Fresh and familiar faces alike thrilled throughout the regular season and the playoffs, producing plenty of highlights that’ll long be remembered. Back in the Premier Division for the first time since 2016, the Boland Kavaliers emerged not only as great entertainers, but also as the dark horses as they made it to the semi-finals.
The Lions topped the table at the conclusion of the league phase and ended Boland’s fairy tale campaign with a 67-19 semi-final win. However, for the second successive season, the Pride were denied as Griquas snatched a 27-25 win in last weekend’s final at Ellis Park to clinch the coveted cup for the first time since 1970.
The season had a bit of everything, from moments of individual brilliance to terrific teamwork. Have a look at my picks for the top 20 tries of the 2025 season:
20: Finishing on a High
An injection of United Rugby Championship stars saw Western Province avoid a winless campaign as they beat Boland 40-22 in their final game. One of those stars was Jonathan Roche, who rounded off the pick of their six tries on the day.
19: Show of Class
A strong carry by Johan Grobbelaar and a classy offload by David Kriel saw Cheswill Jooste go over in the corner for the bolstered Bulls in their final game of the season against the Cheetahs.
18: The Prince of Bloemfontein
The Cheetahs produced this peach of a set-piece try against the Lions, with Ruan Kruger wrapping around and Franco Smith firing a beautiful pass wide to Prince Nkabinde, who provided an electrifying finish.
17: Roaring to the Top
The Lions thrashed Griquas 37-7 in their final-round clash to leapfrog them at the top of the log. Turning on the style, the Pride cut them from deep with Angelo Davids doing Connor Mahoney dirty with a filthy step to score the bonus point try.
16: One-Way Traffic
Cornel Smit finished this terrific try from a lineout as the Bulls romped to a crushing 64-0 win over the Sharks XV.
15: Central Derby Cracker
The Cheetahs couldn’t contain their neighbours early on and trailed 21-0 after 16 minutes. Gurswin Wehr sparked one of Griquas’ tries with a quick tap and offload with Caleb Abrahams and Cameron Hufke putting in Zane Bester, who ran a beautiful line.
14: A Peach in PMB
The Kavaliers cooked up this peach from a tap, setting a target before Kearsney old boy James Tedder ran into a gap and fired a fantastic chicken wing offload to Donovan Don for the try in Pietermaritzburg.
13: Staying Alive
The Cheetahs, on the brink of missing out on the playoffs, needed a bonus point against the Bulls to keep their title hopes alive, and tries like this one, which saw Prince Nkabinde sprint home from 50 metres out after excellent offloads from Carel-Jan Coetzee, Daniel Maartens and Marco Janse van Vuren, helped them achieve that goal.
12: Thunderstruck
In a game that was delayed by over an hour due to lightning in the Johannesburg area, the Lions left the Peacock Blues thunderstruck when Richard Kriel intercepted Connor Mahoney’s pass and linked up with Chris Smith with a cheeky behind-the-back offload, with the flyhalf freeing up Quan Horn to score.
11: Prop Star
SJ Kotze scored a prop try for the ages in the Lions’ runaway semi-final win over the Kavaliers, receiving a classy offload from Richard Kriel and sidestepping James Tedder like a centre to rumble in.
10: Good, Better, Bester
Zane Bester went on an extraordinary run before he linked up with Albert Liebenberg, with the towering lock touching down to give Griquas a perfect start in their semi-final showdown against the Cheetahs.
9: Licence to Thrill
The Cheetahs spread the ball beautifully against Western Province, with Cohen Jasper beating one defender and drawing another before passing to Banie Britz, who put it on the boot for Mihlali Mosi, who showed impressive pace to collect and score.
8: Jooste on the Double
Devon Williams weaved his magic when he waltzed through the Cheetahs’ line and put it on the toe for Cheswill Jooste to score his second try of the match.
7: Something to Cheer About
JJ Theron sparked the lone highlight for the Bulls in their shock mauling by the Pumas with his offload off the deck, with Jaco van der Walt and Katlego Letebele also doing well as Riyaad Bam scored on debut.
6: Off to a Flyer
The Lions kicked off their campaign with a 46-5 win over the Sharks XV, scoring scintillating tries like this one, which saw them punish the visitors for a nothing kick as Angelo Davids rounded off to dot down on his debut for the Johannesburg side.
5: There’s More Where That Came From
There was no stopping the Lions once SJ Kotze seized a turnover. Finishing off was Man of the Match Angelo Davids, who dotted down one of his four tries on the night as the Pride secured their second consecutive home final.
4: Tickled Pink
Griquas drew first blood against Western Province in delectable fashion. Gurshwin Wehr’s crosskick was on the money for Dylan Maart, who stepped his man before three terrific offloads saw Albert Liebenberg gallop in.
3: On A Roll
Griquas created an avalanche against the Cheetahs through an all-time great driving maul and quickly moved the ball out wide, where Dylan Maart produced a phenomenal finish.
2: Back with a Bang
The Kavaliers marked their return to the Premier Division after nine years in style as Sibusiso Sangweni spun out of a tackle and offloaded to Gift Dlamini, who showed his speed to race into the 22, where quick ball and a key offload by David Brits saw Ashlon Davids dot down.
1: Never Say Die
It was pure heroics from the Kavaliers against the Cheetahs as they worked their way from one side of the field to the other with no room for error, with the final hooter having sounded. Eventually, Juan Mostert’s crosskick found Xavier Mitchell, who got a clutch offload away for Donavan Don to score the match-winning try in the 87th minute.
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