The Vodacom Bulls returned to the summit on the Carling Currie Cup log courtesy of a bonus-point victory over DHL Western Province in Pretoria on Wednesday night, after the Cell C Sharks and Airlink Pumas maintained their push for semi-final spots with good wins.
The Durbanites got back to winning ways with a hard-fought win over Windhoek Draught Griquas in Kimberley, while the Airlink Pumas were too strong for the Sigma Lions in Nelspruit.
With the unbeaten Toyota Cheetahs enjoying a bye, the defending champions grabbed the lead courtesy of a six-try triumph at Loftus Versfeld to move to 30 points on the log. They are now four points clear of the Free Staters, who have played one less game than the Vodacom Bulls’ seven.
The Cell C Sharks remained in third place and although they improved their points tally to 22, they are four points behind the second-placed Toyota Cheetahs.
The race for the fourth spot on the log is a tussle between Windhoek Draught Griquas and the Airlink Pumas. Although the Kimberley outfit (currently on 16 points) managed to hang onto fourth place despite their narrow home defeat to the Durbanites, the Lowvelders’ win over the men from Johannesburg means the gap between positions four and five have been reduced to just a single point.
DHL WP’s loss in Pretoria was their sixth in seven games and they find themselves second from the bottom (with eight points), with the last-placed Sigma Lions still winless after seven starts.
