By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Suzuki Griquas, the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers, Griffons, and SWD Eagles were on the winning side in the third round of the SA Cup this weekend, but lightning had the final say in Bloemfontein as the match between the Toyota Cheetahs and Airlink Pumas was called off.
The abandoned game was followed by four Saturday afternoon games, which saw Sanlam Boland Kavaliers registering a 73-24 win over the Valke in Wellington for their third win of the campaign, while Suzuki Griquas swept Border aside by 97-7 in Kimberley.
The Griffons had to work hard for their second victory over the season, by 29-23 over the Leopards in Welkom, and in Gqeberha, the SWD Eagles won their derby 26-17 against a spirited Eastern Province.
The results mean log leaders Griquas and Boland have stretched their tally to a full house of 15 points each from three bonus-point wins each. They are followed by the defending champions, the Pumas, and SWD, both on 12 points, with the Griffons now fifth on 10 points. The rest of the table consists of Cheetahs (eight), Valke (five), EP (two), Leopards (one) and Border (zero).
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs 7, Airlink Pumas 10
Cheetahs – Try: Louis van der Westhuizen. Conversion: Cohen Jasper.
Pumas – Try: Gustav du Rand. Conversion: Clinton Swart. Penalty goal: Swart.
Match abandoned in first half because of lightning
Griffons 29 (19), Leopards 23 (6)
Griffons – Tries: Simon Westraadt, Sibongile Novuka, Clive Kruger, Dehovine Johannes, Sergio Moreira. Conversions: Dehovine Johannes (2).
Leopards – Tries: Zachery Bester (2), Noegh Hayward. Conversion: Jandre Burger. Penalty goals: Burger (2).
Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 73 (40), Valke 24 (17)
Boland – Tries: Erik Lambrecht (2), Xavier Mitchell (2), Jade Stighling, Domenic Smit, Dayan van der Westhuizen, Sauliegh Arendse, Joshua Eras, Michael Benadie, Thurlow Marsh Conversions: Juan Mostert (7), Thurlon Williams (2).
Valke – Tries: Zeilinga Strydom (2), Kelvin Kanenungo Conversions: Sergio Stalmeester (3). Penalty goal: Stalmeester.
Suzuki Griquas 97 (47), Border Bulldogs 7 (0)
Griquas – Tries: Marco de Witt (2), Dylan Maart (2), Connor Mahoney (2), Thomas Nel (2), Carl Els (2), Mnombo Zwelendaba, Lungi Mbiko, Gurshwin Wehr, Bobby Alexander, Sako Makata. Conversions: Zinedine Robinson (7), George Whitehead (5).
Border Bulldogs – Try: Sakhekile Dingile. Conversion: Isiphe Mbini.
Eastern Province 22 (17), SWD Eagles 26 (19)
EP – Tries: Lwandile Mapuko (2), Joshua Paris. Conversions: Maxwell Klaasen (2). Penalty goal: Klaasen.
SWD – Tries: Kyle Cyster, Tiaan Pretorius, Gunther Janse van Vuuren, Carlton Banies. Conversions: Fred Zeilinga (3).
Next week’s fourth round fixtures see the Pumas host the Valke in Nelspruit in the only Friday evening match. The other four games are all scheduled to kick off at 15h00 on Saturday afternoon: the SWD Eagles will face a stern test when they host Boland in George; the Leopards welcome Border to Potchefstroom; EP travel to Bloem to take on the Cheetahs; and Griquas entertain the Griffons in Kimberley.