Boland edge Bulls at Loftus

The bonus-point win moved Boland up to second on the standings, just one point behind Griquas.

In the day's other game, the Sharks edged the Leopards 26-23 at the Crusaders Rugby Club in Durban.

Blue Bulls 26-35 Boland

Both teams scored four tries, but it was the men from the Western Cape who came out on tops thanks to boot of Nico Scheepers.

Bulls captain Hanro Liebenberg scored two tries on the day and was joined on the scoreboard by Divan Rossouw and Andre Warner.

Basil Short and Danwell Demas got one try each for Boland, while wing Sergio Torrens scored two tries on the night.

However, flyhalf Scheepers proved to be the difference as he contributed 15 points with the boot at Loftus.

The scorers:

For Blue Bulls:

Tries: Warner, Rossouw, Liebenberg 2

Cons: Stander 2, Jantjies. 

For Boland Cavaliers:

Tries: Short, Demas, Torrens 2

Cons: Scheepers 3

Pens: Scheepers 3

Teams:

Blue Bulls: 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Kefentse Mahlo, 13 Alcino Isaacs, 12 Marquit September, 11 Jade Stigling, 10 Tony Jantjies, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Hanro Liebenberg (captain), 7 Nic de Jager, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Abongile Nonkontwana, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Andrew Beerwinkel, 2 Alandre van Rooyen, 1 Njabula Gumede.

Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Camper, 17 Neethling Fouche, 18 Aston Fortuin, 19 Tapiwa Tsomondo, 20 Andre Warner, 21 Joshua Stander, 22 Franco Naude.

Boland: 15 Nico Scheepers, 14 Sergio Torrens, 13 Ryan Nell (captain), 12 Christopher Bosch, 11 Danwel Demas, 10 Adriaan Carelse, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Zandre Jordaan, 7 Shaun McDonald, 6 Shaun Adendorff, 5 Ferdie Horn, 4 Hanno Kitshoff, 3 Basil Short, 2 Chadley Wenn, 1 Niel Oelofse.

Replacements: 16 Clemen Lewis, 17 Francois Hanekom, 18 Ockert van Zyl, 19 Wayne Wilschut, 20 Jovelian de Koker, 21 William van Wyk, 22 Gerrit van Wyk.

Sharks 26-23 Leopards

The visitors were the first to put points on the board through two Benhard Janse van Rensburg penalties.

However, the Sharks hit back in the 30th minute when Neil Maritz went over for a try, which was converted.

A try by Nkululeko Marwana increased the home side's lead before the Leopards hit back with a Jaco Jordaan try to go into the break trailing by just one point.

The Sharks were the first to score in the second half when lock David McDuling scored a try before flyhalf Innocent Radebe increased the lead when he scored and converted his own try. 

The Leopards did try and stage a late comeback with two tries themselves, but it was not enough in the end.

The scorers:

For Sharks:

Tries: McDuling, Radebe, Maritz, Marwana

Cons: Radebe 3

For Leopards:

Tries: Janse van Rensburg, Jordaan, Beukman

Con: Janse van Rensburg

Pens: Janse van Rensburg 2

Teams: 

Sharks XV: 15 Morne Joubert, 14 Malcolm Cele, 13 Neil Maritz, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Nkululeko Marwana, 10 Innocent Radebe, 9 Dylan Marcus, 8 Ayron Schramm, 7 Wian Vosloo, 6 Graham Geldenhuys, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 David McDuling (captain), 3 Gerhard Engelbrecht, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Juan Schoeman.

Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 Ruan Kramer, 19 Christiaan De Bruin, 20 Jaywinn Juries, 21 Duncan Campbell, 22 Marcel Coetzee

Leopards: 15 Gene Willemse, 14 Jaco Hayward, 13 Adrian Vermeulen, 12 Henko Marais, 11 Bradley Moolman, 10 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 9 Malherbe Swart, 8 Juan Language (captain), 7 HP Swart, 6 Jaco Jorrdaan, 5 Francois Robertse, 4 Sthembiso Mhlongo, 3 Bart le Roux,  2 Dane van der Westhuyzsen, 1 Mashudu Mafela.

Replacements: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Roan Grobbelaar, 18 Walt Steenkamp, 19 Molotsi Bouwer, 20 Chriswil September, 21 Schalk Hugo, 22 Rowayne Beukman.