Griquas and Cheetahs secure Currie Cup home semi-finals as playoff race goes to final round

Griquas and Cheetahs have guaranteed home semi-finals in the 2026 Carling Currie Cup Premier Division after a dramatic penultimate round left the battle for the remaining two playoff places finely balanced.

Both sides have 26 points from six matches, although next weekend’s final league round will determine which team finishes top and hosts the first semi-final.

Defending champions Griquas strengthened their position as favourites to retain the trophy with a commanding 38-14 victory over the Pumas in Mbombela, while the Cheetahs confirmed their top-two finish by beating Boland Kavaliers 33-24 in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

The fight for third and fourth place remains open to five teams. The Pumas are third on 17 points, followed by Boland Kavaliers and Stormers XXIII on 16. The Lions have 15 points and Sharks XV 13, while Bulls XV remain bottom with five points from six games.

Griquas produced one of their best performances of the campaign to overcome the Pumas in Nelspruit. Zane Bester opened the scoring with an excellent individual try after breaking through the home defence.

The Pumas’ task became even harder when Ruwald van der Merwe was shown a yellow card for head contact. Griquas quickly took advantage, with Tiaan Lange crossing from a driving maul.

The visitors continued to dominate the collisions and set piece, and Lourens Oosthuizen added a third try from another powerful lineout platform. Clinton Swart briefly raised Pumas hopes with a converted try before half-time, but George Whitehead’s penalty gave Griquas a 24-7 lead at the interval.

Griquas remained in control after the restart. Gurshwin Wehr finished a sweeping move after quick thinking by Bobby Alexander, while Dylan Maart’s yellow card for head contact gave the Pumas an opportunity to respond through Junior Banda.

Any prospect of a comeback was effectively ended when Jan-Henning Campher’s yellow card was upgraded to red for a dangerous cleanout. Bester then scored his second try to complete a dominant victory.

Stormers XXIII also kept their playoff hopes alive with a convincing 50-26 win against Bulls XV at Loftus Versfeld. The visitors led 33-7 at half-time and condemned the Bulls to a sixth successive defeat.

Junior Bok midfielder Markus Muller crossed first after a break by Mfundo Ndhlovu. Flyhalf Kyle Smith, who finished with 20 points, added the second try following a fluent sequence of handling and offloading.

Former SA U20 prop Herman Lubbe then scored after another incisive Stormers attack. Bulls XV responded through Junior Bok captain Siphosethu Mnebelele, who finished a driving maul, but a handling mistake allowed Joel Leotlela to score Stormers’ fourth try.

Vernon Paulo added another try from a tap penalty before the break. The Bulls’ hopes of recovering suffered another blow soon after half-time when Abongile Nonkontwana was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle.

Stormers XXIII immediately used their numerical advantage, with Leotlela completing his second try. Demitre Erasmus, Jon Hobson and Kebotile Maake crossed for the Bulls, but Smith maintained control, kicking a penalty and helping Eric Basson score from a rolling maul.

Cornel Smit was shown a late yellow card, briefly leaving the Stormers with 14 men, but the visitors comfortably secured an important win.

At Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg, Sharks XV and Lions drew 22-22 in a match dominated by playoff pressure.

Sharks XV made a difficult start when Junior Bok wing Khuthi Rasivhaga was sin-binned for making contact with a player in the air. The hosts recovered through their set-piece work and sustained pressure inside the Lions’ 22-metre area, with captain Ross Braude eventually scoring after darting around the blindside from a maul.

Lions responded through SA U20 loose forward Vuyo Gwiji, who powered over after a period of pressure. Sam Francis converted to give the visitors a 10-5 half-time lead.

Sharks XV moved back in front after the interval when Junior Bok hooker Liam van Wyk broke away from a maul to score. A swift counter-attack involving Junior Bok and Blitzbok Luan Giliomee then ended with Christie Grobbelaar crossing.

Lions refused to surrender and levelled through Armand Combrinck from a rolling maul. The match then became an end-to-end contest, with Lions’ powerful Junior Bok midfielder Ethan Adams producing important turnovers as both sides searched for the winning score.

Meno Barnard’s unconverted try appeared to have given Sharks XV the advantage late on, but Adams combined brilliantly with Gilermo Mentoe to bring Lions level in the final moments. Francis missed the conversion, leaving the sides to share the points.

The Cheetahs completed the round’s fixtures with a hard-fought win over Boland Kavaliers, although the 33-24 scoreline did not reflect how close the contest was.

Boland led 10-7 at half-time after controlling territory and repeatedly testing the Cheetahs’ defence. The hosts were rescued on several occasions by turnovers and errors close to their line.

Cheetahs eventually opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Free State hooker Juan Smal finished a driving maul, with Tiaan Swanepoel converting. Boland replied through Johnre Stopforth after sustained pressure, and Ashlon Davids’ penalty put the Kavaliers ahead before half-time.

Faf de Klerk then made the decisive contribution early in the second half, breaking sharply to create the opportunity for Zander du Plessis to score. Boland’s discipline subsequently deteriorated, with Kwanda Dimaza, Chris Smit, Stopforth and Gift Dlamini all sent to the sin bin.

Cheetahs exploited the numerical advantage. De Klerk scored from close range before Michael Annies crossed twice, including the bonus-point try. Boland showed considerable resilience through Joshua Eras and Bentley Geldenhuys, but could not claim a losing bonus point. Prince Nkabinde was shown a late yellow card for the Cheetahs.

The final league round begins on Friday, when Lions host Stormers XXIII in Johannesburg at 17:05, followed by Sharks XV against Bulls XV in Durban at 19:15.

Cheetahs travel to Mbombela to face Pumas at 14:00 on Saturday. The league phase concludes on Sunday, when Boland Kavaliers meet Griquas in Wellington at 15:00.

Results and scorers

Pumas 14 (7) Griquas 38 (24) Pumas: Tries – Clinton Swart, Junior Banda. Conversions – Swart (2). Griquas: Tries – Zane Bester (2), Tiaan Lange, Lourens Oosthuizen, Gurshwin Wehr. Conversions – George Whitehead (4), Liam Koen. Penalty goal – Whitehead.

Bulls XV 26 (7) Stormers XXIII 50 (33) Bulls XV: Tries – Siphosethu Mnebelele, Demitre Erasmus, Jon Hobson, Kebotile Maake. Conversions – Keagan Johannes (3). Stormers XXIII: Tries – Markus Muller, Kyle Smith, Herman Lubbe, Joel Leotlela (2), Vernon Paulo, Eric Basson. Conversions – Kyle Smith (6). Penalty goal – Smith.

Sharks XV 22 (5) Lions 22 (10) Sharks XV: Tries – Ross Braude, Liam van Wyk, Christie Grobbelaar, Meno Barnard. Conversion – Tim Swiel. Lions: Tries – Vuyo Gwiji, Armand Combrinck, Gilermo Mentoe. Conversions – Sam Francis (2). Penalty goal – Francis.

Cheetahs 33 (7) Boland Kavaliers 24 (10) Cheetahs: Tries – Michael Annies (2), Juan Smal, Zander du Plessis, Faf de Klerk. Conversions – Tiaan Swanepoel (4). Boland: Tries – Johnre Stopforth, Joshua Eras, Bentley Geldenhuys. Conversions – Ashlon Davids (3). Penalty goal – Davids.