Western Province secured a 2009 Currie Cup home semifinal berth in superb fashion with an emphatic 50-7 win over neighbours the Boland Kavaliers in the Absa Currie Cup derby at a sun-drenched Newlands on Saturday afternoon. Admittedly, the Boland side never at any stage looked like posing a threat to the vastly superior Province side, but they provided the ‘soft’ sort of opposition that was ideal preparation for the Newlands-based outfit ahead of the semifinal in a fortnight’s time. Province served notice at the outset that they were there to play open rugby, and conditions at Newlands were ideal. At the end of it all, Province matched the sizzling hot weather with seven well-taken tries, against one from Boland.

The Blue Bulls moved to third place on the Currie Cup log when they beat Griquas 61-27 at Loftus on Saturday, and with the win dented their opposition’s hopes of playing in the semifinals. The Blue Bulls ran in eight tries to Griquas’ four, and were in complete control from just after midway through the first half, with Griquas getting little possession. The reality, however, is that the Blue Bulls did not look like possible Currie Cup champions except in spurts, when they were really impressive.

The Sharks were stretched all the way but killed off a determined Lions team to reach the Currie Cup playoffs after a rusty display by narrowly beating them 19-17 in the Absa Stadium on Saturday.

It took a 72nd-minute penalty from Sharks’ halfback Ruan Pienaar to finally give the lead back to the home team after it looked like the Lions would score the biggest upset of the competition.

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The Sharks beat the lowly Leopards 34-20 in their match in Durban on Friday night and also added a bonus point to their log  tally, but the Leopards would have been the happier of the two teams at full-time. Without six of their regulars, who were either injured or rested, the North West side – second from last with only one win from 11 matches before the game – tackled their hearts out and really took it to the Sharks, who had a number of their Tri-Nations  Springboks back on the field.

The Blue Bulls started off at a tremendous tempo and obviously intent on getting a bonus point fifer, but in the end they had to pull out all the stops to prevent the Free State Cheetahs from scoring the winning try at Loftus on Saturday. Both sides scored three tries in the Blue Bulls’ 30-27 Currie Cup win.

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Griquas

The Lions stayed on course to reach the semi-finals of the Currie Cup with a solid 31-13 win over the Leopards at Coca-Cola Park on Friday night. The Lions scored five tries to one against a Leopards side which seemed strangely subdued before the break.  The visitors were disappointing in the first half – especially considering their two good performances in trouncing the Boland Cavaliers and then losing 34-33 to Griquas last weekend.

The Free State Cheetahs rounded off a magnificent second-half fightback to run-out close-shave 33-31 victors over Western Province in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon. Just when it seemed the Cape Town visitors would sneak in with a 31-26 win, the Cheetahs were awarded a penalty try in the final minute of the match to level scores at 31-all.  However, Cheetahs flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter added the conversion to secure a thrilling 33-31 victory in a match which was  a brilliant advertisement for South African rugby.

Juan Marin Hernandez scored 24 points as the Sharks, behind at the break, came back with a stirring performance in the second half that saw them edge the Blue Bulls 29-23 in an exciting match at Loftus on Saturday. It was the Blue Bulls’ third defeat in as many outings and they now cling precariously to fifth place on the log – thanks to bonus points – after the Free State Cheetahs’ win against Western Province.  It was also the Blue Bulls’ second defeat to the Sharks in the competition, giving them a record of just five wins from their 10 matches in this season’s Currie Cup.

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match in Wellington on Friday. The Sharks led 19-3 at halftime with flanker Jacques Botes going on to score a hat-trick of tries. Botes was all over the show and scored his second try after a lone sprint when he picked up a loose ball on his side’s own 25-metre line.  The visitors, however, battled to get their rhythm back after the interval and could score only in the 59th minute via a try by scrumhalf Charl McLeod.  The damwall then burst and the Sharks managed four more tries. Stefan Terblanche had an excellent game for the visitors and had a hand in most of their movements.
The GWK Griquas squeaked passed a game Leopards outfit 34-33 (half-time 13-19) in a thrilling match at Olen Park in Potchefstroom on Friday evening.

The Free State Cheetahs won their fifth consecutive Currie Cup match after starting the season with four losses when they beat a gutsy Golden Lions side 20-16 in Bloemfontein on Saturday.  After an uninspiring but very, very tough first half, there was more life and expansion after halftime, and also plenty of excitement after the Lions had crept back to be within one score of  winning the match. The lasting impression, however, is that neither of the two sides is likely to be a strong contender for the Currie Cup title.

Table-topping Western Province had a championship look about them in their 25-19 victory over the Blue Bulls in the North-South derby at Newlands on Saturday evening.

The victory was a fitting reward for Province who managed to overturn a 16-12 first-half deficit with a spirited second-half display to clinch another fine victory and avenge their first-round 30-22 defeat at Loftus.

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The Springbok and Free State Cheetahs wing, Jongi Nokwe, ran in four tries on Saturday to record a comfortable 59-8 win over the Boland Cavaliers at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein. In the process Free State recorded their third win in the Currie Cup Premier Division. Nokwe also had a big hand in Hennie Daniller’s second try when he run down the left-hand touchline and chipped inside for Daniller who grabbed the ball with one hand for a spectacular try.

Despite enjoying the upper hand for most of the match, Western Province were made to sweat for their 25-20 victory against the Golden Lions in their match at Newlands on Saturday evening.

The hosts ran in three tries to the one scored by their Johannesburg opponents. WP captain Luke Watson, fullback Joe Pietersen and loose forward Duane Vermeulen were the try scorers for the Cape team while scrumhalf Jano Vermaak was the only player to cross the try line for the Xerox Lions.

The Sharks thumped the Griquas 41-6 to bump the visitors off top spot on the Currie Cup log at Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday. The hosts, lying third before the start, ran rampant on their home ground to hand the Griquas their second successive loss, and by far the most convincing of the season.

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Western Province‘s Currie Cup aspirations are on track after an easy and well-deserved 38-7 win against the Boland Kavaliers in Wellington on Saturday. Province led 8-7 at halftime and secured a much-needed bonus point for their five try effort.  The bonus point came in the 76th minute when prop Brok Harris barged over in the corner. But with the siren going, Province kept the ball in hand and a fine break by Sevens Springbok Gio Aplon saw young JJ Engelbrecht scoring the fifth and final try in the 81st minute.

The Sharks came away with a 30-19 away win against the Golden Lions on Saturday, thanks to their discipline, under immense pressure, in defence and the attacking blunders of the plucky Lions. It defies logic that the Lions, who dominated the first half, had more than their share of the second half and played some exciting, attacking rugby were 23-0 behind in the 70th minute – which is when they got their first points through a try by captain Cobus Grobbelaar.

The Blue Bulls snatched a last minute 25-24 win over Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday, ending the hosts’ five-match winning streak.

The two yellow cards was an unfortunately way for Griquas’ impressive unbeaten streak to end, but at the end of the day, the Blue Bulls deserved the victory, outscoring the hosts by four tries to three, earning a bonus point in the process.

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Griquas

The Lions stumbled past the Boland Cavaliers with an unconvincing 19-13 win in Wellington on Friday afternoon.  Flyhalf Earl Rose kicked 14 points for the Lions with their sole try coming by the way of former Springbok wing Henno Mentz.

In a match of contrasting halves, the Cheetahs finally broke their duck with a 24-15 win over the Blue Bulls at Vodacom Park on Friday night.  The Blue Bulls, who led 12-3 at the break, failed to capitalise on a man advantage in a second half in which they went to sleep. The fancied visitors managed a mere three points in the final forty whereas a resurgent Cheetahs outfit scored 22 points.

After a slow start, the Sharks kicked into overdrive and ran out 44-15 winners over a spirited Leopards side in Rustenburg on Friday night.  Juan Martin Hernandez had a satisfactory debut, controlling the backline well and kicking 8 points before a dead leg cut his evening short. The Los Pumas pivot was replaced by Guy Cronjé at half time with the youngster also taking over the goal-kicking duties.

The Leopards played well in the first forty, trailing 3-13 at the break, but were blown out of the water in the latter stages of the contest as the Sharks found their rhythm.

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A superb kicking performance from Rory Kockott saw the Sharks hand the Vodacom Free State Cheetahs a 21-12 (half-time 9-9) defeat at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on Friday. Kockott succeeded with five penalties and a drop goal for a personal tally of 18 points while his kicking from out of hand was also impressive as the scrumhalf turned in a man of the match performance.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls cantered to a 50-18 (half-time 22-3) win over the Boland Cavaliers at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Friday.

The Bulls outscored their opponents seven tries to two with the result pushing the Pretoria-based side into second place in the competition standings while Boland were handed their third defeat in four matches.

The GWK Griquas continued their impressive, undefeated run in the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division on Friday night, following their stunning 23-19 victory over the Xerox Lions in Johannesburg. The Kimberley team were in rampant mood at Coca-Cola Park and boasted a commanding 20-7 half time lead. Flyhalf Naas Olivier scored the opening try of the match in the seventh minute of play.

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Western Province consigned the Free State Cheetahs to a third consecutive Absa Currie Cup defeat with a 19-13 (halftime 12-6) victory at Newlands on Friday. The home side dominated the encounter, pinching five Cheetahs lineouts and affecting more than half a dozen turnovers as they moved into the top four on the standings with a second win in three matches. Despite the early stage of the season Free State are already in danger of missing out on a semifinal place after a poor start to their campaign that has seen them previously lose to Griquas and the Golden Lions.

The log-leading GWK Griquas made it three out of three with an 80-7 (halftime 33-0) victory over the Boland Cavaliers in Kimberley on Saturday.

The Xerox Lions dismantled the Platinum Leopards 40-19 (half-time 15-10) at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Phokeng on Saturday. The bonus point victory for the Lions pushes them into second place on the Currie Cup log while the Leopards remain rooted to the bottom of the standings after three consecutive losses.

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The Lions scratched out a late 31-22 win over the Cheetahs at Coca Cola Park on Saturday. Both teams were on the short end of the stick last weekend so they were keen to get their first win of the Currie Cup season. The match was build around the battle at the breakdown with Lions captain Cobus Grobbelaar up against promising Cheetahs fetcher Johan Wessels. Ultimately, the facet was tightly contested and there was no clear winner.

The Griquas secured their second successive bonus point win with a comprehensive 36-11 win over the Leopards at GWK Stadium on Saturday. After a slow start, Griquas found their rhythm and went into the break 19-8 up.  Scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius, like last weekend against the Cheetahs, was the star of the show as he scored a brace of tries for the hosts.

Western Province travelled to Loftus as favourites, but were outclassed 30-22 by a young Blue Bulls squad that made the best use of the few opportunities they were given on Saturday. And although Province were in control for most of the match, they could not convert the territorial advantage and possession they enjoyed into points on the board. As was expected of the opening stages of this Currie Cup clash, both teams opted to kick away possession instead of running from within their own half.

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