Suzuki Griquas and the Airlink Pumas continued their winning runs in the SA Cup to remain unbeaten after four rounds, while the Toyota Cheetahs and Sanlam Boland Kavaliers secured important victories on Saturday to remain in the race to the semi-finals.

The defending champions from Kimberley beat the NovaVit Griffons by 52-33 in Welkom, while last year’s runners up from Nelspruit posted a 50-35 win over the Valke in Kempton Park.

The Free Staters had to work hard to defeat Eastern Province 47-35 in Gqeberha; the Bolanders easily overcame the Phangela SWD Eagles 71-21 in Wellington; and in East London, the Leopards downed Border 28-25 for their first win of the season.

With the competition edging towards the halfway stage, Suzuki Griquas and Airlink Pumas lead the standings with a full house of 20 points each, with the holders placed first due to a healthier points differential.

The NovaVit Griffons remain third on 16 points despite their home defeat, followed by the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers (fourth, 13 points) and Toyota Cheetahs (fifth, 12 points). The Valke slipped to seventh on 11 points, which is four more than Eastern Province and five points better than the Eagles.

The Leopards’ first win increased their tally to four points, while Border has two points. The top four teams at the end of the single round of fixtures will qualify for the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division.

The past weekend was the first time this year that all five games were staged on a Saturday afternoon, with the Airlink Pumas extending their winning run courtesy of a deserving 50-35 triumph over Valke at the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park.

The home team did well to stay in the fight, especially in the opening half as they managed a slender 22-19 lead. However, the visitors from Mpumalanga hit their stride in the second half, registering four more tries in another convincing display, outscoring the East Randers by eight tries to four.

The first half was a ding-dong affair, as the men from Mpumalanga took the lead through Sampie Swiegers shortly after kick-off. The Valke responded when Mbembe Payi scored their opening try, and Keagan Fortune then added a penalty goal to the conversion.

Musa Tshabalala’s try barely a minute extended the hosts’ lead, then Darren Adonis grabbed his first as the Pumas struck back, but Valentino Wellman crossed the whitewash for another Valke try as the arm wrestle continued.

Jay Cee Nel went over just before halftime, and when Clinton Swart converted, the visitors had cut the halftime deficit to three points.

The second half saw the men from Mpumalanga take control of the game. Adonis scored his second out wide as they surged into the lead, while Sampie Swiegers and Llewellyn Classen also crossed. Swart was instrumental as he converted five tries, ensuring the Airlink Pumas kept their unbeaten status intact.

Suzuki Griquas saw off a brave challenge by the NovaVit Griffons for a convincing 52-33 win to extend their unbeaten run in the competition. Playing at home in Welkom, the Griffons scored five tries; however, they found the physicality and pace of the Northern Cape side too much to handle.

It was a memorable afternoon for Griquas right wing Dylan Maart as he grabbed four tries, while fellow outside back Cameron Hufke helped himself to a brace. The champions eventually scored eight times, six of which were converted by ace goalkicker George Whitehead.

The team from Kimberley started strong with Maart scoring their first two tries inside the 20-minute mark, but the hosts responded through a converted try by Willem van den Hever before Griquas continued their dominance with more tries from Marco De Witt and Hufke, with Whitehead adding the extras. Mingo Piti added his name to the Griffons’ score sheet as the visitors took a 33-14 halftime lead.

The second half saw the holders extending their lead when former Blitzbok Gurshwin Wehr went over against his erstwhile team, while Maart completed his hat-trick five minutes after the break, adding his fourth later. The Welkom hosts fought back through a penalty try and further tries from Keanu Vers and Jared Kruger, but it wasn't enough to close the gap.

Clayton Blommetjies starred at flyhalf and provided a valuable spark for the Toyota Cheetahs as they gained a hard-fought 47-35 victory over Eastern Province at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.

The Bloemfontein outfit had to do it the hard way, fighting for only their second win of the campaign. EP gave a good account of themselves and held a 22-21 lead at the halfway mark. With Blommetjies directing play, the Free Staters’ greater experience proved the turning point in the second stanza as they pulled away to outscore EP by seven tries to four for a morale-boosting win.

A Christian Humphries penalty goal gave EP an early lead, and they went further ahead when Shirwin Cupido and Troy Delport each went over, while stalwart CJ Velleman also struck on the stroke of halftime to edge the hosts into a one-point lead. Cheetahs backs Michael Annies, Litha Nkula, and Ali Mgijima each grabbed a try in the opening spell.

After the resumption, Annies and Mgijima were again among the scorers for the Free Staters, while Verno Paulo and Sisonke Vumazonke added late tries to seal an important away win. Jayden Bantom was EP’s sole second-half scorer, with Humphries adding the rest via his boot.

Meanwhile, the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers won their first game since the opening round as they trounced the Phangela SWD Eagles 71-21 in their fixture at the Boland Stadium in Wellington.

After suffering two away defeats in a row, the Kavaliers kicked into free-scoring mode as they raced towards a 50-7 halftime lead, eventually scoring 11 tries to three for an important win in their quest to stay amongst the frontrunners. They registered six tries in a dominant first-half display, which included a brace by outside centre Lunathi Nxele.

Strong-running Nxele led the charge as he completed his hat-trick in the second half, with replacement hooker HP van Schoor also grabbing a brace. Boland pivot James Tedder showed his worth by adding eight conversions to his try for a personal tally of 21 points.

The Leopards managed to earn a hard-fought 28-25 victory over the Border Bulldogs in East London to register their first win after trailing 17-12 at the break. The two sides were evenly matched and each scored three tries; however, it was the all-round display of Leopards playmaker Charles Williams that proved the difference between the two last-placed sides on the log.

Williams got a try, added two conversions, and more importantly, succeeded with three penalty goals for a personal contribution of 18 points. Uzile Tele and Lwandile Mapuko were the other two try scorers for Leopards.

Border were full of fire during the opening spell, but they couldn’t fight off the Leopards’ late charge. Maxwell Klaasen kicked two of the three conversions over while also adding two penalty goals for his tally of ten points.

Next week’s fifth round action starts on Friday evening when the Eagles host the Valke in George (18h00) and the Pumas take on Border (19h00).

On Saturday, Griquas take on the Kavaliers in Kimberley (14h00); EP play against Leopards in Gqeberha (15h00); and the Cheetahs clash with the Griffons in Bloemfontein, also at 15h00.

Scorers:

Valke 35 (22), Airlink Pumas 50 (19)

Valke – Tries: Valentino Wellman, Abulele Ndabambi, Mbembe Payi, Musa Tshabalala. Conversions: Keagan Fortune (3). Penalty goals: Fortune (3).

Pumas – Tries: Ross Braude (2), Darren Adonis (2), Jay Cee Nel, Sango Xamlashe, Sampie Swiegers, Llewellyn Classen. Conversions: Clinton Swart (5).

NovaVit Griffons 33 (14), Suzuki Griquas 52 (33)

Griffons – Tries: Keanu Vers, Mingo Piti, Jared Kruger, Willem van den Heever, Penalty try. Conversions: Andrew Kota (3).

Griquas – Tries: Dylan Maart (4), Cameron Hufke (2), Marco de Witt, Gurshwin Wehr. Conversions: George Whitehead (6).

Eastern Province 35 (22), Toyota Cheetahs 47 (21)

EP – Tries: CJ Velleman, Shirwin Cupido, Troy Delport, Jayden Bantom. Conversions: Christian Humphries (3). Penalty goals: Humphries (3).

Cheetahs – Tries: Ali Mgijima (2), Michael Annies (2), Vernon Paulo, Litha Nkula, Sisonke Vumazonke. Conversions: Clayton Blommetjies (6).

Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 71 (50), Phangela SWD Eagles 21 (7)

Boland – Tries: Lunathi Nxele (3), HP van Schoor (2), James Tedder, Sidney Tobias, Taine-Randall Booysen, Xavier Mitchell, Michael Benadie, Riaan Louw. Conversions: Tedder (8).

SWD – Tries: JP Duvenage, Dian Basson, Kirwan Cupido. Conversions: Marlo Weich (3).

Border Bulldogs 25 (17), Leopards 28 (12)

Border – Tries: Soso Xakalashe, Awonke Sondishe, Oyisa Balekile. Conversions: Maxwell Klaasen (2). Penalty goals: Klaasen (2).

Leopards – Tries: Uzile Tele, Lwandile Mapuko, Charles Williams. Conversions: Williams (2). Penalty goals: Williams (3).