The Toyota Cheetahs produced one of their best performances of the season to clinch the top spot in the Currie Cup Premier Division standings, while the Airlink Pumas and Vodacom Bulls secured semi-final places on a dramatic final weekend of the league phase.
The Premier Division playoff line-up has been decided, with the Toyota Cheetahs set to host the Vodacom Bulls in Bloemfontein at 15h00, and the Cell C Sharks scheduled to battle the Airlink Pumas in Durban at 17h30.
Despite a valiant last-ditch effort on the final weekend of the regular season, the Fidelity ADT Lions, Windhoek Draught Griquas and DHL Western Province have failed to qualify for the next round.
The defending champions showed their quality when they overcame a strong Windhoek Draught Griquas side in Kimberley on Friday afternoon. With that win, the Airlink Pumas secured a third-place finish in the standings.
Meanwhile, in the game staged in Welkom at the same time, the Fidelity ADT Lions delivered a potentially campaign-saving performance. The 39-22 bonus-point victory against the NovaVit Griffons temporarily propelled them up to fourth place in the standings. Had the Vodacom Bulls failed to accumulate any log points in Pretoria on Saturday, and had DHL WP lost in Cape Town, the Fidelity ADT Lions may well have qualified for the final four.
The Vodacom Bulls appeared to be on course for a big win at Loftus Versfeld, before the Toyota Cheetahs fought back to clinch a 31-27 bonus-point victory. While the hosts let the result slip, they did claim bonus points for scoring four tries and losing by seven or fewer points.
These two bonus points allowed Jake White’s team to move ahead of the Fidelity ADT Lions in the standings, and took them six points clear of DHL WP, ending the Capetonians’ hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Nevertheless, the last game of the round was an important one for the Cell C Sharks and Toyota Cheetahs in the context of the race for first place.
While the Free Staters moved to the top of the log with their win over the Vodacom Bulls, their chances of clinching first position – and hosting a potential final – hinged on DHL WP stopping a rampant Cell C Sharks side that had won seven matches in a row. In the end, the Capetonians did the Free Staters a massive favour when they beat the visitors from Durban by 44-5.
