News
Preview: Currie Cup, Round Thirteen
September 25 2008
With just two rounds left before the semi-finals, fans in three provinces are on the edge on their seats and Saturday's clash between the Lions and Sharks will go a long way to determine who makes the cut.
South Africa coach Peter de Villiers' calls to have his Springboks rested have largely fallen on deaf ears as the stakes run high this week. Nearly all the stars will be out to make for an exciting weekend. Though how excited the players in question will be to still be playing without a break come November remains to be seen.
On the contrary the return of Bok captain John Smit, who will start on the Sharks bench, will be welcomed by all South Africa rugby fans.
As leaders, the Sharks will be out to keep the Blue Bulls at bay and take a step closer to a possible home final. For the Lions, a win at Ellis Park will be enough to book their spot in the final four. If the home side can't win, scoring at least a bonus point is vital.
The action kicks off on Friday though as the Griquas host the Blue Bulls and the Cheetahs visit the Falcons where a five-point haul is an absolute necessity.
The same goes for Western Province, who face the sticky (quite literally) task of playing Boland in Wellington in what is set to be a mud bath of a Cape derby.
The Kavaliers will be looking to fight their way out of the Currie Cup basement as they join the Falcons in chasing the Griquas in an attempt to save their Currie Cup hides.
Boland are almost certain to face a relegation battle at season's end, with the Griquas six points ahead of them on the standings in sixth place. But if they seize the opportunity presented by their last home game to pick up a point or two, the Kavaliers could secure a match against the weaker of the two promotion-hopefuls from the First Division.
Boland currently share a last place on the standings with the Falcons - though the Kavaliers do have a 70-point advantage in points difference.
Fixtures:
Friday, September 26
Griquas v Blue Bulls
Falcons v Free State Cheetahs
Saturday, September 27
Boland Kavaliers v Western Province
Lions v The Sharks
Standings after Round twelve:
1 Sharks 47
2 Blue Bulls 44
3 Lions 41
4 Western Province 32
5 Cheetahs 32
6 Griquas 19
7 Kavaliers 13
8 Falcons 13
Griquas v Blue Bulls
Absa Park, Kimberley
Zane Kirchner, who has fully recovered from a few niggling injuries, will start at full-back for the Blue Bulls in Kimberly meaning Tiger Mangweni moves to the bench.
Injuries have forced Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke to make a couple of other changes to his matchday 22. Juandré Kruger comes in for the injured Danie Rossouw at lock. Kruger will partner Victor Matfield in the second row while Wilhelm Steenkamp will cover from the bench.
Flanks Deon Stegmann and Dewald Potgieter picked up injuries against the Free State Cheetahs, giving Namibian international Jacques Burger a chance in the starting XV.
There are no other changes, as the Bulls head to Kimberley with a fairly stable team.
Stegmann, Potgieter and Rossouw are expected to rehabilitate within a week but given the importance of the coming weeks, no chances have been taken.
The Blue Bulls are fully aware that the Lions can do them a huge favour if they manage to beat the Sharks in Johannesburg but captain Victor Matfield said their focus will be on the match against the Griquas.
"We are starting to gel as a team and whenever you want to succeed in rugby you need to be a close knit unit that plays better in every outing," said Matfield.
For the Griquas, fly-half Naas Olivier has been recalled to the starting XV in his first game back after recovering from a fractured cheekbone.
Olivier's return means Conrad Barnard shifts back to full-back while Riaan Viljoen replaces Jaco Bekker at outside centre in an otherwise unchanged back-line.
In the pack, Brendon Snyman renews his second-row partnership with the Wayne van Heerden, relegating Stephan Gerber to the bench. In the front row Bees Roux relieves tighthead prop Ruaan du Preez and loosehead Steph Roberts comes in for the injured Regardt Dreyer.
Free State centre Alwyn Hollenbach has joined the Griquas on loan for their final two matches and he takes a place among the replacements with winger Gavin Passens.
Prediction: The Blue Bulls are on a roll and should roll right over the Griquas. Blue Bulls by fifteen.
Griquas: 15 Conrad Barnard, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Riaan Viljoen, 12 Herkie Kruger, 11 MJ Mentz, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Gareth Krause (c), 7 Frans Viljoen, 6 Rohan Kitshoff, 5 Brendon Snyman, 4 Wayne van Heerden, 3 Bees Roux, 2 Hans van Dyk, 1 Steph Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Dean Hopp, 17 Ruaan du Preez, 18 Jacques Lombaard, 19 Stephan Gerber, 20 Dougie Helmuth, 21 Alwyn Hollenbach, 22 Gavin Passens.
Blue Bulls:: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Marius Delport, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Wikus van Heerden, 6 Jacques Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Juandre Kruger, 3 Rayno Gerber, 2 Derick Kuun, 1 Jaco Engels.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Pedrie Wannenburg, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Tiger Mangweni.
Kick-off: 15:30 (13:30 GMT)
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Touch judges: Matt Kemp, Marc van Zyl
TMO: Johann Meuwesen
Falcons v Free State Cheetahs
Bosman Stadium, Brakpan
The Cheetahs travel to Brakpan without three vital players. Naka Drotské has been deprived of the services of fly-half Chris Rossouw and flankers Juan Smith and Hendro Scholtz.
The Free Staters do however have three very solid replacements in the form of Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Kabamba Floors and Schalk van der Merwe.
With Potgieter starting at fly-half, Hennie Daniller gets his first Currie Cup call-up and will warm the Orange bench, where he will be joined by Van der Merwe and Eddie Fredericks.
The team that lost 23-10 to the Blue Bulls last weekend remains otherwise unchanged.
The lack of depth in the Falcons squad is becoming painfully obvious as three more players will make their run-on debuts on Friday.
The two recruits from the Sharks, wing Frank Wagenström and number eight Thabo Mamojele, have been given the green light to start while Franco Booysen will run on at inside centre.
Regular captain Hanno Coetzee will start at fly-half for the second time this season with Booysen and Rouan Cloete on his outside.
Booysen took the field two minutes into the Sharks game and Coetzee moved to fly-half after injury to debutante number ten John Roodt.
The inclusion of Mamojele at number eight and the switch of Daan-Roux van Coller to blindside flank are the only changes to the pack as Gert Lubbe drops to the bench.
Young tighthead, Dewald "Snoepie" Coetzee, has retained his place with regular number three Nico Pretorius amongst the replacements.
Prediction: You would have to be very brave to bet against the Cheetahs getting five points. Cheetahs by twenty.
Falcons: 15 Johan Jackson, 14 Dewald Pretorius, 13 Rouan Cloete, 12 Franco Booysen, 11 Frank Wagenström, 10 Hanno Coetzee (c), 9 Gerrie Odendaal, 8 Thabo Mamojele, 7 Daan-Roux van Coller, 6 Uwe Sauer, 5 Nico Luus, 4 Wouter Moore, 3 Dewald Coetzee, 2 Jody Jeneker, 1 Zane Killian.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Gavin Whittingham, 18 Nico Pretorius, 19 Marius Coetzer, 20 Gert Lubbe, 21 Freddie van Zyl, 22 Jeff Perkins.
Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 JW Jonker, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Duanne Vermeulen, 7 Kabamba Floors, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Barend Pieterse (c), 4 David de Villiers, 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Nico Breedt, 19 Schalk van der Merwe, 20 Jandre Blom, 21 Hennie Daniller, 22 Eddie Fredericks.
Kick-off: 19:10 (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Deon van Blommestein
Touch judges: Silulami Pityoi, Lappies Labuschagne
TMO: Michael Cupido
Boland Kavaliers v Western Province
Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Western Province fans will be jumping for joy at the news that Saturday's crunch Currie Cup match between WP and the Boland Kavaliers has been moved to Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
The decision was taken by the provinces because of the waterlogged state of the Boland Stadium field in Wellington it was announced on Friday.
As WP coach Allister Coetzee said in announcing his team on Wednesday, "there will be no next week if we don't win this week."
WP will also be missing the services of lock Adriaan Fondse due to a rib injury. Fondse has done mountains of work in the Province pack this year, but in AJ Venter, the Currie Cup's most capped player still in action, Coetzee has an able replacement.
Coetzee is hopeful that Fondse will be back for next week's final league match against the Lions at Newlands.
"The one good thing about the heavy under-foot conditions we are expecting in Wellington is that it will suit AJ's type of play. Make no mistake, we will miss Fondsie, but AJ is a perfect replacement and hopefully he can produce the type of play he did when he played there for the Boks," said Coetzee.
The inclusion of Bolla Conradie at scrum-half in place of fellow Springbok Ricky Januarie is the only other change to the Western Province team.
Januarie is not available because he is getting married in Johannesburg on Saturday. Young Dewaldt Duvenhage will be on the replacements bench against his former team-mates.
Coetzee said he was glad to fall back on the talents of the veteran Conradie.
"It is good to give Bolla a chance again. It is a golden opportunity for him. We all know what a quality player he is. It is good to replace on Springbok with another. That is a position every coach wants to be in."
After his good showing against Griquas, young Deon Fourie retains his place at hooker ahead of Springbok Schalk Brits, who will be on the bench.
Springbok prop Brian Mujati is still out injured and in his absence U21 revelation JC Kritzinger gets another chance to impress.
"Brian is definitely not available. I would definitely not play a guy who is injured and that is part of my rest program for the Boks," commented Coetzee.
"It is great to see how Wicus Blaauw and JC made big strides in the right direction in the Currie Cup thus far. They have really done well with the exposure they had this season," he added.
The Boland will be helped by some continuity in terms of selection as coach Deon Davids has made just one change to the staring XV that lost 31-10 to the Lions at home last week, with Danwel Demas replacing Alshaun Bock on the left wing.
Prop Jean Botha returns from injury to replace Andries Human on the bench in the only other change to the matchday squad.
Kavaliers captain Piet van Zyl will play a record-breaking 141st match for Boland.
Prediction: Boland will be no pushovers. Both teams have everything to play for, but Province have a lot more to play with. WP to win by twenty points.
Boland: 15 Justin Peach, 14 Deon Scholtz, 13 Piet van Zyl (capt), 12 Dewey Swartbooi, 11 Danwel Demas, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 David Hendricks, 7 Josh Strauss, 6 Angelo Brinkhuys, 5 Bradley Mockford, 4 Nico Esterhuyse, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Harry Vermaas, 1 Janro van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Peter Wium, 17 Jean Botha, 18 Cecil Kemp, 19 Zolani Mofu, 20 Dawie van der Merwe, 21 Hein Myburgh, 22 Lionel Cornelius.
Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Jean De Villiers (c), 11 Wylie Human, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Bolla Conradie, 8 Luke Watson, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 AJ Venter, 3 JC Kritzinger, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Pieter Louw, 19 Nick Koster, 20 Dewaldt Duvenhage, 21 Joe Pietersen, 22 Morgan Newman.
Kick-off: 15:00 (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Christie du Preez
Touch judges: Sindile Mayende, Linston Manuels
TMO: Michael Cupido
Lions v The Sharks
Ellis Park, Johannesburg
The Sharks eked out a scrappy 16-11 win over the Lions in Durban in July, with a late try from Keegan Daniel denying the visitors a stint at the top of the Currie Cup table.
For the return match, Sharks coach John Plumtree arrives with a vastly different side as he was able to name close to his strongest possible line-up
Lions coach Eugene Eloff has made just one enforced change to his starting line-up.
Jaque Fourie gets a start at outside centre in place of Jaco Pretorius who has an injured hand. Derick Minnie retains his place after being named as a late replacement for Justin Wheeler last week. Wheeler will play off the bench.
The big news is the recall of former Springbok and Lions lock Jannes Labuschagne who retired two years ago at the age of 30, but has made a return to rugby and although initially expected to only start playing for the union next year, his fitness, temperament and hunger has seen him elevated to an earlier return to playing action.
He played in 11 Tests for the Springboks and over 100 Currie Cup games for the Province and will play off the bench for this game.
For the Sharks, injury concerns over "Beast" Mtawarira and Deon Carstens have been alleviated and the pair have both been picked in the matchday 22, while, as expected, Stefan Terblanche, Odwa Ndungane, Jacques Botes and Bismarck du Plessis, who all missed last week's game, are back in the fray.
However, the biggest news of all is the welcome and timely return to the playing arena of Springbok captain John Smit, who comes back from a groin injury sustained during the Tri-Nations.
Smit's role as Bok skipper has seen his provincial duties at the Sharks limited in recent years, his last game in the Currie Cup taking place in 2005 (having earned 54 caps in total).
An all-international back-line is complimented by an all-Springbok tight-five and another Bok at number eight: making thirteen Test players in all with another three on the bench.
Prediction: It's always tough for the Sharks to swim on the Highveld, but with a side that could push most Test teams around, it's hard to see them loose. Sharks by eight points.
Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Michael Killian, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Trompie Nontshinga, 10 Earl Rose, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (c), 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Lawrence Sephaka, 18 Jannes Labuschagne, 19 Justin Wheeler, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Louis Strydom, 22 Rayno Benjamin.
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (c), 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Bradley Barritt, 22 Waylon Murray.
Kick-off: 17:05 (15:05 GMT)
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Touch judges: Lourens van der Merwe, Cobus Wessels
TMO: Shaun Veldsman