By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
For the third successive season, the Griquas and the Pumas will contest the SA Cup final after winning their respective semi-final encounters over the weekend.
The Pumas, the defending champions, were first to book their place in next weekend’s final after edging the Cheetahs 42–36 in a pulsating semi-final at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Friday evening.
On Saturday, Griquas, the 2024 champions, secured their place in the decider by beating the Kavaliers 59-35 in a high-scoring spectacle in Kimberley.
After the match, Griquas coach Pieter Bergh said over the years his team have learnt not to let go once they have the victory in sight.
“I think the other thing for us as a team is that we believe we’re an incredibly difficult team to play against. And when we do get on the front foot, we’ve got the ability.”
“I think we’ve learned over the last few years the ability to suffocate and strangle teams, you know, and that’s exactly what we did in the second half,” said Bergh.
The results also saw the trend continue of the home teams not losing a SA Cup semi-final.
Next Saturday’s grand finale will kick off at 18h30 at the Suzuki Stadium in Kimberley and will be broadcast live on SuperSport. Griquas earned home ground advantage courtesy of their league position.