The Cavaliers, coached by Hawies Fourie, secured a 45-29 victory over the Cheetahs – their biggest win in the competition to date – and picked up a bonus point as they began their pursuit of Currie Cup Premier Division qualification.

Boland raced to a 19-0 lead early in the match after winger Lunathi Nxele scored a brace of tries, with hooker Sidney Tobias also dotting down, all within the first 24 minutes.

Shortly before half-time, winger Prince Nkabinde and flanker Pierre Uys each crossed the whitewash for the Cheetahs, narrowing the gap to 19-14 at the break.

The second half started with Ashlon Davids slotting the first of four penalties against the Cheetahs, extending Boland’s lead.

Minutes later, replacement Cheetahs scrumhalf Jandré Nel injected energy into the game, scoring the first of his two tries as the visitors fought their way back. Flyhalf George Lourens then got in on the action with a try, bringing the game within a single point.

Nel powered over again to complete his brace, giving the Cheetahs the lead for the first time in the 65th minute. However, just four minutes later, a fumble while on the attack proved costly, as Nxele pounced on the loose ball and turned on the afterburners to complete his hat-trick.

That proved to be the turning point, shifting momentum back in Boland’s favour, and from there, things went pear-shaped for the Cheetahs.

Poor discipline in key areas led to Jeandré Rudolph being sin-binned, while replacement Boland flyhalf Gareth April slotted two more penalties. To add insult to injury, Duren Hoffman crossed for a converted try on the stroke of full-time, sealing a convincing win for Boland.

After the match, Cheetahs captain Victor Sekekete told OFM Sport a lack of warm-up games didn’t help their cause, but ultimately, their poor start and ill-discipline let them down.

“In the first 30 minutes, we gave them three easy tries,” said Sekekete. “From then on, we were playing catch-up, which we don’t want to do. Yes, discipline cost us, especially in the second half, because it gave them easy three-pointers.”

“That gave them confidence, and it showed in the game. When we stuck to our game plan, they couldn’t keep up. There were a lot of positives on our side as well. We didn’t have warm-up games, but for a first game, we’ll take the learnings from it. We have to fix things next week against the Leopards and get back on track.”

Meanwhile, in Potchefstroom, defending champions Griquas thrashed the Leopards 64-7, while in Mdantsane, the Griffons cruised past the Border Bulldogs 55-32. In Kempton Park, the Valke claimed a 41-30 victory over Eastern Province.

Scorers:

Boland: Tries – Lunathi Nxele (3), Sidney Tobias, Duren Hoffman Conv. – Ashlon Davids (3), Garth April  Pen. – Davids (2), April (2)

Cheetahs: Tries – Prince Nkabinde, Pierre Uys, Jandré Nel (2), George Lourens Conv. – Lourens, Cohen Jasper

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg