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Preview: Currie Cup, Round Seven
July 31 2008
Just two points separate the first five sides as the Currie Cup hits the half-way mark. This weekend's fixtures sees the best saved for last as Western Province travel to Johannesburg for a mid-table scrap with the Lions that will leave the losing side in trouble in terms of semi-final qualification.
The action, however, kicks off in Brakpan on Friday. Much had been made of the Falcons entertaining style of play this season, but they will have to tighten up their defence as the East Rand side face a stern test of character when they host the Blue Bulls a week after being hammered by the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
The Blue Bulls have been the form side of the opening rounds of this year's competition and will be eyeing the top of the table, despite having played a game less than their rivals.
After an unconvincing start to the season, the Cheetahs seem to have found their groove after running eight tries past the Falcons last week. They'll be keen to dish out more punishment when they travel to Wellington to face the Boland Kavaliers in a top-versus-bottom clash.
If the return of a host of Springboks characterised last week's action, the same players' recalls to the national side will leave the Sharks especially weakened.
Schalk Brits was not on Peter de Villiers' list of players to take on Argentina and he will play at number eight rather than hooker for Western Province in a move that will surely do his future Springbok prospects no good.
Fixtures:
Friday August 1
Falcons v Blue Bulls
Saturday August 2
Griquas v The Sharks
Boland Kavaliers v Free State Cheetahs
Lions v Western Province
Table after Round 6 (The Blue Bulls and Griquas have a game in hand):
1 Free State Cheetahs 19
2 Blue Bulls 18
3 Sharks 18
4 Western Province 17
5 Lions 17
6 Falcons 11
7 Griquas 9
8 Boland Kavaliers 7
Previews:
Falcons v Blue Bulls
Bosman Stadium, Brakpan
After a week off, the Blue Bulls will be eager to continue their impressive run so far when they travel south to Brakpan. They will be hosted by a bunch of familiar faces, as no less than four Blue Bulls players on loan to the Falcons will be wearing red jerseys on Saturday.
The home side might have caused an upset by beating Western Province in their last home game, but were shown to be out of their depth when faced with a big physical pack playing quality, direct rugby in Bloemfontein last weekend.
The Cheetahs simply steam-rollered over their fleet-footed visitors and the Blue Bulls pack will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of doing the same.
At home, the Falcons will no doubt put up more of a fight, but will surely be outgunned by a Bulls team with firepower all over the park.
Zane Kirchner and JP Joubert return to the Pretoria side's starting line-up. Kirchner replaces Tiger Mangweni and Joubert comes in for Fourie du Preez who has been included in Peter de Villiers' Springbok squad.
Mangweni has been playing excellent rugby this year and Currie Cup coach-of-the-month Frans Ludeke said on Tuesday that it was a very difficult call to make, but as the team's number-one full-back, it was time for Kirchner to start a match after playing off the bench in the last three weeks.
Ludeke has included Springbok Danie Rossouw, who did not play against the Boland, at lock alongside Wilhem Steenkamp while Werner Kruger will start at tighthead prop.
"The rotation policy is very important to keep the props going and for our next match Werner will start and Rayno Gerber will be used in the second half as an impact player. Props need to play on a regular basis and that is why they will be rotated quite frequently," said Ludeke.
Derick Kuün has been named to play alongside Kruger but there still are a few question marks on his availability after he picked up a hamstring niggle. If Kuün is not able to play, Bandise Maku will start in the number two jersey with one-time Springbok captain Chiliboy Ralepelle on the bench.
Ralepelle played club rugby for Tukkies a week ago and although he was still a bit rusty, the young man is very keen to start playing at a higher level.
Meanwhile, the Falcons have dropped fly-half Len Olivier in favour of the versatile Riaan "True Blue" Smit. Despite delivering a scintillating performance against Western Province a fortnight ago, Olivier drops to the bench.
Head Coach Rudy Joubert has also recalled suspended winger Johan Swartz while Nicky Kritzinger will be able to use his pace in his preferred position of full-back.
Blue Bulls backs Dewald Pretorius and Johan Jackson - on loan to the Falcons - will get an opportunity to impress their Pretoria bosses.
Another Blue Bulls player, flanker Emile Verster has earned a call-up to the starting XV thanks to his physical presence as he replaces Reg Muller, who has an ankle niggle and drops to the bench.
A decision on big Wouter Moore, the fourth member of the Bulls quartet on loan to the Falcons will be made later this week, should he not play, Reg Perkins will keep his place in the Starting XV.
Falcons: 15 Nicky Kritzinger, 14 Dewald Pretorius, 13 Johan Jackson, 12 Hanno Coetzee (captain), 11 Johan Swartz, 10 Riaan Smit, 9 Gerrie Odendaal, 8 Sean Plaatjies, 7 Emile Verster, 6 Warren Perkins, 5 Ruhan van Jaarsveld, 4 Wouter Moore/Reg Perkins, 3 Nico Pretorius, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Gavin Whittingham.
Replacements: 16 Jody Jeneker, 17 Frik Venter, 18 Lungelo Payi/Reg Perkins, 19 Reg Muller, 20 Fredie van Zyl, 21 Len Olivier, 22 Jeff Perkins/Mpho Matsaung.
Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Rocco Jansen, 13 Marius Delport, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 JP Joubert, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Wikus van Heerden (c), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün , 1 Jaco Engels.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Francois van Schouwenburg, 19 Jacques Burger, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Tiger Mangweni.
Kick-off: 19:10 (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Touch judges: Pro Legoete, Peet Badenhorst
Television match official: Michael Cupido
Assessor: André Watson
Griquas v The Sharks
Absa Park, Kimberley
The Sharks will in no way be looking forward to their trip to Kimberly where a rock-hard field and some pretty hard Griquas await the team from sub-tropical KwaZulu-Natal.
The Sharks are yet to produce an 80-minute performance at their full potential and have been weakened by the loss of a number of players - either through injury or national selection (or both in the case of Ryan Kankowski).
They got a bit lucky against the Lions last week and if they don't hit their straps soon, they're bound to be found out by a competent Griquas pack and an experienced back-line.
"It's hard without the continuity we've wanted," lamented Head Coach Plumtree on the Sharks website.
"Brad Barritt was going to be central (to our plans), Rory Kockott too, but the guys who have filled in have done pretty well."
Injuries, recoveries and Springbok call-ups mean that Plumtree has made a number of changes to his side, yet their strength in depth means they are still able to line-up a team full of talent.
French import Frédéric Michalak was expected to play but a painful hip has handed Monty Dumond a start at fly-half. With the loss of Kankowski, Keegan Daniel returns to the starting line-up as does Alistair Hargreaves after he missed the last two matches through injury.
In the midfield Riaan Swanepoel gets his first start at inside centre having been impressive in the four matches he has come on as replacement, including a try on debut against Boland.
With Odwa Ndungane now in Pretoria with the Springboks, Lwazi Mvovo has another opportunity to impress. BJ Botha returns to the side, but will play off the bench.
"We have two big games away so face a massive fortnight ahead," admitted Plumtree.
"The Griquas contest is going to be tough. The challenge for us is to lift ourselves in a place like Kimberley against a side that has proven to be a thorn in the side of a few teams."
Griquas: 15 Conrad Barnard, 14 Gavin Passens, 13 Bjorn Basson, 12 Riaan Viljoen, 11 MJ Mentz, 10 Tobie Botes, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Heinrich Stride, 7 Stephan Gerber, 6 Gareth Krause (c), 5 Jacques Lombaard, 4 Wayne van Heerden, 3 Ruaan du Preez, 2 Hans van Dyk, 1 Albertus Buckle.
Replacements: 16 James van der Walt, 17 Dean Hopp, 18 Cilliers Coetzer, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Dougie Helmuth, 21 Lafras Uys, 22 Eagon Seconds.
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Chris Jordaan, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Monty Dumond, 9 Scott Mathie, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (c), 4 Alistair Hargreaves, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Skipper Badenhorst, 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Skholiwe Ndlovu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Andries Strauss, 22 Andrew Borgen.
Kick-off: 15:00 (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Deon van Blommestein
Touch judges: Lourens van der Merwe, Cobus Wessels
Television match official: Willie Roos/Gerrie Coetzee
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel
Boland Kavaliers v Free State Cheetahs
Boland Stadium, Wellington
Judging by these two teams' respective performances last week, Boland should be shivering in their boots. Languishing at the bottom of the table, the Kavaliers will not be looking forward to hosting the resurgent defending champions.
The Free Staters will have a dangerous looking midfield as Springbok centre Meyer Bosman has recovered from a nagging hamstring injury and will combine with young prospect Robert Ebersohn.
Ebersohn has turned many a head in his first Currie Cup season and coach Naka Drotské's decision to keep him in the starting XV means JW Jonker drops to the bench. Ebersohn's SA U20 team-mate Wilton Pietersen is on the bench again after the pair scored two tries each against the Falcons.
There are three other changes to the team that whipped the Falcons as Fabian Juries and Richardt Strauss are called in to replace wing Jongi Nokwe and hooker Adriaan Strauss who are away on duty with the national side.
Fit-again Duanne Vermeulen slots in at number eight in the final personnel change as Drotské has been forced to reshuffle his loose trio.
July's Currie Cup player of the month, openside flank Heinrich Brussow, has a foot injury and will be sidelined for at least a month. As a result, last week's man of the match, Kabamba Floors, moves from blindside to the more familiar openside flanker position. Schalk van der Merwe will play on the blindside while young Ashley Johnson provides cover from the bench.
As for the hosts, Boland will be praying for a miracle.
The much publicised loan of Western Province fly-half Isma-eel Dollie to their Cape neighbours will finally see the light of day as he pulls on the Kavaliers number ten jersey.
Boland coach Deon Davids resisted the temptation to play Dollie against his former team-mates last week, saying: "I did not want the match to turn into a Dollie versus WP affair". Will he be their saviour? The fly-half certainly has his work cut out for him.
Davids has made no less than eight changes to the side that received a 40-point drubbing at Newlands.
Scrum-half Neil Papier, who will make his 100th appearance for Boland on Saturday, will form a new half-back combination with Dollie at the expense of Marnus Hugo and Elgar Watts.
Record try-scorer John Daniels has been withdrawn with a hamstring injury and will be replaced by SA Sevens player Danwel Demas, who has been released by the Blue Bulls.
Elsewhere straight-running Lionel Cornelius replaces inside centre Kobus Meintjies. The Boland club league's current leading try-scorer Cornell Hendricks gets a start at outside centre in injured Deon Scholtz's place while Stefan Basson has been axed from the matchday 22 altogether.
Number eight Dries van Schalkwyk retains the captaincy, having taken over from Henley du Plessis who left the field against WP with what many suspect is a career-ending neck injury.
Frankie Horne replaces Du Plessis on the flank, while Clemen Lewis is in at hooker ahead of Pieter Wium .
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 (capt), 7-Frankie Horne, 6-Zolani Mofu, 5-Bradley Mockford, 4-Frikkie Spies, 3-WP Nel, 2-Clemen Lewis, 1-Jean Botha.
Replacements: 16-Pieter Wium, 17-Janro van Niekerk, 18-Cecil Kemp, 19-Whalied Heyns, 20-Marnus Hugo, 21-Kobus Meintjies, 22- Jacquin Jansen.
Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 Eddie Fredericks, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Fabian Juries, 10 Chris Rossouw, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Duanne Vermeulen, 7 Schalk vd Merwe, 6 Kabamba Floors, 5 Barend Pieterse (c), 4 David de Villiers, 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Jaco du Toit, 17 Phillip Lemmer, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Neil Powell, 21 JW Jonker, 22 Wilton Pietersen.
Kick-off: 15:00 (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Christie du Preez
Touch judges: Matt Kemp, Linston Manuels
Assessor: Eugene Daniels
Lions v Western Province
Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg
Western Province start a tough run of consecutive matches against the 'big four' in Jo'burg against a Lions team whose pack will look to dominate in the tight phases.
Just as in the Super 14, the Lions pack have set the backs up for attack time and time agian only to see their hard work undone by poor decision-making and finishing when it counts.
WP crushed Boland last week, but their form away from Newlands has been less than impressive as they have yet to win on the road. In the refined air on the Highveld they could be found wanting if the Lions play to their potenial.
The Lions will be smarting from their narrow defeat in Durban last Saturday and will be champing at the bit to make amends.
Western Province coach Allister Coetzee is continuing the experiment of playing playing Springbok hooker Schalk Brits at number eight. Brits has given the standard "I'll do whatever the coach wants and whatever is best for the team" response to the move but one can't help feel that it can only be detrimental to Brits' long-term Springbok prospects.
He certainly is not tall enough to be a world-class loose forward and since Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus thinks highly of young WP hooker Deon Fourie, Brits's chances of securing a the number two jersy in Cape Town seems slim. Will he be the next Province player to join the trek north? Only time will tell.
Springbok wing Tonderai Chavhanga has not fully recovered from injury to make the starting XV, but has been included on the bench.
The only change to the back-line comes in the form of Willem de Waal's return to the fly-half berth in the place of Peter Grant. Grant has a shoulder injury but would have been on duty for the Springboks had he not been injured.
In the front row, Brian Mujati has left for the Springbok camp, meaning Brok Harris will play at tighead prop.
If there was any doubt this match will be won in break-down contest, a look at the WP bench will convince punters otherwise. Three loose forwards join young front row prospect JC Kritzinger on the wood work.
Amongst those loose forward replacements is Nick Koster who impressed of the bench last week. The Lions at home will produce a sterner test of his young mettle.
Meanwhile, Lions coach Eugene Eloff has made just two changes to his starting line-up as he enjoys a measure of continuity in team selection.
Despite having lost the services of Springbok Jaque Fourie to the national set-up, the only changes are at wing where Michael Killian comes in for Heini Gordon and at lock where Anton van Zyl takes over from Gerhard Mostert.
Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Wylie Human, 13 Dylan Des Fountain, 12 Gcobani Bobo (c), 11 Joe Pietersen, 10 Willem De Waal, 9 Bolla Conradie, 8 Schalk Brits, 7 AJ Venter, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 JC Kritzinger, 17 Pieter Louw, 18 Justin Melck, 19 Nick Koster, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Tonderai Chavhanga, 22 Morgan Newman.
Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Michael Killian, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Rayno Benjamin, 10 Earl Rose, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Franco van der Merwe, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (c), 5 Anton van Zyl, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Gert Muller, 18 Justin Wheeler, 19 Derick Minnie, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Jaco van Schalkwyk, 22 Heini Gordon.
Kick-off: 17:05 (15:05 GMT)
Referee: Phillip Bosch
Touch judges: Jason Jaftha, Piet Badenhorst
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen
Assessor: André Watson