The Airlink Pumas kick off this weekend’s fifth-round action of the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division when they host the high-flying Sanlam Boland Kavaliers in Nelspruit from 17h00 in on Friday, while the Vodacom Bulls will play at a new venue on Sunday.
Friday evening’s second fixture sees the two bottom placed sides, the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV and DHL Western Province, battle it out in Durban (19h10) to see who can register their first win of the campaign.
On Saturday, the Toyota Cheetahs welcome Fidelity ADT Lions to Bloemfontein for their encounter which will start at 14h00, and the Vodacom Bulls host Suzuki Griquas at Grizzly Park in Pretoria on Sunday, with kick-off at 15h00. All matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
The clash between the Airlink Pumas and Sanlam Boland Kavaliers at the Mbombela Stadium has all the hallmarks of a cracking game of rugby. The hosts have won two of their league fixtures date, against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria (41-7) and Griquas in Kimberley (49-28), while suffering losses against the Lions in Nelspruit (in their last outing, 36-25) and the Cheetahs in Bloem (42-28).
The Kavaliers, on the other hand, are having a superb return to the Premier Division and currently sit second on the table on 16 league points, which are the same tally as first-placed Cheetahs. The Bolanders have only lost one encounter so far in the campaign, a 48-39 reverse away against Griquas.
All three Boland’s wins were achieved in front of their passionate supporters on a Sunday in Wellington, so this encounter in Nelspruit with the Pumas will be an acid test for the team coached by Hawies Fourie.
Although the Pumas won two of their matches compared to Boland’s three, Jimmy Stonehouse’s outfit have scored a total of 21 tries to date – nou doubt boosted by their recent romp over the Bulls – compared to the Kavaliers’ 19.
Interestingly, the two teams have conceded the same number of points, namely 113, in their four league games thus far, while the Pumas have scored 150 points and Boland 133 over this period.
The Kavaliers come into this game with the better form guide thanks to their two previous wins (last week over the Bulls and the week before against the Lions). The Pumas though will be determined to rectify matters for their one-point loss last week to the team from Johannesburg, which have seen them slip to fifth on the log.
Pumas flyhalf Danrich Visagie is leading the overall competition points tally on 50 points and the kicker is deadly with the boot from anywhere in their opponent’s half, as evident by his competition-leading five penalty goals and 15 conversions.
Unfortunately for the Bolanders, their Blitzbok speedster Donavan Don, who is leading the try scoring charts with seven five-pointers, has been ruled out of this encounter with an injury.
Unless they manage a draw, Friday evening’s late game in Durban between the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV and DHL WP will see a first-time winner this season.
The honours are even in the last eight matches between the two teams, however, their current form do not make good reading. They have each scored only one bonus point from their four games so far in 2025 and are at the bottom of the log.
The two coastal rivals have found the going extremely tough in terms of scoring, with the Sharks scoring only 27 points and conceding 143, and WP in turn collecting 83 points and leaking 166.
Saturday’s lone fixture between the Toyota Cheetahs and Fidelity ADT Lions sees two competitive sides going toe-to-toe against each other. The Free Staters lead the standings on 16 league points, while the men from Johannesburg are third on 15 points.
Since losing their opening-round fixture in Wellington against Boland, Frans Steyn’s Cheetahs have recovered well to win three games on the bounce, including last weekend nail-biting 31-24 triumph over WP.
The Lions edged Pumas last week by a point, while their only loss to date have gone the way of in-form Boland (29-10 in Wellington).
Jandre Nel has scored four tries so far, the most by a Cheetah player, while Rabz Maxwane have collected three tries in four games for the Lions.
The Lions have won all three previous encounters in this fixture with the Cheetahs, including last September’s exciting 43-34 triumph at Ellis Park, which followed on two away victories in Bloemfontein. The last time the Free Staters were victorious over the Lions was in April 2023 in Johannesburg, by 52-15.
In Sunday’s last fixture of the round, the sixth-placed Vodacom Bulls will be hoping to break a two-game losing streak when they host fourth-placed Suzuki Griquas at Grizzly Park, home of the Tuine Rugby Club, in Daspoort.
Since going down to Griquas in June 2022, the Bulls have won three games on the bounce against their visitors this weekend.
Phiwe Nomlomu’s team opened their 2025 campaign with wins over WP (48-23) and the Sharks XV (64-0), but then suffered defeats to the Pumas (41-7) in Pretoria and away to Boland last weekend (28-20).
In contrast, Pieter Bergh’s side from Kimberley have strung together a run of three home wins since losing 49-28 away to Pumas in round one, and they will be keen to claim a first win on the road this season.
Match Information:
Airlink Pumas vs Sanlam Boland Kavaliers
Date: Friday, 22 August 2025
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Kick-off: 17h00
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
Broadcast: SuperSport
Hollywoodbets Sharks XV vs DHL Western Province
Date: Friday, 22 August 2025
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 19h10
Referee: Robbie Jenkinson
Broadcast: SuperSport
Toyota Cheetahs vs Fidelity ADT Lions
Date: Saturday, 23 August
Venue: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 14h00
Referee: Dylen November
Broadcast: SuperSport
Vodacom Bulls vs Suzuki Griquas
Date: Sunday, 24 August
Venue: Grizzly Park, Pretoria
Kick-off: 15h00
Referee: AJ Jacobs
Broadcast: SuperSport
racy lady
Still on the subject of cricket superstitions, the player with the most rituals performed during a match is arguably Neil McKenzie of South Africa. Before a game, for example, he would attach his cricket bat to the ceiling with tape. When it’s time for him to bat, he would check all the changing room lights to make sure they were shut off and that the toilet seats were down.
Keystone
Sport Trivia: How many drop goals were \”dropped\” in the 1999 World Cup qualifier between England and South Africa, and by whom? Answer: Jannie de Beer – 5 drops in the 1999 World Cup,against England in Paris. South Africa won the match 44 – 21.