The Cavaliers snatched the win with a last-gasp try, having led the first-round clash 27–14 at half-time. The Cheetahs were on the verge of securing a bonus-point victory, but two late tries saw them stunned by a Boland side more determined to make a bold statement on their comeback.

Boland surged to a 13–0 lead within the opening 16 minutes, starving the Cheetahs of possession. Their early dominance was rewarded with two penalties and a try by Ashlon Davids.

The Cheetahs finally opened their account in the 20th minute when hooker Marko Janse van Rensburg capitalised on a lineout error by Boland. Just six minutes later, scrumhalf Rewan Kruger dotted down for a converted try, putting the visitors ahead 14–13.

Hawies Fourie. Photo: Morgan Piek

However, their joy was short-lived. Flanker Gideon van der Merwe was sent to the sin bin, and minutes later, former Cheetahs centre David Brits put Boland back in front. 

Davids followed up with his second try soon after, giving the home side a 13-point cushion at the break.

In the second half, the Cheetahs responded with tries by Carel-Jan Coetzee, Van der Merwe, and Vernon Paulo, taking a 35–27 lead with just five minutes remaining.

But the game had one final twist. On the stroke of full-time, former Griquas winger Marcqiewn Titus collected a cross-kick to score and give Boland a glimmer of hope. Paulo was then yellow-carded for a no-arms tackle, reducing the Cheetahs to 14 men.

Following the restart, Boland maintained relentless pressure, stringing together multiple phases. Eight minutes after the final hooter, Blitzbok star Donovan Don went over in the left-hand corner for the match-winning try, sealing an unforgettable comeback.

After the game, Boland head coach Hawies Fourie, who guided the Cheetahs to the 2023 Currie Cup title, told OFM Sport they had a clear strategy to disrupt his former team. “We wanted to apply pressure on them and move them around the field,” said Fourie.

“The field is heavy and wet. Although it didn’t rain this week, we had a lot of rain over the past two weeks, and we’ve been training on it, so the guys are used to the conditions. Part of the plan was to move the Cheetahs around in the first 20 minutes, which worked well, and then to apply pressure and capitalise on their mistakes.

Donovan Don gets it over in the corner ????

What a win for the Boland Cavaliers in front of their home crowd ??#CarlingCurrieCup | #SSRugby pic.twitter.com/QDnmcEbMov

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 27, 2025

“Unfortunately, the second half went the other way – they applied the pressure, won several scrum penalties, and scored two or three tries from the maul.

“It was disappointing to concede those points. We can’t afford to be 13 points up at half-time and then suddenly trail by seven or eight. We’ll work on fixing that.”

Despite the result and lapses in discipline, there were positives for the Cheetahs. Replacement loosehead prop Cameron Dawson was phenomenal, winning multiple scrum penalties and making his presence felt.

The Cheetahs will look to bounce back on Friday at 19:00, when they face the Pumas at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein. Boland, in turn, travel to Kimberley where they will be in action against the Griquas on Sunday at the Suzuki Stadium.

In the weekend’s other round-one results:

• The Pumas beat an ill-disciplined Griquas side 49–28 in Nelspruit.
• In Johannesburg, the 2024 runners-up, the Lions, thrashed defending champions the Sharks 46–5.
• In Cape Town, the Bulls claimed a dominant 48–23 victory over Western Province in the North–South derby.

Scorers:

Boland Cavaliers: Tries - Ashlon Davids 2, David Brits, Marcqiewn Titus and Donovan Don Conv. - James Tedder 3 Pen. - Tedder 2

Cheetahs: Tries - Marko Janse van Rensburg, Rewan Kruger, Carel-Jan Coetzee, Gideon van der Merwe, Vernon Paulo Conv. - Cohen Jasper 2, Ntokozo Makhaza 3

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg