The Cell C Sharks claimed a big victory in Welkom to move to the top of the Currie Cup Premier Division standings, while the Fidelity ADT Lions and Vodacom Bulls secured important wins to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The KwaZulu-Natalians took some time to get into the contest against the NovaVit Griiffons on Friday. A fine second-half performance, however, earned them a win as well as a bonus point.
Windhoek Draught Griquas did the Cell C Sharks a favour when they held the Toyota Cheetahs to a draw in Bloemfontein on Saturday. Thanks to that result, the KwaZulu-Natalians have overtaken the Free Staters at the top of the standings.
The Toyota Cheetahs managed to accumulate three log points from the draw. The upshot is that they are just two log points behind the Cell C Sharks with two rounds to play, and still very much in the hunt for a home semi-final.
The Airlink Pumas suffered a campaign-threatening loss to the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday. The defending champions currently sit in third place in the standings and are five log points behind the second-placed Free Staters.
The scrap for the fourth spot took another interesting turn over the weekend. Due to the shock losses for the home teams in Cape Town and Nelspruit, three sides, DHL WP, the Fidelity ADT Lions and the Vodacom Bulls, sit on 31 log points after 12 rounds. DHL Western Province remains in fourth place by virtue of their superior points difference.
Windhoek Draught Griquas aren’t out of the playoff race either. While they are currently in seventh place, they are one log point behind the aforementioned trio and six behind the third-placed Airlink Pumas. They could climb the rankings if they upset DHL WP in the next round.
