The Leopards beat Griquas 37-17 in Potchefstroom on Friday, while there were also Currie Cup Qualifier wins for the Valke, Free State XV and Sharks XV.
Griquas have qualified for the Currie Cup Premier Division as the top-ranked non-Super Rugby union, but the Leopards, who haven't qualified, proved too strong for them in the final round.
The Leopards led 22-3 at the break courtesy of tries by hooker Wilmar Arnoldi, wing Bradley Moolman and loosehead prop Bart le Roux. Fullback Rhyno Smith, who had played for the Sharks in their previous two Super Rugby games, returned to the Leopards and kicked two conversions and a penalty.
Griquas showed more fight in the second half with a brace by lock Jason-Collin Fraser, but poor defending saw them concede two tries and a further penalty by Smith.
In Kempton Park, wing Etienne Taljaard, centre Grant Janke and scrumhalf Johan Pretorius scored two tries each in the Valke’s 59-26 thrashing of the EP Kings; a late penalty by Ruan van Rensburg helped the Free State XV secure a hard-fought 22-18 win over the Border Bulldogs in East London; and the Sharks XV beat the SWD Eagles 29-24 in George, with scrumhalf Hanco Venter bagging a brace.
Leopards (37) – Tries: Wilmar Arnoldi, Bradley Moolman, Bart le Roux, Henko Marais, Johan Deysel. Conversions: Rhyno Smith (3). Penalties: Smith (2).
Griquas (17) – Tries: Jason-Collin Fraser (2). Conversions: André Swart (2). Penalty: Steven Moir.
Valke (59) – Tries: Etienne Taljaard (2), Grant Janke (2), Johan Pretorius (2), Andries Schutte, Karlo Aspeling, Shane Kirkwood. Conversions: Aspeling (4), Warren Potgieter (3).
EP Kings (26) – Tries: David Murray, Franswa Ueckermann, Keanu Vers, Lusanda Badiyana. Conversions: Simon Bolze (4).
Border Bulldogs (18) – Tries: Makazole Mapimpi, Sethu Tom. Conversion: Masixole Banda. Penalties: Banda (2).
Free State XV (22) – Tries: Johan Kotze, Nardus Erasmus, Neil Rautenbach. Conversions: Gerrie Labuschagne (2). Penalty: Ruan van Rensburg.
SWD Eagles (24) – Tries: Dean Hopp, Lodewyk Uys, Mark Pretorius, Clinton Wagman. Conversions: Thomas Kean (2).
Sharks XV (29) – Tries: Hanco Venter (2), Gerhard Engelbrecht, Johan du Toit. Conversions: Innocent Radebe (3). Penalty: Radebe.
Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images
