Cheetahs punish ill-disciplined Kavaliers
The Sanlam Boland Kavaliers’ fight for a spot in the semi-finals of the 2026 Carling Black Label Currie Cup got dealt a heavy blow after going down 33-24 in Bloemfontein to the Toyota Cheetahs on Sunday, 23 August.
Boland failed to pick up any log points despite a brave and valiant effort from the visitors in the final ten minutes.
Hawies Fourie, head coach of the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers, side dropped to the fourth position on the log with 16 points, equal with the DHL Stormers XXIII, who occupy fifth due to a weaker points difference.
Captain Marlyn Williams and his Kavaliers will be gutted by their second-half display after enjoying a slender 10-7 lead at the break.
The first 40 minutes were an arm wrestle which saw the first 20 minutes of the contest remain scoreless, although Fourie would feel his team did have the upper hand.
However, failing to convert the early momentum into points, the Cheetahs pounced as they made their way towards the Kavaliers tryline with hooker Juan Smal crashing from a rolling maul for the game’s opening try in the 22nd minute.
The Kavaliers hit back five minutes later with lock Johnré Stopforth dotting down from a maul as the visitors tied things up at 7-all.
Some good defence and direct play by Boland seemed to frustrate the Cheetahs, who were rewarded right before halftime as flyhalf Ashlon Davids’ penalty handed the visitors a lead at the break.
The Cheetahs would regain the lead three minutes into the second half with centre Zander du Plessis running a beautiful line to cross the whitewash.
Things started to come apart for the Wellington side as loose forward Kwanda Dimaza was the first of three Kavaliers players to be shown yellow.
At this point, Boland were already on a team warning for repeated infringements and four minutes later Chris Smit joined Dimaza on the naughty chair.
De Klerk used the two-man advantage and stretched across the tryline for his side’s third try.
And with the try in the 62nd minute came another yellow card to Boland as Stopforth joined Dimaza and Smit on the sideline.
The Cheetahs then took a big step towards victory as winger Michael Annies scored the home side’s fourth and bonus point try in the 65th minute, and Boland lost a fourth player to the sin bin. This time Gift Dlamini got sent off for lazy running in the build-up to the try.
However, Boland did not throw in the towel and regathered the restart before Joshua Eras crossed for their second try.
But Boland’s hopes of a losing bonus point were soon dashed as winger Annies found space in broken play and a quick feed from replacement scrumhalf Rewan Kruger to score under the sticks.
A brilliant attack by Boland from halfway up the field led to replacement halfback Bentley Geldenhuys scoring with three minutes left to play.
With two bonus points on offer, the subsequent restart was vital for the visitors; however, the Kavaliers soon lost possession, only for referee Morne Ferreira to signal the end of the match as the ball was turned over.
The Sanlam Boland Kavaliers face log leaders and defending Currie Cup champions, Suzuki Griquas, in their final round robin game on Sunday, 30 August, at the Boland Stadium in Wellington.
SCORERS
Toyota Cheetahs 33 (7)
Tries: Juan Smal, Zander du Plessis, Faf de Klerk, Michael Annies (2)
Cons: Tiaan Swanepoel (4)
Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 24 (10)
Tries: Johnré Stopforth, Joshua Eras, Bentley Geldenhuys
Cons: Ashlon Davids (3)
Pen: Davids
TEAMS
Sanlam Boland Kavaliers: 15 Domenic Smit, 14 Cornell Engelbrecht, 13 Lunathi Nxele, 12 Chris Smit, 11 Jayden Bantom, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Sibusiso Sangweni, 7 Kwanda Dimaza, 6 Gift Dlamini, 5 Marlyn Williams, 4 Johnré Stopforth, 3 Heiko Pohlmann, 2 Joshua Eras, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Sidney Tobias, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Mthokozisi Gumede, 19 Jeandre Leonard, 20 Michael Benadie, 21 Thurlow Marsh, 22 Bentley Geldenhuys, 23 James Tedder
Toyota Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Michael Annies, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Neels Volschenk, 7 Sisonke Vumazonke, 6 Ramon Uys, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Simon Miller, 3 Frankie dos Reis, 2 Juan Smal, 1 Tebogo Nkosi
Replacements: 16 Stefan Venter, 17 Dux Manyama, 18 John-Kelly Okonkwo, 19 Arno van der Merwe, 20 Pierre-Raymond Uys, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Cohen Jasper, 23 Jooste Nel
Photo caption: Lunathi Nxele (with ball) and Sibusiso Sangweni of the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Sunday, 23 August. Photo credit: Morgan Piek
