Currie Cup: Will it be Frans’ cats versus champs?

Title-holders Griquas host the Lions, before former champions Cheetahs and Pumas clash in Bloem on Sunday to see which team earns a shot at Currie Cup glory.

The semi-final lineup reflects the competition’s most consistent performers, with Griquas and the Cheetahs securing home advantage after finishing first and second on the log, while the Lions and Pumas booked their places on the final weekend of league action.

Griquas enter the playoffs as favourites after a dominant campaign, finishing top of the standings with six wins from seven matches, 271 points scored and a competition-best points differential of +128.

Pieter Bergh’s men closed the league phase with wins over the Pumas (38-14) and Boland Cavaliers (48-17).

FRANS: Cheetahs must man up

The Lions, under Mziwakhe Nkosi, arrive with momentum of their own. A 36-12 win over the Stormers XXIII in Joburg secured fourth place and extended the Pride’s knockout pedigree, having reached the final in both 2024 and 2025.

The sides met during the league phase in Kimberley in August, where Griquas claimed a 31-19 victory. Griquas boast the competition’s best defensive record, conceding only 143 points in the regular season, while the Lions have the third-best try-scoring return with 32, five behind the Cheetahs and eight behind Griquas’ 40.

Griquas reached the 2025 final after beating the Cheetahs in last season’s semi-final and are chasing a second successive title decider. The Lions are seeking a third straight final appearance.

PLUS: ‘Proud’ Jimmy backs Pumas to go all the way

In Bloemfontein, Frans Steyn’s Cheetahs finished second with five wins from seven matches but head into the playoffs off the back of a 52-26 defeat to the Pumas in Nelspruit, who ran in eight tries to claim third place.

The Cheetahs remain a seasoned playoff outfit, having won the title in 2023 by beating the Pumas 25-17 in Free State. The Lowvelders are knockout specialists in their own right, having reached consecutive finals in 2022 and 2023.

Currie Cup semi-finals:

Griquas vs Lions
1pm, Kimberley, Griqua Stadium
Cheetahs vs Pumas
3:30pm, Bloemfontein, Free State Stadium

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