The Leopards, boosted by a strong first half performance at Olën Park in Potchefstroom, secured the right to host the Carling Currie Cup First Division final next weekend with a convincing 52-29 win over Boland on Friday.
The home side scored four tries in the opening half and limited the Bolanders to only one for a 28-5 lead, and they held that gap throughout the match, despite a frantic second half surge from the Kavaliers.
Strong forward play by the Leopards laid the foundation for this win, while Boland battled with their set piece. A blistering start by the Leopards, with a try by winger Eugene Hare in the opening minutes, had Boland scrambling and with their lineout mauls working to perfection, the home side had the visitors in all sorts of trouble from the start.
The second half saw a good fight back by Boland, who went to their bench early in the half. The Leopards responded to each for the four tries by the visitors though and never gave them a real chance of a comeback.
In Welkom, the Down Touch Griffons needed a strong second half comeback to overhaul the Valke in an entertaining match, winning 38-31 to secure their trip to Potchefstroom to face the Leopards next weekend.
The East Rand side started strongly and with clear intent to carry the ball and scored two first half tries for a 17-16 lead. The Valke had all but perfected their lineout mauls and the home side battled to contain that aspect of play by the men in the red jerseys.
The second half delivered a better result for the Northern Free Staters though, aided by some ill-discipline by the Valke.
In the end, it made all the difference, as Griffons scrumhalf Jaywinn Juries kicked two penalty goals on either side of half time that proved decisive.
The home side attacked well from broken play, with No 8 Soso Xakalashe impressive in this regard with hard running, which bagged him two tries.
The pace of wing Granwill Matthys also created chaos in the Valke defence, and he was rewarded with two tries of his own.
A late penalty try to the Valke gave them a sniff to catch up with the rampaging Griffons, but it was too little, too late in the end.
Scorers:
Leopards 52 (28) Boland Kavaliers 29 (5)
Leopards – Tries: Eugene Hare, Andries Truter, Robey Leibrandt, André Fouché, Sampie Swiegers, Gustav du Randt, Penalty Try. Conversions: Keegan Fortune, Danrich Visagie (5). Penalty: Danrich Visagie.
Boland Kavaliers – Tries: Gerrit van Wyk, Andre Manuel, Emile Booysen, Taine Booysen, Bjorkan Hendricks. Conversions: John Lourens (2).
Down Touch Griffons 38 (16) Valke 31 (17)
Griffons – Tries: Soso Xakalashe (2), Granwill Matthys (2). Conversions: Jaywinn Juries (3). Penalties: Jaywinn Juries (4).
Valke – Tries: Anrich Richter, Ruben Liebenberg, Jack Hart, Penalty try. Conversions: Anrich Richter (2), Joshua Vermeulen. Penalty: Anrich Richter.