Western Province thumped the Leopards XV 47-22 and the Golden Lions beat the SWD Eagles 29-21 to advance to the Vodacom Cup semi-finals.
Province had too much firepower for the Leopards, running in seven tries and conceding only three in Cape Town, to set up a home semi-final against the Blue Bulls.
Scrumhalf Godlen Masimla and flank Justin Benn gave the hosts a head start with two converted tries inside the first quarter of the match. But Leopards right wing Sergio Torrens struck twice in the space of five minutes to even the scores.
With the sides deadlocked at 14-14, Robert du Preez wriggled over the tryline to put WP back in the ascendancy and while the visitors also scored again, the conversion was skewed and WP led 21-19 at the interval.
The second half was one-sided, as WP outscored the Leopards 26-3 thanks to tries by Benn, Jaco Taute, EW Viljoen and Tapiwa Tsomond to wrap up the result.
In Johannesburg, Marnitz Boshoff kicked 19 points (four penalties, a drop goal and two conversions) to guide the Lions to a nervy win over SWD.
Jacques Nel’s converted try and Boshoff’s drop goal gave the hosts a 10-point advantage, but SWD fought back with scores from Martin du Toit and Kirsten Heyns to lead 14-10 going into the break.
The visitors initially kept pace in the second half as a Stokkies Hanekom try had given the hosts the lead with their fourth try, before Heyns intercepted Boshoff’s lofted pass and sprinted 50m to score at the other end. But Boshoff would have the final say, adding four penalty goals to seal the match for his side.
Western Province (47) – Tries: Godlen Masimla, Justin Benn (2), Robert du Preez, Jaco Taute, Tapiwa Tsomondo, EW Viljoen. Conversions: Jean-Luc Du Plessis (6).
Leopards XV (22) – Tries: Sergio Torrans (2), Rhyno Smith. Conversions: Adriaan Engelbrecht (2). Penalty: Engelbrecht.
Golden Lions (29) – Tries: Jacques Nel, Stokkies Hanekom. Conversions: Marnitz Boshoff (2). Penalties: Boshoff (4). Drop Goal: Boshoff.
SWD Eagles (21) – Tries: Martin du Toit, Kirsten Heyns (2). Conversions: Elric van Vuuren (3).
Friday's Vodacom Cup quarter-finals
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
