CAPE TOWN. – The opening round of the 2026 Carling Currie Cup Premier Division produced four tightly contested matches, and the weekend’s Currie Cup results also confirmed the Dotsure SWD Eagles and the Valke as the First Division finalists after comfortable semi-final wins.
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SWD Eagles and Valke reach the First Division final
SWD will host the First Division final in George next weekend after finishing top of the log and beating the Leopards 59-10 at Outeniqua Park on Saturday. The Valke secured a second successive place in the decider with a 44-12 win over Eastern Province in Gqeberha.
The Eagles led 45-0 at the break and scored nine tries, with the Leopards replying through two consolation tries in the second half. Janus Venter scored twice, while Divan du Toit (5) and Fred Zeilinga (2) added seven conversions. Noegh Hayward and Luyolo Doyi crossed for the Leopards.
The Valke turned a 19-12 half-time lead into a comprehensive win, scoring seven tries to two. Ilunga Mukendi went over twice and Sergio Stalmeester contributed a try, three conversions and a penalty goal for a personal tally of 14 points. The East Rand side lost the 2025 final and will be hoping to go one better this year.
The details of the First Division final will be announced in due course by www.sarugby.co.za.
Currie Cup results from the Premier Division opener
At Mbombela Stadium the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV held on for a 26-24 win over the Airlink Pumas. Lyle Matthews marked his debut with a first-half hat-trick and Kerron van Vuuren also scored, with Tim Swiel adding three conversions. The Pumas trailed 19-5 at the break but hit back through tries by Lundi Msenge, Chyle van Zyl, Tino Swanepoel and JJ Scheepers to claim two log points.
At DHL Stadium in Cape Town the DHL Stormers XXIII beat defending champions Suzuki Griquas 25-19, ending a long losing run against the Kimberley side. Trailing 12-8 at half-time, the hosts hit back through Mfundo Ndhlovu and a late Stefan Ungerer try, with Dominic Malgas adding the extras. Sako Makata, Lourens Oosthuizen and Tiaan Lange scored for Griquas, who took a losing bonus point.
In Bloemfontein the Toyota Cheetahs edged the Fidelity ADT Lions 29-27, with Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk providing a spark for his new team. Likhona Finca completed a hat-trick for the visitors, but a late penalty goal by Jaco van der Walt sealed a bonus point victory for the hosts.
The round closed at a cold and wet Boland Stadium in Wellington, where the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers led from start to finish to beat the Vodacom Bulls XV 24-10. Joshua Eras and Dayan van der Westhuizen scored in the first half and a 74th minute penalty try after a driving maul sealed the result, with the visitors punished for their indiscipline.
Full scorers
Carling Currie Cup First Division semi-finals
EP 12 (12), Valke 44 (19)
EP: Tries: Temba Botina, Christian Potgieter. Conversion: Maxwell Klaassen.
Valke: Tries: Ilunga Mukendi (2), Kelvin Kaneunungo, Sergio Stalmeester, Zeilinga Strydom, Eddie Evans, Adriaan Joubert. Conversions: Stalmeester (3). Penalty goal: Stalmeester.
Dotsure SWD Eagles 59 (45), Leopards 10 (0)
SWD Eagles: Tries: Janus Venter, Andre Warner, Ewan Coetzee, Gunther Janse van Vuuren, Ulrich Stander, Carel du Preez, Rosco Syster, Tiaan Drotskie. Conversions: Divan du Toit (5), Fred Zeilinga (2).
Leopards: Tries: Noegh Hayward, Luyolo Doyi.
Carling Currie Cup Premier Division
Airlink Pumas 24 (5), Hollywoodbets Sharks XV 26 (19)
Pumas: Tries: JJ Scheepers, Tino Swanepoel, Chyle van Zyl, Lundi Msenge. Conversions: Nevaldo Fleurs (2).
Sharks XV: Tries: Lyle Matthews (3), Kerron van Vuuren. Conversions: Tim Swiel (3).
DHL Stormers XXIII 25 (8), Suzuki Griquas 19 (12)
Stormers XXIII: Tries: Vernon Paulo, Mfundo Ndhlovu, Stefan Ungerer. Conversions: Dominic Malgas (2). Penalty goals: Jean-Luc du Plessis, Malgas.
Griquas: Tries: Sako Makata, Lourens Oosthuizen, Tiaan Lange. Conversions: George Whitehead (2).
Toyota Cheetahs 29 (16), Fidelity ADT Lions 27 (13)
Cheetahs: Tries: Marko Janse van Rensburg, Ramon Uys, Victor Sekekete, Cohen Jasper. Penalty goals: Jaco van der Walt (3).
Lions: Tries: Likhona Finca (3), Latica Nela. Conversions: Sam Francis (2). Penalty goal: Francis.
Sanlam Boland Kavaliers 24 (14), Vodacom Bulls XV 10 (3)
Boland: Tries: Joshua Eras, Dayan van der Westhuizen, penalty try. Conversions: James Tedder, Jaydon Bantom. Penalty goal: Bantom.
Bulls XV: Try: Shaun Schurmann. Conversion: Keagan Johannes. Penalty goal: Johannes.
