Meanwhile, the First Division reaches its final this weekend, with Eastern Province travelling to Wellington where they will aim to cause an upset and take the title from last year’s champions, the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers.
The round kicks off in Welkom at 15h00 on Friday afternoon, when the Toyota Cheetahs will want to bounce back from their first defeat of the season last weekend in Pretoria, in their Free State derby with neighbours NovaVit Griffons at the Down Touch Investments Stadium.
Two Premier Division matches take place on Saturday, with high flying Fidelity ADT Lions hosting the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV from 15h00 in Johannesburg, before the action moves to Pretoria for a North-South derby between the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Western Province, at 17h15.
To complete the fourth round action, the Airlink Pumas and Suzuki Griquas will battle it out at 14h00 on Sunday in Nelspruit.
With both Free State teams suffering defeats last weekend – the Toyota Cheetahs away to the Vodacom Bulls and the NovaVit Griffons at home to DHL WP – both teams will be keen to grab victory when they clash in Welkom.
The Northern Free Staters are yet to open their account this season, and they will be desperate for an upset against their southern neighbours.
The action then moves to Johannesburg, where the Fidelity ADT Lions will be looking to build on their good early-season form against the struggling Hollywoodbets Sharks XV.
The hosts can rightly be regarded as favourites, but even though JP Pietersen's visiting team have lost all three league games to date, they do have a quality side that will be desperate for a winning performance.
In Pretoria, the current form of the two teams will not matter, as the traditional North-South derby between arch-rivals, the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Western Province, always deliver fireworks.
The hosts are riding high with three wins on the trot, while the Cape outfit bagged their first win last week in Welkom. The Vodacom Bulls have a settled-looking side, while DHL WP find themselves pretty much in a building phase, but it will nonetheless be a big clash with more than bragging rights at stake.
On Sunday, the action concludes with an exciting clash in Nelspruit between the Airlink Pumas and Suzuki Griquas, which kicks off at 14h00.
The Lowvelders recorded a brilliant victory last week in Durban when they raced to a 24-0 lead before going on to clinch a dramatic 31-24 away win. The Northern Cape team have made a slow and you can bet they will be up for this tussle in Nelspruit.
All the weekend action – including the First Division Final – will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Match information:
NovaVit Griffons vs Toyota Cheetahs
Date: Friday, 26 July
Venue: Down Touch Investments Stadium, Welkom
Time: 15h00
Referee: Sean Muller
TV: SS Rugby
Fidelity ADT Lions vs Hollywoodbets Sharks XV
Date: Saturday, 27 July
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Time: 15h00
Referee: Griffin Colby
TV: SS Rugby
Vodacom Bulls vs DHL Western Province
Date: Saturday, 27 July
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Time: 17h15
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron
TV: SS Rugby
Airlink Pumas vs Suzuki Griquas
Date: Sunday, 28 July
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Time: 14h00
Referee: Christopher Allison
TV: SS Rugby
Kavaliers host EP in First Division Final
A highly exciting 2024 Carling Currie Cup First Division will conclude on Saturday when the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers host Eastern Province in Wellington. The decider will be staged from 12h30.
The Kavaliers qualified for their second successive home final by romping to victories in all of their league games, before eliminating the Phangela SWD Eagles, and based on current form they are favourites to retain their title.
EP, on the other hand, grew in stature to qualify for the final by delivering two decisive performances against the Valke in their last two games.
The men from Wellington – who beat EP by 48-31 in their round two clash in Nelson Mandela Bay just over a month ago – have a lot of scoring weapons, but the team from the Eastern Cape will be buoyed by their recent results and their ability to score from anywhere on the park.
If the scores are level after the playing time of the final, the winning team will be determined as follows:
- the team to have scored the greatest number of points after extra time; and if the score is still level.
- the team to have achieved the higher log position after the completion of the group stage matches.
“Extra time” means an additional 20 minutes, divided into two halves of 10 minutes each with a one minute break in between each half, to be played after playing time.
Match information – First Division Final:
Sanlam Boland Kavaliers vs Eastern Province
Date: Saturday, 27 July
Venue: Boland Stadium, Wellington
Time: 12h30
Referee: Paul Mente
TV: SS Rugby
