Defending champions, iSG Pumas will meet Boland and DHL Western Province will face Tafel Lager Griquas next Sunday in the semi-finals of the 2019 edition of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge. 

Both matches will be played at KaNyamazane Stadium near Nelspruit on Sunday, 16 June in the penultimate Rugby Festival of the competition, to determine who will travel to the West Coast on Sunday, 23 June where the final will be played at the Saldanha Sports Stadium.

The last finalist was only determined earlier on Sunday at the Rugby Festival in Ravensmead, where Boland scored a nail-biting 22-21 win over DHL WP. This result at Florida Park meant that the Cape side edged their Winelands counterparts on the narrowest of points’ difference, with both sides finishing on 30 log points.

DHL WP ended with a points’ difference of 147, edging Boland’s 146 in the tightest finish possible.

On Saturday, the Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV moved past the Boland into second place on the log in the South Section with a strong 82-7 win over Border and then had to wait to see if their hard work would be rewarded. The Bloem men will be gutted, but still finished ahead of more fancied opponents such as the Cell C Sharks XV.

The Durban team finished strongly as well, beating SWD in the first match of the Rugby Festival in Cape Town to secure fourth spot in the South Section.

On Saturday, the iSG Pumas kept their perfect record intact with a maximum of 35 log points after beating Down Touch Griffons 48-33 in Welkom to finish top in the North Section.

Tafel Lager Griquas secured the second spot on the North log by beating Xerox Golden Lions XV 45-26 in Kimberley.

The Joburg side was overhauled on the log by a fast-finishing Vodacom Blue Bulls, who on Friday scored nine tries in their 63-36 win over the Leopards at Loftus Versfeld, moving into third on the log.

In the other North Section clash, Valke travelled to Namibia, where they outplayed Windhoek Draught Welwitschias 56-12 to finish fifth on the log.

Thabo Mabuza and Rodney Damons both scored hat-tricks in that match on a weekend that saw no less than five players getting three. Anthony Volmink (Tafel Lager Griquas), Jeandre Rudolph (iSG Pumas) and Tapiwa Mafura (Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV) also notched up three apiece. 

The final standings are here.

A summary of the scores and results are (click on link for match report)

North Section:

Windhoek Draught Welwitschias 12 (0), Valke 56 (32)

Windhoek Draught Welwitschias - Tries: Gerhard Thirion, Millan van Wyk. Conversion: Lorenzo Louis.

Valke - Tries: Thabo Mabuza (3), Juandre Nel (2), Rodney Damons (3), Jan Venter, Coert Cronje. Conversions: Jan Truter, Anrich Richter (2).

Tafel Lager Griquas 45 (24), Xerox Golden Lions XV 26 (14)

Tafel Lager Griquas - Tries: Anthony Volmink (3), Khwesi Mona (2), Gideon van der Merwe. Conversions: George Whitehead (5), Tinus de Beer. Penalty goal: George Whitehead.

Xerox Golden Lions XV - Tries: James Venter, Mandisi Mithiyane, Dillon Smit, Kenedy Mpeku. Conversions: Eddie Fouche (3).

Down Touch Griffons 33 (20), iSG Pumas 48 (24)

Down Touch Griffons - Tries: Jaywinn Juries, Mosoeu Maruping, Nkosi Nofuma, Allistair Mumba. Conversions: Juries (2). Penalties: Juries (2), Danrich Visagie.

iSG Pumas - Tries: Jeandre Rudolph (3), Ruwellyn Isbell (2), Corniel Els, Stefan Willemse, Marko Janse van Rensburg. Conversions: Jaco Marais (2), Ashlon Davids (2).

Vodacom Blue Bulls 63 (42), Leopards 36 (24)

Vodacom Blue Bulls - Tries: Werner Fourie, Andrew Kota (2), Lian du Toit, Muller Uys, Matthys Basson, Jade Stighling, Roelof Smit, Theo Maree. Conversions: Marnitz Boshoff (8), Fiela Boshoff.

Leopards - Tries: Chuinier van Rooyen (2), Edmund Rheeder (2), Bradley Moolman. Conversions: Schalk Hugo (3), Van Rooyen. Penalty: Hugo.

South Section:

Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV 82 (26), Border 7 (0)

Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV - Tries: Albertus de Bod, Tapiwa Mafura (3), Francois Agenbag (2), Jamba Ulengo (2), Gunther Janse van Vuuren, Lubabalo Dobela (2), Dian Badenhorst. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (9), Adriaan Carelse.

Border Bulldogs - Try: Bangihlombe Kobese. Conversion: Lwando Mapuko.

Zimbabwe Academy 15 (3), Multisure EP Elephants 43 (24)

Zimbabwe Academy - Tries: Sam Phiri, Jafnos Chiwanza. Conversion: Kuzi Kazembe. Penalty: Jeremiah Jaravaza.  

Multisure EP Elephants - Tries: Mihlali Mpafi, Stephan de Wit, Martin Du Toit, Riaan Arends, Sherwin Slater, Tristan Fourie, Oliver Zono. Conversions: Richman Gora, Oliver Zono (3).

Cell C Sharks XV 40 (33), SWD 17 (10)

Cell C Sharks XV - Tries: Gideon Koegelenberg, Jacques Ackerman, Banda Ndlovu, Luyanda Mngadi, Leolin Zas, Lwazi Mvovo. Conversions: Rhyno Smith (5).

SWD Eagles - Tries: Shario Rosekrantz, Dewald Dekker. Conversions: Gerhard Nortier, Divan Nel. Penalty: Nortier.

DHL Western Province 21 (10), Boland 22 (19)

DHL Western Province - Tries: Schalk Erasmus, David Brits. Conversion: Abner van Reenen. Penalties: Van Reenen (3).

Boland Cavaliers - Tries: Valentino Wellman, Neil Rautenbach, Penalty Try. Conversion: Garrick Mattheus. Penalty: Mattheus.