The Boland Kavaliers drew 28-28 with the SWD Eagles, while there were wins for the Valke and Griquas in round four of the 2015 Currie Cup qualifiers.
SWD led by three in the final minute of the match, but a late penalty goal from replacement flyhalf Adriaan Carelse saw Boland snatch the draw. SWD raced out to a 22-11 advantage at the break courtesy of a converted try by scrumhalf Johannes Steyn and five penalties from No 10 Elric van Vuuren.
Boland, however, fought back in the second half to erase the 11-point deficit. Two converted tries from experienced wing Danwel Demas and flank Yves Bashiya for the Kavaliers and a sixth penalty by Van Vuuren for the Eagles, levelled the scores at 25-25. When the Kavaliers transgressed in the 78th minute, Van Vuuren stepped up and succeeded with his seventh penalty for a 23-point haul in the match. But that wasn’t the end of it, as Carelse held his nerve moments later to deny the hosts the victory.
Meanwhile, the Border Bulldogs lost 13-12 to the visiting Valke on Friday. Border frustrated the Valke in the first half with stern defence and led 6-3 at the break, thanks to a penalty apiece from Masixole Banda and his replacement Logan Basson. Jaun Kotzé kicked a three-pointer to get the Valke on the board.
Kotzé and Basson traded penalties at the resumption of play, before ill-discipline let the hosts down. They were reduced to 13 men after lock Wandile Putuma and loosehead prop and captain Blake Kyd were yellow-carded in the space of a minute. The Valke took full advantage and were awarded a penalty try, which Kotzé converted. And while Basson pulled three points back with another penalty in the 60th minute, Border were unable to make further inroads before the final whistle.
And in Kimberley, Griquas consolidated their position at the summit of the log with a 47-20 thrashing of the Griffons. Two Franna du Toit penalty kicks put the Griffons 6-0 up, but a superb try under the posts by centre Jonathan Francke saw the hosts take a slender 7-6 lead into the break.
In a rampant second-half display, Griquas scored six unanswered tries and five conversions for a 47-6 advantage. Griffons wings Vuyo Mbotho and Norman Nelson crossed for converted tries in the final five minutes to add respectability to the scoreboard, but it wasn’t enough to get them a losing bonus point.
SWD Eagles (28) – Try: Johannes Steyn. Conversion: Elric van Vuuren. Penalties: Van Vuuren (7).
Boland Kavaliers (28) – Tries: Danwel Demas (2), Yves Bashiya. Conversions: Eric Zana (2). Penalties: Zana (2), Adriaan Carelse.
Border Bulldogs (12) – Penalties: Masixole Banda, Logan Basson (3).
Valke (13) – Try: Penalty try. Conversion: Jaun Kotzé. Penalties: Kotze (2).
Griquas (47) – Tries Jonathan Francke, Carel Greeff, Ntubeni Dukisa, Tian Meyer, Francois Brummer, Hugo Kloppers, Martin Bezuidenhout. Conversions: Gouws Prinsloo (6).
Griffons (20) – Tries: Vuyo Mbotho, Norman Nelson. Conversions: Wynand Pienaar (2). Penalties: Franna du Toit (2).
Photo: Luke Walker/Gallo Images
