Preview: Currie Cup, Round Nine
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:00
With South Africa's local provincial tournament taking a back seat behind the national team's Tri-Nations endeavors for the last time, this weekend will host the second half of the round nine encounters.
One can therefore look forward to the return of full Currie Cup rounds from next week onwards, as well as the return of full-strength unions fighting it out for top stakes in an all-South African affair.
Three of the "big five" provinces will take to the paddock this weekend, making way for another heated top table battle.
The Sharks, currently in third position on 28 points, travel to Wellington on Friday to face the Cavaliers - the latter having just two wins from eight outings and sitting one position away from the bottom of the table.
The Sharks will be seeking maximum points at Boland Stadium which, if successful, will see them stand as log-leaders on 33 points.
That is, until the outcome of Friday's second encounter between the Blue Bulls and Western Province (WP) at Fort Loftus. A (likely) home victory for the Bulls would see the hosts in a dead heat for first place on the standings if the Sharks secure that elusive bonus-point, while a bonus point for the Bulls would stand them clear.
Fifth-placed WP on the other hand are wounded, and have all to play for, making for yet another enticing spectacle of provincial weekend action.
This weekend's fixture details are as follows:
Friday, August 29
Boland Cavaliers v Sharks
Boland Stadium, Wellington, 16.00 (14.00 GMT)
The Cavaliers come off a three-week break going into this game, and should be well rested and on the front foot since their hard-fought victory over the Falcons.
Home advantage has seemed to favour them too, as the predictably wet conditions in Wellington have been the Achilles Heel of every visiting side this season. The Cavaliers are however up against a quality Sharks outfit on Friday, and will need to dig a lot deeper for this next home encounter.
The Durbanites on the other hand are not underestimating their opposition, who will be determined to cause an upset. Fortunately the Sharks' player resource has enabled them to fill the gaps left by Springbok call-ups, which includes the welcomed return of Rory Kockott and Patric Cilliers from injury.
"We have a lot of respect for them [Boland], they have a physical pack and [Isma-eel] Dollie at flyhalf directs traffic well," said Sharks coach John Pumtree.
"For us, we need to make sure we're disciplined and the gameplan is suited to the conditions, with the players sticking to it," he added.
Prediction: A potentially bland game considering the wet conditions, but the Sharks should walk away win it fairly comfortable, by 10 or more points.
Teams:
Boland: 15 Justin Peach, 14 Danwel
Demas, 13 Cornell Hendricks, 12 Lionel Cornelius, 11 Alvin Hugo, 10 Isma-eel Dollie, 9 Neil Papier, 8 Dries van Schalkwyk, 7 Angelo Brinkhuis, 6 Zolani Mofu, 5 Bradley Mockford, 4 Frikkie Spies, 3 WP Nel, 2 Clemen Lewis, 1 Janro van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Harry Vermaas, 17 Jean Botha, 18 Nico Esterhuyse, 19 Whalied Heyns, 20 Danie van der Merwe, 21 Elgar Watts, 22 Deon Scholtz.
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Chris Jordaan, 13 Riaan Swanepoel, 12 Bradley Barritt (captain), 11 Waylon Murray, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 Deon Carstens , 2 Skipper Badenhorst, 1 Patric Cilliers.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Melusi Mthethwa, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Skholiwe Ndlovu, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Andries Strauss, 22 Monty Dumond.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Touch judges: Joey
Salmans, Linston Manuels
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
Blue Bulls v Western Province (WP)
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, 19.10 (17.10 GMT)
The Bulls have a great chance this weekend of regaining their favoured position at the top of the tournament table, which will be led at the front by their notoriously stout forward pack, with quality backs to match.
Playing host once again in Blue country, coach Ludeke should feel fairly confident that his boys will come up trumps, though not without a solid fight from an emabattled WP side looking to get their campaign back on track.
WP coach Allister Coetzee has had a substantial break to take stock and work on his struggling side's vulnerabilities - as well as having the added advantage of some quality young talent coming through the ranks, with whom he has rested heaps of faith.
"We can't just play an expansive game [against the Bulls], we need to play intelligently," Coetzee said at a WP press conference this week.
"One key thing is the Bulls have very solid defence. But they're not just a defensive team, they have backs that can run at you as well.
"WP want to be competitive in the Currie Cup and the fight is still there to do well. This is a great opportunity for the youngsters," he added.
Prediction: Province will fight, but the Bulls are bounds ahead this season and will out-muscle their Cape opponents by 8 or more points.
Teams:
Blue Bulls: 15 Tiger Mangweni, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Wayne Julies, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Wikus van Heerden (captain), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Juandré Kruger, 3 Rayno Gerber, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Werner Kruger, 18
Dewald Potgieter, 19 Jacques Burger, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Marius Delport.
Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Wylie Human, 13 PJ Vermeulen, 12 Gcobani Bobo (captain), 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Joe Pietersen, 9 Bolla Conradie, 8 Nick Köster, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 JC Kritzinger, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 AJ Venter, 19 Conraad Britz, 20 Dewaldt Duvenhage, 21 Matthew Rosslee, 22 Morgan Newman.
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Touch judges: Willie Roos, Cobus Wessels
TMO: Johann Meuwesen
