 11 Brandon Keevy, 10 Charles Williams, 9 Sylvester Hassien, 8 Gcino Mdletshe, 7 Ghudian van Reenen, 6 Arminn Posthumus, 5 Chris van Heerden, 4 Dries du Preez, 3 Ig Prinsloo (captain), 2 Jason Alexander, 1 Tatenda Chayayi.
Replacements: 16 Liyema Mgwigwi, 17 Dima Lebelo, 18 Werner Geldenhuys, 19 Hanro Potgieter, 20 Uzile Tele, 21 Didi Sekati, 22 Chadd Adams, 23 André Grobler.

Referee: Phumzile Mbewu