Back-to-back Currie Cup First Division winning captain of Sanlam Boland Cavaliers, Thurlow Marsh, can now add Currie Cup Premier Division qualifying leader to his rugby CV.
The loose-forward could not help but get emotional after leading his side to a hard-fought 36-22 victory over the Eastern Province (EP) Elephants in a final league game of the SA Cup this past Saturday (10 May 2025). It was his 50th as captain of the Cavas as well.
The win sees the Cavas make a return to the top division of Currie Cup rugby after an absence of nine years, when Marsh was still grafting his way as a Roses United RFC (Boland Rugby Union) club player with big dreams of one day representing the union where he has played the game his entire career long.
After Saturday’s win against the Elephants, about what it meant for him and his teammates to realise a goal set out at the end of last season, Marsh says: “Where do I begin…
“I am stunned, I am so overwhelmed with emotion. I feel so out of my body for what we have achieved here today.
“I am immensely proud of all the role players involved. From the [Boland Rugby Union] executive, to our managers and the coaches, but especially to the players for the hard work and dedication that they have put in to achieve this goal.”
What we have achieved today is greater than the sum of our parts, and it is something that we wanted to achieve for the entire Boland province, which has more than 20000 amateur players. We have created hope for them, and all glory has to be given to God for giving us the strength and blessing us with the talent to create hope and inspire our communities.
“I know that what we have achieved today will be remembered for years to come.”
Qualifying for the Currie Cup Premier Division is however, is not enough for Marsh and the Cavas team.
At the start of the SA Cup campaign they made it clear that they want to win the tournament and although coach Hawies Fourie’s team stuttered and stumbled on their way to getting Currie Cup promotion, he and captain Marsh’s Cavas side are now plotting how to down the unbeaten Airlink Pumas in this coming weekend’s semi-final at Mbombela Stadium.
Last week (3 May), the Cavaliers came close to ending the Pumas’ winning run, where Marsh and his men secured two valuable losing bonus points, in Wellington.
However, the shackles of the added pressure of reaching goal one (Currie Cup promotion) has now been released and of giving it a proper go at winning the SA Cup,
“For the season, this was our first away win besides the one against Border, so as the Bible says in scripture: ‘The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD’.
“We are just immensely proud of everything and everything still to come.”