The Boland Cavaliers have made a stunning return to the Currie Cup top flight and could be on course to make their second ever final.
The Boland Cavaliers have been the surprise package and absolute entertainers over the 2025 Currie Cup so far, and could go all the way if their incredible form continues.
The Cavaliers currently sit second on the log, level on 21 points with the table topping Cheetahs, only separated by points difference, and have all but sealed their place in the semifinals with two pool rounds to go.
They have won four of their five games so far, with three of those coming at home, while their solitary loss to date came on the road against the Griquas in Kimberley.
They round out their pool phase with away clashes against the bottom two sides, the Sharks in Durban and Western Province in Cape Town, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if they won them both and finished top of the log.
Despite the struggles of the Sharks and Western Province, they should not be taken lightly and could pull off an upset, especially the men from Durban who ran the Cheetahs close there a few weeks ago.
The Cavaliers‘ fantastic return to the Currie Cup for the first time since 2016 is great for the competition, and has injected some good interest.
Usual struggle
Teams that rise up from the Currie Cup First Division tend to struggle in the top flight, as the Griffons did when they came up in 2023, with them finishing rock bottom of the log over the past two seasons, while picking up just one win in 24 games in total.
The Cavaliers, however, have been a revelation and it would now come as a a surprise if they were to not host a knockout game in the semifinals stage.
They are also in line to make just their second ever final, with them having finished runners up to Transvaal (now the Lions) back in 1952.
Another big surprise could see none of the “big four” making the competition knockouts this season if results don’t go their way.
The Sharks and Western Province are already out of the running, the Bulls, in sixth place, have to beat their Highveld neighbours, the Lions, this coming weekend to stay in the mix, and the Lions, currently in fourth, could slip out if they have a bad finish to the pool stage.
Considering the weakened squads that the two coastal sides named for the competition, missing out isn’t a surprise, but the two Highveld teams have backed fringe, but experienced teams mixed with youth, and both of them missing out would come as a shock.
If it does happen it would also be the first time in the competition’s history that none of the “big four” reach the semifinal stage.
