The Currie Cup semifinals have been decided with the Griquas hosting the Lions in Kimberley and the Cheetahs hosting the Pumas in Bloemfontein.
The Currie Cup semifinals were confirmed after a thrilling final pool round over the weekend, with the Griquas set to take on the Lions, while the Cheetahs and Pumas will battle it out in the other.
There were a number of surprising results on the weekend that shaped the final log, with the Pumas thrashing the Cheetahs 52-26 in Mbombela to secure third place, while the Lions thumped the Stormers 36-12 at Ellis Park to rise from sixth on the log to steal the fourth and final playoff spot.
The Cheetahs four try bonus point had briefly lifted them to the top of the log on Saturday, but they were unsurprisingly passed by the Griquas on Sunday as they crushed the Boland Cavaliers 48-17 in Wellington to ensure that they will host the competition final should they get through their semi.
A heavy defeat for the Cheetahs in Mbombela was the biggest surprise of the weekend, after they went into the game in good form, having lost just one game, a close defeat to the Griquas, before the match, but were blown away by the hosts.
The Pumas cruised to a 28-7 lead at halftime, and despite a stronger second half showing for the visitors, the home side still outscored them to clinch a dominant win.
“We had to work hard for it (the win). We haven’t played great rugby this season, and we saw that Frans (Steyn, Cheetahs coach) made a lot of changes and played some guys who would usually start off the bench,” said Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse after the match.
“But we will take the five points from this game. We played very well and can take a lot of good stuff from this game. It was just unfortunate those two yellow cards (to Darren Adonis) which became a red.”
That now sets up a tasty semifinal clash in Bloemfontein this coming weekend, and the Cheetahs will be desperate to bounce back with a big performance.
The other slightly surprising results were the Lions win over the Stormers and Griquas triumph over the Cavaliers.
Wins for the teams from Joburg and Kimberley weren’t surprising, but the ease of those wins was, with the Lions leading 15-0 at halftime before powering away in the second half, while the Stormers scored two late consolation scores.
The match in Wellington saw the Cavaliers in touch with the Griquas at the break, trailing 19-17, before the visitors hit the gas in the second half to add a further 29 points while blanking the hosts to secure an impressive win.
Earlier in the pool stage the Griquas comfortably beat the Lions 31-19 in Kimberley, and the Joburg side will need to improve drastically to challenge them in the semifinal.
The other match on the weekend saw the Sharks power to a 53-22 win over the Bulls, to condemn the Pretoria side to a winless competition as they finished bottom of the log, while the Sharks had briefly risen into the top four on Friday night but were swiftly bumped out by the Pumas on Saturday.
Sunday
1pm: Griquas v Lions (Kimberley)
3.30pm: Cheetahs v Pumas (Bloemfontein)
