A semifinal spot for the Free State Cheetahs — and the Boland Kavaliers avoided the wooden spoon.

That much was the story in Bloemfontein Saturday when the Cheetahs beat the Kavaliers 50-40 (half-time 21-14) in the teams' final Absa Currie Cup pool match of the season.

Defending Cup champions, the Cheetahs, should however not feel too impressed with their effort. Their problem all season, playing without establishing proper structures from the set pieces, again resulted in sometimes mindless passing of the ball, only to result in turnovers and gifting points to the opposition.

Cheetahs fans may well wonder what has happened to their team's structured backline play, the foundation from which they have dominated the competition the past few years. Going into the semis in two weeks' time, a lot of hard work awaits the team from Bloemfontein.

In a match that provided 13 tries, it is difficult to single out players for their brilliance, but if the Cheetahs can take one thing out of this game, it is they should look better after flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter. He may not be the finished article yet, but given play time at the highest level, could soon see him challenge for higher honours.

On the Kavaliers side, they have in Elgar Watts also a flyhalf with exceptional ability that should be looked after.

Scorers:

Cheetahs:

Tries: Juan Smith (2), Heinrich Brussow, Tewis de Bruyn, Jongi Nokwe, Nico Breedt, Schalk vd Merwe.
Conversions: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (5), De Bruyn. Penalty: Potgieter.

Boland:

Tries: Piet van Zyl (3), Josh Strauss, Elgar Watts, Deon Scholtz.
Conversions: Justin Peach (4), Watts.

Sapa