By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
The Currie Cup round was completed on Sunday afternoon at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where the Toyota Cheetahs held out in a 114-point thriller to beat the Vodacom Bulls XV 62-52 after leading 47-17 at half-time.
The Bulls fought back strongly after half-time, but the Cheetahs had built enough of a cushion to withstand the hosts’ late charge, even after being reduced to 13 men for the final 10 minutes – to win a humdinger.
The bonus-point win takes the Cheetahs back to second on the log, behind Suzuki Griquas on points difference, after five rounds, with the winless Bulls still rooted to the bottom.
In Friday’s second encounter Griquas produced the most emphatic result of the round, turning a narrow 26-21 half-time advantage into a commanding 55-21 bonus-point victory over the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV in Kimberley. The victory followed last week’s success over the Lions, also on home soil.
In the only fixture staged on Saturday in Nelspruit, the Airlink Pumas delivered a composed effort, using their physicality and control at Mbombela Stadium to subdue the DHL Stormers XXIII and record a 29-7 victory.
In next weekend’s penultimate round of league fixtures, three games will be staged on Friday and the remaining one on Sunday afternoon.
Round six will kick off at Mbombela Stadium when the Airlink Pumas host Suzuki Griquas from 15h00; the Vodacom Bulls XV then take on DHL Stormers XXIII in Pretoria, where the action at Loftus Versfeld starts at 17h05; and the third Friday fixture sees the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV entertain the Fidelity ADT Lions at 19h15 at Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg. The Cheetahs and Sanlam Boland Kavaliers complete the round on Sunday at 15h00 in Bloemfontein.