South African rugby’s prodigal child continues to produce the goods 131 years after its inception as provincial rugby’s premier competition.

Keeping its head above water in a world dominated by the URC, Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, there is something refreshing about renewing old-school interprovincial derbies.

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Now, two rounds into the 2024 edition, the competition remains as fierce as ever, with the Golden Lions and Western Province taking the spoils.

So, without further ado, let’s delve into all of the action that took place across the four matches:

Free State Cheetahs Vs. Blue Bulls

Never is there any love lost when these two sides clash, and so it was that the fixture went right down to the wire once again in Bloemfontein. 

One season removed from dumping their archrivals out of the competition at the semifinal stage, the Cheetahs would see a late Boeta Chamberlain penalty soar between the posts to tie the scores with a minute left to play. 

Getting to this point, the two sides played out a riveting nine-try thriller, with the home side netting five tries to their visitor's four. 

Despite outscoring the Bulls by a try, two missed conversions kept the Pretoria side in the contest, as new recruit Chamberlain drilled his shots from all over the park. 

While the action was spectacular for fans, the team’s respective coaches will be tearing their hair out, as both sides conceded seven line breaks and double-digit turnovers. Neither side showed an ability to grab the match by the scruff of the neck. 

At set-piece time, the scrum was a back-and-forth affair, which the Bulls ultimately took charge of, as the Cheetahs won just 58% of their efforts. 

At line-out time, neither side was particularly inspiring, as the Cheetahs claimed 64% of their balls, while the Bulls could only muster a 45% win rate in what was a concerning showing. 

Both sides certainly have plenty to work on ahead of Round 3, but one gets the feeling the Bulls, who got outgained 321 meters to 190 meters in terms of carries, will feel they escaped with a relatively positive outcome with three log points.

Pumas Vs. Sharks

Hopping off one seesaw straight onto another, the Pumas and Sharks were not going to be outdone by their rivals. The sides played out an equally ludicrous high-scoring draw in their column. 

Ended 44 all, as Puma’s center Clinton Swart drilled a late penalty to bring the scores level and, with it, allowed fans an opportunity to breathe; this match had it all. 

Stealing the show on the day was winger Phikolomzi Sobahle, who scored his first hat trick against his former team. These tries, plus one from Swart, saw the Pumas take a comprehensive 27-8 lead into the break. 

What followed was a combination of a choke from the Pumas and a positive rally from a young Sharks side. 

Starting the second half with three tries inside the first 10 minutes, the Sharks brought the scores level at 27-27 in what was an indescribable shift in momentum. 

As quickly as the change happened, it would soon flip, as the Pumas brought some calm to their ranks with a try of their own through scrumhalf Ross Braude to regain the lead in the 54th minute. This lead would quickly double, as Sharks fly-half Lionel Cronje was shown a yellow card, and Braude pounced for his second try to take the scores to 41-27.  

Now, with less than 20 minutes to play, the Pumas needed to take control, which they did not, as the Sharks scored two minutes after Braude’s second try. Nick Hatton scored, before replacement hooker Dian Bleuler quickly added another try. 

Now back on level pegging at 41, the Sharks went to work and appeared to have stolen it, as scrumhalf Bradley Davids thumped over a penalty in the 78th minute to take a 44-41 lead. 

Now seemingly home and dry, the Sharks conceded a costly scrum penalty on their own 10-meter line. 

Stepping up to be the hero of the day, Swart once again found his mark as he smashed over the match-tying score.

Western Province Vs. Griffons

The weekend’s only lopsided contest would see Western Province rebound from an opening-round loss to record a comprehensive 39-17 win over the Griffons.  

Naming a team with a sprinkling of regular URC performers, Western Province took an early lead through the boot of Clayton Blommetjies. 

Striking back, the Griffons would score the first try of the match, as winger Andrew Kota slid over for a try before converting it himself and immediately following it up with a penalty. 

These scores would jolt Province into action, quickly scoring two tries through Imad Khan and Paul de Villers to take a seven-point lead just after the 20-minute mark. 

Showing serious gumption, the Griffons would draw level, as winger Gurshwin Nikhole Wehr scored a try, with Kota adding the two points after thirty minutes of play. This would be the Griffons final hurray, however, as Province flexed their muscles to score two more tries before halftime through center Damian Markus. 

One more try from Khan was accompanied by a conversion and penalty from Blommetjies as the contest played out a relatively routine second half.

Griquas Vs. Lions

Concluding the round’s action, the Lions edged a back-and-forth battle with the Griquas to close the gap on the Cheetahs and Bulls at the top of the table. 

Controlling the bulk of the contest, the Lions held the lead for 71% of the match; despite this, the Griquas were never out of the match. 

At set-piece time, there was little to separate the two sides. In the end, it was the Lion's ability to create line breaks that would prove to be the difference. 

Cutting loose on 13 occasions, compared to the Griquas five, afforded the Lions several cracks at blowing the match open. Displaying a never-say-die attitude, the Griqua's scramble defense kept them in the fixture, but it wouldn’t be enough to get them over the line, as the Lions secured a much-needed 36-28 win.

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