The Toyota Cheetahs managed to keep their unbeaten Carling Currie Cup winning streak intact in Durban, while the Vodacom Bulls and Airlink Pumas also gained important away victories to boost their playoff ambitions as the competition reached the halfway stage on Wednesday.
The Free Staters adapted better to the wet conditions at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on the east coast to beat the Cell C Sharks 29-15, which allowed them to hold onto the top spot on the table.
However, the Vodacom Bulls – winners of the previous two campaigns – closed the gap on the frontrunners to just one point after their 44-10 Jukskei derby victory over the Sigma Lions at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg.
In the day’s opening fixture played at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, the Airlink Pumas turned on the style after the break to defeat DHL Western Province 37-11 for their second win of the campaign.
Following the latest round of matches and with all sides now having played six games, the unbeaten Toyota Cheetahs still top the standings with 26 points. The Vodacom Bulls’ bonus-point win over their Gauteng neighbours allowed the defending champions to reduce the gap to a single point – they are now on 25 points.
Perhaps more importantly for the Pretoria outfit, they also managed to stretch their advantage to seven points over the third-placed Cell C Sharks (18 points).
Although the Tafel Lager Griquas had a bye, the Northern Cape side remain in the fourth spot on 15 points, while the Airlink Pumas’ bonus-point triumph down in the Cape saw them double their tally to 10. The Lowvelders also leapfrogged the Capetonians into the fifth spot on the table.
DHL WP slipped to sixth on the log with seven points and the Sigma Lions occupy the last spot with just two points in the bag.
The next round of matches is scheduled for Wednesday, 6 April. The Airlink Pumas host the Sigma Lions from 15h30 in Nelspruit, Tafel Lager Griquas entertain the Cell C Sharks in Kimberley (17h45) while day’s action will be completed with the North versus South derby between the Vodacom Bulls and DHL WP in Pretoria (20h00).