The Sanlam Boland Cavaliers qualified for the semi-final of the SA Cup and with that booked their place among the big dogs of Currie Cup rugby after beating Eastern Province Elephants 36-22 in a Round Nine SA Cup clash at the Nelson Mandela University stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday.
The victory means the Cavas have ended a nine-year wait to play in the Currie Cup Premier Division. They last had the honour of taking on the country’s best provincial sides in 2016 before being relegated to the Currie Cup First Division.
The visitors, however, started nervously in their must-win clash against the Elephants in sunny but windy conditions. This resulted in a stop-start affair, with play mostly limited to the midway mark of the field.
The Elephants drew first blood after 17 minutes, thanks to a penalty goal by Chadwyn November, as the Cavas slowly started shaking off their nerves.
The Sanlam Boland Cavaliers then hit the lead in the 26th minute from a Sidney Tobias try, and it took just two minutes for the visitors to extend their lead to 14-0. Flyhalf Ashlon Davids dotted down, and fullback James Tedder added the extras. Right before halftime, lock Michael Benadie went over for the Cavaliers’ third to make it 21-3 as the players headed into the break.
The Elephants threatened to get back into the game when replacement back Enrique Franks crossed for the home team’s first try in the opening moments of the second half. However, Boland hit back almost immediately when Erik Lambrecht scored the visitors’ fourth to go 26-10 up with 32 minutes left to play.
Tedder then extended Boland’s lead with a penalty as the final quarter of the match approached. Coach Hawies Fourie’s men hit game management mode with the finish line in sight.
Credit must be given to coach Allister Coetzee’s Elephants, who did not give up the fight, and were rewarded as Franks crossed for his second try [29-10]. The home team struck another blow with the final 10 minutes approaching. Fullback Jayden Bantom went over for a converted score, cutting the Cavas’ lead to seven points.
But as he has been doing all season long, replacement hooker HP van Schoor brought the vital impact moment and scored Boland’s fifth five-pointer with less than three minutes to play to book the visiting side’s spot in the Currie Cup Premier Division and also secure a rematch of last week’s match against the Airlink Pumas in the SA Cup semi-finals.
SCORERS:
EP ELEPHANTS 22 (3) – Tries: Enrique Franks (2) and Jayden Bantom. Conversions: Chadwyn November (2). Penalty: November
SANLAM BOLAND CAVALIERS 36 (21) – Tries: Sidney Tobias, Ashlon Davids, Michael Benadie, Erik Lambrecht, and HP van Schoor. Conversions: James Tedder (4). Penalty: Tedder
