The Jaguares XV were in sublime form against the Border Bulldogs in East London in the competition - sponsored by DirectAxis Financial Services - with their 12-try romp steering them to a 78-12 victory after leading 49-12 at the break.

It was one-way traffic for most of the match as the Argentineans out-classed their opponents on attack, and backed this up with a fine defensive effort to limit the hosts to two first-half tries for their efforts. Jaguares XV wingers Julian Widmer and Facundo Cordero each earned hat-tricks, while flyhalf Domingo Miotti kept the scoreboard ticking with nine conversions for his 18 points.

The Valke, meanwhile, secured their second win in the competition thanks to a hard-fought 12-7 win against the Leopards in Potchefstroom.

The match was tight as both teams gave everything and delivered committed defensive efforts, and the scoreline proved it with the Valke leading 5-0 at the break, before adding their second try in a tight second half, in which both sides scored only once.

The EP Elephants and Boland Cavaliers were involved in a tight tussle in Caledon on Saturday in which the hosts’ seven tries to five by the visitors allowed them to sneak through for a 39-38 victory.

The encounter was nail-biting from the outset with the men from the Eastern Cape taking a narrow 24-21 halftime lead, and they continued to fight until the end, resulting in the gripping one-point win.

Boland flyhalf Garrick Mattheus tried hard to complicate matters for the opposition as he converted all five tries and kicked a penalty goal, while the EP Elephants didn’t have a good day with the boot, but their effective attack paid off in the end, earning them the win.

The clash between the Down Touch Griffons and SWD Eagles in Welkom was a humdinger, with SWD flyhalf Gerhard Nortier’s accurate goal-kicking proving critical in the draw as they were outscored six tries to five by the hosts.

The men from George were 23-17 ahead at halftime, but the Down Touch Griffons fought with intent, which saw six different players cross the tryline for them in the end. This, however, was not enough to seal the win as Nortier’s four conversions and penalty goal to only three conversions by the home team, denied them a valuable home win.