By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
With one league round remaining before the 2026 Carling Currie Cup Premier Division playoffs, this weekend’s penultimate round produced a significant shake-up in the standings, with Suzuki Griquas and Toyota Cheetahs securing home ground advantage in the semi-finals.
On Friday, defending champions Griquas recorded an emphatic 38-14 win over the Airlink Pumas in Nelspruit; the DHL Stormers XXIII kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a commanding 50-26 victory over the winless Vodacom Bulls XV in Pretoria; and the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV and Fidelity ADT Lions played out to a dramatic 22-22 draw in Pietermaritzburg.
Sunday’s final game of the round saw the Toyota Cheetahs secure their spot in the top two by defeating the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 33-24 in Bloemfontein.
Griquas and the Cheetahs are both on 26 points after six matches, and while they will host the two semi-finals, whoever takes top spot will be determined next weekend.
The race to the third and fourth will go down to the wire, with five teams still in it. The Pumas occupy third place on 17 points, the Kavaliers and Stormers XXIII are tied on 16 points, with the Lions on 15 and Sharks XV on 13 still retaining hopes of qualification. The Bulls XV languish in last position and have only five points form their six games.
In next weekend’s final league round, the Fidelity ADT Lions host the DHL Stormers XXIII on Friday at 17h05 in Johannesburg, before the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV tackle the Vodacom Bulls XV from 19h15 in Durban.
On Saturday, the Toyota Cheetahs travel to Mbombela to face the Airlink Pumas at 14h00, and at 15h00 on Sunday in Wellington, the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers and Suzuki Griquas will complete the final match of the league phase of 2026.