Two of the four quarter-finals were decided by a single score, while a last-gasp touchdown in a third, lightning-affected game may yet have a critical bearing on who lifts the Gold Cup on 25 October.

This year’s tournament, which signals a bold new era for club rugby on the back of significant growth in the community game, is also supported by Northam Platinum, whose commitment to community aligns with the grassroots spirit of the Pick n Pay Gold Cup.

Pick n Pay’s title partnership with the Gold Cup is part of a four-year agreement that includes becoming Tier-1 sponsors of the four-time world champion and now back-to-back Castle Rugby Championship-winning Springboks.

The real fireworks – both of the sporting and meteorological variety – took place at a packed Bushveld Park in Limpopo on Saturday evening, in Northam Platinum’s mining town of Setaria, where hosts Northam Rhinos beat Pretoria’s Harlequins by 62-21 to secure a home semi-final against two-time defending champions, Naka Bulls, who had earlier beaten Northam’s other club, Wolves, 57-22 in the day’s first quarter-final.

But that doesn’t even begin to tell the story of a remarkable evening of sporting theatre, which saw Rhinos, the 2024 runners-up, race to a 38-7 lead at the break as they went in search of the 36-point differential to secure a crucial home semi-final against their Pretoria arch-enemies.

Two lightning-quick tries after the break, to scrumhalf Dillin Snel after 34 seconds and flyhalf Jaylen James after 47 minutes, looked to have sewn up the all-important home-ground advantage for the platinum miners as they opened up a 41-point advantage.

But that’s when the lightning – and the drama – really began, necessitating a safety-enforced break of almost an hour. Rhinos would have been happy for the match to be called off at that stage but play eventually resumed despite the intense lightning continuing until the match was eventually called off with 17 minutes remaining.

Rhinos coach Flip de Kock said during the lightning break that his side wanted to continue playing in order to “make a statement”. His team picked up where they left off, with right wing Elzandro Fredericks scoring his second from the resumption.

Danny Gonsalves of Pick n Pay Gold Cup sponsors Northam Platinum hands over the Man of the Match award to Khwezi Mkhafu of Rhinos.

This took Rhinos to an insurmountable 55-7 lead but most crucially, to a 48-point differential that looked to have all but guaranteed a home semi-final.

But Harlequins – with former Tuks FNB Varsity Cup-winning coach Nico Luus in his role as coaching consultant, providing constant encouragement from the sidelines – shocked the Bushveld Park crowd into silence with two converted tries in the space of five minutes, to replacement Kethu Twala and scrumhalf Eugene Hare, to make it 55-21.

Flyhalf Jaen-dre de Bruyn’s 61st-minute sideline conversion of Hare’s try was a moment of high drama, as it cut Rhinos’ points differential to 34 – one fewer than Naka Bulls.

With the lightning storm becoming ever more intense, and the reality of having possibly surrendered home-ground advantage by a single point sinking in, Rhinos staged one last attack even as the match officials contemplated calling off the match.

The Bushveld Park crowd went into a frenzy when left wing Pule Molokomme broke through a number of Harlequins tackles to dive over at the posts, converted by James, in what proved to be the final act of the match, referee Hanru van Rooyen finally calling off an occasion to remember with 17 minutes remaining.

There was no less drama earlier in the day 1,500km south west of Setaria, where Western Province champions, Villager raced into a 21-7 half-time lead against Gardens, only to hold on for a nail-biting 40-35 win as the Eastern Cape powerhouse staged a second-half rearguard action that earned the admiration of friend and foe alike.

Villager, who are seeking their first national crown in 45 years – legendary Springbok captain and 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning manager Morné du Plessis lifted the Cup in 1980 – will host College Rovers in the last four.

Rovers, who have dominated KZN club rugby for a decade without ever being able to lift the Pick n Pay Gold Cup, very nearly had their dreams dashed once again in the Boland town of Robertson on Sunday.

Leading 17-9 at the break, and having scored three tries to nil, Rovers looked on course to secure a home semi-final but Robertson Town, playing in front of a fanatical home crowd at the Van Zyl Sports Ground for the second day in a row due to a clash with their domestic play-offs, had other ideas.

Summoning unprecedented courage and energy following a sapping match just 20 hours earlier, Robertson scored two second-half tries, to irrepressible flanker Freginald Africa and unstoppable replacement No 8 Marco Jones, to make it a four-point game as the visitors from Durban hung on grimly.

Cullen Willows on the attack for Villager against Gardens.

Robertson Town had a golden opportunity to become the first Boland team to ever reach the semi-finals of the Gold Cup when they won a scrum penalty in stoppage time after the yellow-carding of Rovers flanker Soso Xakalashe gave the hosts a crucial weight advantage.

Xakalashe had earlier galloped clear to give the visitors a 27-16 lead before Jones’s heroics cut the deficit, and ultimately it was his timely return from the sin bin that allowed Rovers to hang on by their fingernails.

From the scrum penalty on Rovers’ 22m-line, Robertson elected to take another scrum instead of go for the corner and a possible match-winning lineout-drive score. The resultant scrum went down, allowing Xakalashe to return to the field in the nick of time to add his considerable bulk to the Durbanites’ pack – a crucial and ultimately match-winning return that allowed Rovers to hold out Robertson’s last attack to ensure they will return to Cape Town this Saturday to face Villager.

“I’ve said many times that knockout rugby is part of South African rugby players’ and fans’ DNA, and nothing illustrated this better than this past weekend’s Pick n Pay Gold Cup quarter-finals,” said SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer.

“What we saw from Limpopo to the Western Cape was pure sporting theatre of the highest quality. The performances of Robertson Town and Gardens in particular, who will finish the Pick n Pay Gold Cup in fifth and sixth positions respectively, against much more fancied opponents, shows that on the day, any team can play the role of David against Goliath.

“While ultimately the best four clubs have reached the semi-finals, the performances of Robertson Town and Gardens, from the traditional rugby heartlands of the Boland and Eastern Cape, has made a seismic impact on the Gold Cup’s ability to act as a vital alternative route to top-level rugby for players whose talent would not be out of place in a professional environment.

“The potential of the Gold Cup may have been stalled by the pandemic, but this past weekend’s matches have well and truly lit that flame again. It’s the Cup that every club player wants to win above any other, and together with our partners Pick n Pay and Northam Platinum, a new golden era for the community game is well and truly upon us.”

Scorers:

Naka Bulls 57 (24), Northam Wolves 22 (7)
Naka Bulls – Tries: Onyekachi John-Osunkwo, Jack Hart, Christoff Craill (3), Adam Makhari, Ethan Williams, JJ Motlhodi, Conversions: Hansie Graaf (6), Makhari. Penalty: Graaf.
Northam Wolves – Tries: Keano Wildvogel, Marcel Human (2), Curtley Brinkhuis. Conversion: Billy Posthumus.

Northam Rhinos 62 (38), Pretoria Harlequins 21 (7)
Northam Rhinos – Tries: Jade Stoffels, Lindokuhle Welemu, Khwezi Mkhafu (3), Elzandro Fredericks (2), Dillin Snel, Jaylen James, Pule Molokomme. Conversions: James (6).
Pretoria Harlequins – Tries: Anton Gerber, Kethu Twala, Eugene Hare. Conversions: Jaen-dre de Bruyn (3).

Villager 40 (21), Gardens 35 (7)
Villager – Tries: MC de Jongh (2), Thomas Meyer, Adriaan Rabie, Reimerd Spreeth, Andries Viljoen. Conversions: Devon Lailvaux (5).
Gardens – Tries: Ethan Vaaltyn (2), Duwayne Nel, Lukhona Gans, Adriano Martin. Conversions: Luciandre Theodore (5).

Robertson Town 23 (9), College Rovers 27 (17)
Robertson Town – Tries: Freginald Africa, Marco Jones. Conversions: Adriaano Conradie (2). Penalties: Conradie (3).
College Rovers – Tries: Fifty Zono, Sergio Torrens (2), Marco Palvie, Soso Xakalashe. Conversion: Aphiwe Stemele.

Pick n Pay Gold Cup semi-finals (both matches live on SuperSport platforms)

Saturday 18 October:

North section:
17h00: Northam Rhinos v Naka Bulls (Bushveld Park, Setaria, Limpopo)

South section:
14h30: Villager v College Rovers (Brookside, Claremont, Cape Town)