The road to the 2026 Carling Currie Cup Premier Division final narrows to four teams on Sunday, with defending champions Suzuki Griquas hosting the Fidelity ADT Lions in Kimberley before the Toyota Cheetahs welcome the Airlink Pumas to Bloemfontein in the two semi-finals.
The match in Kimberley kicks off at 13h00, followed by the Bloemfontein playoff at 15h30, with both games to be broadcast live on SuperSport.
The semi-final lineup reflects the competition’s most consistent performers, with Griquas and the Cheetahs securing home ground advantage after finishing first and second on the log, while the Lions and Pumas booked their places on the final weekend of league action.
Suzuki Griquas enter the playoffs as deserved favourites after a dominant campaign that saw them finish top of the standings with six wins from seven matches, 271 points scored and a competition-best points differential of +128.
Pieter Bergh’s side closed the league phase with convincing wins over the Pumas (38-14) and Sanlam Boland Kavaliers (48-17), underlining why they remain the benchmark team in this year’s competition.
The Fidelity ADT Lions,under the coaching guidance of Mziwakhe Nkosi, also arrive with some momentum of their own.
A 36-12 victory over the DHL Stormers XXIII in Johannesburg – a match they had to win to stay in the playoff race – secured fourth place and extended the Gauteng side’s impressive recent knockout pedigree. Having reached the final in both 2024 and 2025, the Lions have become one of the competition’s most dangerous playoff teams regardless of their seeding.
The sides met during the league phase in Kimberley – a round-four clash in August – where Griquas claimed a 31-19 victory. While that result will give the hosts confidence, knockout rugby presents a different challenge altogether.
Griquas boast the competition’s best defensive record, conceding only 143 points during the regular season, while the Lions have repeatedly shown their ability to strike from anywhere on the field. The visitors have the third best try-scoring strike in the league phase with 32 tries, five less than the Cheetahs and eight less than the best-performing Griquas (40 tries).
There is also significant recent playoff history attached to both teams. Griquas reached the 2025 final after defeating the Cheetahs in last season’s semi-final and are chasing a second successive appearance in the title decider. The Lions, meanwhile, are seeking a third straight Currie Cup final appearance.
The second semi-final in Bloemfontein is equally difficult fixture to predict. The Toyota Cheetahs, coached by former Springbok utility back Frans Steyn, finished second on the table with five wins from seven matches, clinching home-ground advantage at Toyota Stadium for Sunday’s semis.
However, they head into the playoffs after suffering a heavy 52-26 defeat to the Airlink Pumas in Nelspruit last weekend, on the final weekend of league action.
Jimmy Stonehouse’s Pumas ran in eight tries in a statement victory that secured third place on the log and sent a powerful message ahead of Sunday’s rematch.
Despite that setback, the Free Staters remain one of the competition’s most experienced playoff outfits. Over the past five Carling Currie Cup seasons, the Cheetahs have been regular semi-final participants and tasted championship success in 2023, when they coincidentally beat the Pumas 25-17 in Bloem to clinch the famous cup.
The Airlink Pumas, meanwhile, have established themselves as knockout specialists. They won semi-finals in both 2022 and 2023 and advanced to consecutive finals during that period, including their historic title triumph in 2022 when they defeated Griquas in Kimberley.
Interestingly, recent history between the teams generally favours the Cheetahs. Prior to last weekend’s result, the Free Staters had won four of the previous five meetings between them, last weekend’s big win at Mbombela Stadium snapping a four-game losing run.
If Griquas against the Lions shapes as a battle between consistency and playoff pedigree, then Cheetahs versus Pumas is a collision between home-ground experience and recent momentum.
With George Whitehead (Griquas) and Faf de Klerk (Cheetahs) orchestrating matters for their respective teams, and a host of match-winners spread across all four squads, Sunday’s semi-finals promise another gripping episode in this famous provincial competition.
Match information:
Suzuki Griquas vs Fidelity ADT Lions
Date: Sunday, 6 September
Venue: Suzuki Stadium, Kimberley
Kick-off: 13h00
Referee: Griffin Colby
TV: SuperSport
Toyota Cheetahs vs Airlink Pumas
Date: Sunday, 6 September
Venue: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15h30
Referee: Christopher Allison
TV: SuperSport
