Victories for the Blue Bulls and Free State Cheetahs at the home grounds of the front runners of the Currie Cup ensured the competition is still wide open with just three rounds to go before the semi-finals.

The Blue Bulls beat the log leading Golden Lions (21-18) in Johannesburg, while the Free State Cheetahs were too good for Western Province in Cape Town (34-20).

These results, coupled with The Sharks’ bonus-point victory of 29-18 over Griquas on Friday evening, mean the team from KwaZulu-Natal move into second place on the log, the Free Staters go third and WP drop two places to fourth. The Golden Lions still top the standings and the Blue Bulls are now fifth, passing Griquas in mid-table.

At the bottom of the standings, the Pumas won their second match of the season when they beat the Platinum Leopards by 32-19 in Nelspruit on Friday.

Meanwhile, in the Currie Cup First Division, the Boland Cavaliers gave the EP Kings their first defeat of the season and while these two teams will finish in the top two positions on the log, any of the four other teams can still make it into the semi-finals when the league phase finishes next weekend.

The Sharks vs Griquas:

Despite the flood lights malfunctioning for 10 minutes at Mr Price Kings Park in Durban on Friday evening, The Sharks had enough energy to beat Griquas by 29-18 in an Currie Cup encounter.

But the defending champions had to work very hard for this victory and only after a late try by Springbok winger Lwazi Mvovo and a penalty goal by Meyer Bosman they put a bit of daylight between themselves and the brave team from the Northern Cape.

Bosman, Dale Chadwick and Jean Deysel scored The Sharks’ other tries, but even though the try count was 4-2 in the home team’s favour, Griquas showed why they are still in semi-final contention with three games left. After 20 minutes they lead 10-0 and even though The Sharks fought back to lead 14-10 at the break, the visitors passed them again to lead 18-14 midway through the second half.

Bosman and Mvovo then made sure The Sharks got their revenge for losing in the first round to Griquas in Kimberley.

Final Score: The Sharks 29 (14) Griquas 18 (10)

Scorers

The Sharks
Tries: Dale Chadwick, Jean Deysel, Meyer Bosman, Lwazi Mvovo
Conversions: Fred Michalak (2), Bosman
Penalty: Bosman

Griquas
Tries: Rudi Vogt, Matthew Rosslee
Conversion: Vogt
Penalties: Vogt (2)

Teams:

The Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Marius Joubert, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Fred Michalak, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Eugene van Staden, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick.

Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Ross Skeate, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Adrian Jacobs, 22 Louis Ludik.

Griquas : 15 Rudi Vogt, 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Matthew Rosslee, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Riaan Viljoen, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Jonathan Mokuena (captain), 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Justin Downey, 5 Frikkie Spies, 4 Hendrik Roodt, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Ivann Espag.

Replacements: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Steph Roberts, 18 Jaco Nepgen, 19 Leon Karemaker, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Hanno Coetzee, 22 Monty Dumond.

Pumas vs Platinum Leopards:

A strong first half performance saw the Pumas record their second victory of the Currie Cup season when they beat the Platinum Leopards by 32-19 at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Friday evening.

The Pumas, who got their first victory of the 2011 season in Kimberley last week, took a commanding 25-0 lead in the first half with flyhalf Coenie van Wyk scoring 20 of these points through a try and five penalty goals.

But 19 unanswered points in 10 minutes early in the second half, with tries by Philip de Wet (flank), George Tossel (fullback) and Gavin Williamson (hooker), saw the Leopards narrow the gap to just six points (19-25).

That is how the score stayed until late in the match when flank Jaco Bouwer scored a converted try with less than 15 minutes on the clock that made it safe for the Pumas.

Final Score: Pumas 32 (25) Platinum Leopards 19 (0)

Scorers

Pumas
Tries: Jaco Bouwer, Wilhelm Loock, Coenie van Wyk
Conversion: Van Wyk
Penalties: Van Wyk (5)

Platinum Leopards
Tries: Philip de Wet, George Tossel, Gavin Williamson
Conversions: Wesley Dunlop (2)

Teams:

Pumas: 15 MJ Mentz, 14 Wilhelm Loock, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Siviwe Magaba, 11 Johan Jackson, 10 Coenie van Wyk, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Christo le Roux, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corne Steenkamp (captain), 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Willem Serfontein, 3 Brett Nel, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Dawie Steyn.

Replacements: 16 Pellow van der Westhuizen, 17 Michael de Nieully Rice, 18 Eduan van der Walt, 19 JP Mostert, 20 Hendrik van der Nest, 21 Dewald Pretorius, 22 Carl Bezuidenhout.

Platinum Leopards: 15 George Tossel, 14 Hoffmann Maritz, 13 Charl Weideman, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht (captain), 11 Jovan Bowles, 10 Wesley Dunlop, 9 Johann Laker, 8 Robert Kruger, 7 Dries van Schalkwyk, 6 Philip de Wet, 5 Brad Mock , 4 Brendon Snyman, 3 Bêrend Botha, 2 Gavin Williamson, 1 Jean Rossouw.

Replacements: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Dewald Coetzee, 18 Juan Pretorius, 19 Roan van Heerden, 20 Liam Slatem, 21 Vainon Willis, 22 Clayton Durand.

Golden Lions vs Blue Bulls:

A well struck drop-goal by young flyhalf Louis Fouche with less than 20 minutes to go helped the Blue Bulls to become the first team in the 2011 Currie Cup Premier Division to beat the Golden Lions at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg.

The Blue Bulls’ 21-18 victory was only the second time this season the Golden Lions lost in the Currie Cup and they still top the log, but the team from Pretoria moved up to fifth place after their second successive win of the season after they beat WP at Loftus Versfeld last week.

Scrumhalf Jano Vermaak, who crossed the Jukskei River earlier this season from the Lions to the Bulls, scored the visitors’ first try in the second minute when he followed up a kick ahead by wing Bjorn Basson.

Flanker Warwick Tecklenburg, a late replacement for Dewald Potgieter (ankle injury), crashed over 18 minutes later and when Fouche added two penalty goals, the Blue Bulls took a 18-3 lead.

But ill-discipline by the visitors, who were reduced the playing with 13 men early in the second half with Springboks Dean Greyling and Wynand Olivier sent to the sin bin by referee Lourens van der Merwe, saw the Golden Lions fight back to level the scores at 18-18 after an hour of play.

In the 61st minute however Fouche had the last say in a tough encounter as both teams brought on a host of replacements as they looked for something to unlock the game, which was characterised by superb defence by both sides.

Final Score: Golden Lions 18 (6) Blue Bulls 21 (18)

Scorers

Golden Lions
Tries: Michael Killian, Josh Strauss
Conversion: Elton Jantjies
Penalties: Jantjies (2)

Blue Bulls
Tries: Jano Vermaak, Warwick Tecklenburg
Conversion: Louis Fouche
Penalties: Fouche (2)
Drop-goal: Fouche

Teams:

Golden Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Doppies la Grange, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Rudi Paige, 8 Josh Strauss (captain), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.

Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 David Bulbring, 19 Warren Whiteley, 20 Eddie Bredenhann, 21 Burton Francis, 22 James Kamana.

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Born Basson, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 Louis Fouche, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Warwick Tecklenburg, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha (captain), 1 Dean Greyling.

Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Jurgen Visser.

Western Province vs Free State Cheetahs:

For a second consecutive week the Free State Cheetahs scored a comfortable victory against a team higher than them on the Currie Cup Premier Division log when they beat Western Province by 34-20 at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.

With 10 log points from their encounters with The Sharks and WP in the last two rounds, the Free Staters moved up to third position in the standings.

On Saturday they were clinical in the first half as Cameron Jacobs (wing), Piet van Zyl (scrumhalf) and Pieter “Lappies” Labuschagne (flank) scored tries for the visitors to silence the Newlands faithful. The first half ended with the Cheetahs leading by 24-6.

WP fought back to 24-20 in the second half with tries to Nick Fenton-Wells and Deon Fourie, but they could not contain the Cheetahs, who put the result beyond any doubt with a drop-goal by Sias Ebersohn (replacement flyhalf) and a converted try by livewire Springbok prop Coenie Oosthuizen to leap frog their hosts on the log.

Final Score: Western Province 20 (6) Free State Cheetahs 34 (24)

Scorers

Western Province
Tries: Nick Fenton-Wells, Deon Fourie
Conversions: Lionel Cronje (2)
Penalties: Cronje (2)

FS Cheetahs
Tries: Cameron Jacobs, Piet van Zyl, Pieter Labuschagne, Coenie Oosthuizen
Conversions: Johan Goosen (3), Sias Ebersohn
Penalty: Goosen
Drop-goal: Sias Ebersohn

Teams:

Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 JJ Engelbrecht, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nick Köster, 7 Tertius Daniller, 6 Nick Fenton-Wells, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Hilton Lobberts, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg (captain), 1 JD Moller.

Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Nizaam Carr, 19 Siya Kolisi, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Berton Klaasen, 22 Heinrich Steyl.

FS Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Philip Snyman, 11 Cameron Jacobs, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Boom Prinsloo, 6 Pieter Labuschagne, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Marcel van der Merwe.

Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Francois Uys, 19 Johan Wessels, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Andries Strauss.

Currie Cup First Division:

Two exciting matches lie ahead in the Currie Cup First Division after the three results this weekend blew the competition wide open, with victories for the Boland Cavaliers, Valke and Border Bulldogs.

The Boland Cavaliers, with former Springbok Sevens flyer Danwel Demas scoring four tries, became the first team to beat the EP Kings this season when they ran out comfortable 49-15 winners over the defending champions in Wellington on Friday. This means the team from the Cape Winelands can go top of the log if they can beat the SWD Eagles next weekend.

The Kings, who conceded 28 points in the final 15 minutes of the game, have finished their league matches and will have to hope the Cavaliers lose next weekend to ensure they stay top of the log.

While Demas’s four tries were probably the highlight of the match, the Kings got shown three yellow-cards during the game by referee Marius Jonker – to prop Clint Newland and flanks Devin Oosthuizen and Jacques Oosthuizen.

In Kempton Park on Saturday, the Valke defended a big first half lead to eventually beat the SWD Eagles by 53-45 at the Barnard Stadium on Saturday. Both teams scored seven tries each in a match that yielded 98 points.

It was the Valke’s third victory this season as they move up to 16 log points, one ahead of the Border Bulldogs and level on log points but with a poorer points’ difference than fourth-placed SWD.

Border’s flyhalf Ntabeni Dukisa scored 15 points as the team from East London beat the Griffons by 25-21 at the North West Stadium in Welkom on Saturday.

The Kings and Griffons will watch next weekend’s matches – SWD vs Boland in George and Border vs Valke in East London – with great interest as the final log positions will be determined by these encounters.

Weekend results:

Final Score: Boland Cavaliers 49 (13) EP Kings 15 (10)

Scorers

Boland Cavaliers
Tries: Danwel Demas (4), Bolla Conradie, Willie le Roux
Conversions: Elgar Watts, Le Roux (4)
Penalties: Watts (3)

EP Kings
Tries: Jaco Engels, Luke Watson
Conversion: Louis Strydom
Penalty: Strydom

Final Score: Valke 53 (31) SWD Eagles 45 (7)

Scorers

Valke
Tries: Franco Booysen (2), Reg Muller (2), Zander de Kock, Jaco Snyman, Carlyle Hendricks
Conversions: Juan Kotze (6)
Penalty: Kotze
Drop goal: Kotze

SWD Eagles
Tries: Wilhelm Koch, Layle Delo, Braam Immelman, Giant Mtyanda, Duwayne Smart, Wentsley Scott, Eric Coetzee
Conversions: Elric van Vuuren (5)

Final Score: Griffons 21 (7) Border Bulldogs 25 (18)

Scorers

Griffons
Tries: Shaun Raubenheimer, Japie Nel, Tertius Maarman
Conversions: Tiaan van Wyk (3)

Border Bulldogs
Tries: Ntabeni Dukisa, Onke Dubase, Shane Spring
Conversions: Dukisa (2)
Penalties: Dukisa (2)