The Airlink Pumas narrowly defeated the Sanlam Boland Cavaliers 31-29 in a gripping SA Cup semifinal at Mbombela Stadium on Friday.
Despite playing with 12 men at one stage due to three sin-bins, the unbeaten Pumas fought back with two late penalties from flyhalf Danrich Visagie to secure their place in the final. The Cavaliers, who led 28-25 after a penalty try and scores from Xavier Mitchell and Thurlow Marsh, were left ruing handling errors that cost them the win.
The match came just days after the tragic passing of Boland’s Cornal Hendricks, adding emotional weight to the Cavaliers’ brave performance. The Pumas will now prepare for next weekend’s SA Cup final their second final after coming up short in the 2024 SA Cup campaign.
SCORERS:
Airlink Pumas 31 (20) – Tries: Darnell Osuagwu, Ross Braude, Lundi Msenge. Conversions: Danich Visagie (2). Penalties: Visagie (4)
Sanlam Boland Cavaliers 29 (10 ) – Tries: Sidney Tobias, Penalty Try, Xavier Mitchell, Thurlow Marsh. Conversions: James Tedder (2). Penalty: Tedder
