Angelo Davids dazzles with four tries as Lions crush Cavaliers to reach Currie Cup final

The Lions roared into the Currie Cup final as they ran the visiting Boland Cavaliers ragged with a 60-12 mauling at Ellis Park on Saturday evening notable for a four-try blitz by hot-stepping wing Angelo Davids. 

The log leaders were 20 points up after 20 minutes, after Davids kicked off the try fest in the third minute, capitalising on a Quan Horn break in midfield. A Chris Smith penalty was followed by Davids’ second try. 

Henco van Wyk then got in on the act, the first of his two tries owing a lot to a delightful ‘chicken wing’ offload by centre partner Richard Kriel. Slipped tackles led to his second, and the visitors and from Kimberley struggled to stop the rot in an error-strewn display.

The ball was flying around on the highveld as the Lions’ backs and forwards combined well, flank Jarod Cairns showing off his power and silky handing skills.    

Not to be outdone, prop SJ Kotze showed off his impressive side-stepping skills to bag the Lions’ fifth try with 10 minutes to go in the half.  

The Cavaliers finally got on the scoreboard when hooker Sidney Tobias barged over the whitewash in the 32nd minute after a powerful lineout maul. 

Davids then snatched a Smith cross-kick out of the sky and touched down to cap off a remarkable 40 minutes for the former Blitzbok star. 

The Lions were almost out of sight at half-time, leading 41-5.

The showboating Lions continued to press at the start of the second half and were awarded a penalty try when James Tedder’s attempted intercept was deemed an intentional knockdown. The Cavaliers’ fullback was also sin-binned.

Davids put a damper on a mini-revival by the visitors when he collected another Smith cross-kick to canter over in the left-hand corner for his fourth five-pointer.

The Lions were leading 53-5 with 20 minutes to go. A great chip ahead and gather by speedy wing Jayden Bantom offered a rare bright spot for the side from Kimberley, but Horn answered swiftly for the Lions.

Chriswill September’s try in the closing stages was a mere consolation for the Cavaliers as their promising season fizzled out.

The last roar on the night belonged to the Lions’ Renzo du Plessis, though, with Davids turning provider as they returned to the final for the second year running with the 67-19 victory.

Points-scorers

Lions 67 (41)
Tries: Davids (4), Van Wyk (2), Kotze, penalty try, Horn, Du Plessis; Conversions: Smith (6); Penalty: Smith

Boland Cavaliers 19 (5)
Tries: Tobias, Bantam, September; Conversions: Tedder (2)