Currie Cup: Sharks and Cheetahs secure home semi-finals

The Sharks and Cheetahs both secured home semi-finals on an exciting weekend of Currie Cup action that also saw vital wins for the Bulls and Griquas.

The Sharks beat the Lions 29-21 in their match at Kings Park in Durban in the final game off the weekend on Saturday night which lifted them back to the top of the log above the Cheetahs, who had snuck ahead after a 29-14 win over the Pumas in Mbombela, in the earlier match.

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On Friday the Bulls smashed the Griffons 64-33 in a power outage delayed match, which lifted them from sixth on the log into the fourth and final playoff spot, while the Griquas kept the heat on with a 39-28 win over Western Province, lifting them from seventh to fifth, just a point behind the Bulls.

The Sharks are now in poll position to clinch top spot and a home final, should they reach it, after their bonus point win moved them onto 48 points, two ahead of the Cheetahs.

Top comeback

It was a top comeback from the home side as they battled back from an early 14-0 deficit after two early tries from the Lions, to level things up at the break and then pull away late in the second half to claim their seventh straight win in the competition.

Defeat for the Lions effectively ends their Currie Cup campaign, with them in seventh place on 31 points, five points adrift of the Bulls with just one round of pool stage action remaining.

“We have to fight for a high as high a finish as we can get in the Currie Cup. This game was a playoff for us. So now we have to try finish on a positive note next week and finish as high as possible (on the log),” said a disappointed Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi after the match.

Back on track

The Cheetahs managed to get their campaign back on track and secured a home playoff with their win over the Pumas, after they had gone into this weekend’s match off the back of two defeats and a draw.

It was the Pumas who scored early in the game, but the Cheetahs fought back to take a 19-7 lead into half time and then controlled the second half to claim a solid win in the end.

The Bulls huge win over the Griffons puts them in poll position to make the semis, with them on 36 points, level with the third placed Pumas and just ahead of the chasing Griquas.

The Bulls will however have to beat the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in their final pool match next weekend to make sure of their place in the knockouts, while the Griquas and Pumas will be going all out against each other in Kimberley.

Sixth placed Western Province are pretty much out of the running, with them four points off the playoffs and needing to beat the inform Sharks in Cape Town, while the Lions v Griffons game in Welkom will likely be a dead rubber match.