The Wildebeest cemented their place at the top of the Vodacom Cup log, but had to rely on a last-minute penalty for an 11-9 victory over the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington on Saturday.
It took a penalty by Wildebeest flyhalf Steve Meyer in the dying moments of the game to secure the visitors a victory that keeps them well on track at 44 points atop the log.
The Natalians are now five points clear of the Falcons, whose recent resurgence puts them in second place on the log after the Blue Bulls suffered a shock loss to the Lions at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Bulls went down 31-8 to the Lions, a defeat that saw them slip into third place on the log and put a serious damper on their hopes of making the final.
Possibly the match of the weekend had little bearing on the log, with Western Province thrashing the Eagles 70-15 in George.
Western Province wing Egon Seconds scored four tries — securing his hat-trick in the first half — amid the 11 in total that his team ran in against the lowly Eagles.
Seconds scored as early as the fifth minute to begin his try fest.
The win lifted Western Province into fifth place on the log on 30 points, while the Eagles chalked up their ninth defeat in 10 matches and remain second last on the log. — Sapa