News
A mild serving of Currie Cup
October 05 2008
It was a strange weekend of Currie Cup rugby, with nothing at stake for three of the semi-finals contenders and one really only interested in keeping the score against them down.
And it showed on the field. The under-strength Blue Bulls were very fortunate indeed to sneak a 22-20 win against the Valke at Loftus; the Cheetahs didn't care about structure nor defence in a 13-try feast in Bloemfontein which they won 50-40 against the Boland Kavaliers; and the Sharks romping to a 66-12 win over Griquas in Durban.
They, at least, fielded their best team and kept their structure and have seemingly timed their peak for the season to perfection. Their backs were good, and their supporting play up front, with Ryan Kankowski and hat-trick man Keegan Daniel outstanding on the run, broke Griquas early on. Impressive was the way the Sharks stuck to their pattern without getting too loose and disjointed for any length of time.
The Lions will have their work cut out to beat the Sharks in Durban on Saturday in the one semi-final. However, that is what they did last year in a season where the Sharks ended second with the Lions third as they are now.
On Saturday, the Lions out-scrummaged Western Province, stole five of their line-out balls, beat them to the breakdown and tackled like demons, with captain Cobus Grobbelaar again brilliant on the ground and Ernst Joubert outstanding in everything he did. WP probably deserved to win 14-6, but better tactical application may have turned it for them and brought the 19-point victory and a bonus point for four tries.
If they had kicked their penalties in the first half, they would have had 19 points by half-time - and rugby is the one game where a psychological advantage like that can be exploited.
The Lions were obviously a little wary of taking it wide on Saturday, realising WP are masters at the turnover. That greatly nullified their dominance up front.
Unfortunately a semi-final is of the same nature. Over the season WP probably didn't deserve a semifinal. Their tight five, with and without their Springboks, could never dominate; they lost to the Valke; and they didn't get a bonus point at the Boland Stadium a week ago where all the other sides struggled, but did score four tries - and then tried to make the semis on a technicality.
It was ultimately a lack of quality depth that cost Western Province.
The Sharks and Blue Bulls also provided their stars to the Springboks -and the latter had as many players unavailable as WP in the early rounds if their ill and injured are added. Free State, with a smaller player base, had lost some 12 players to other unions and overseas before the season.
The Free State scored seven tries in a loose game without much structure. While they'll be pleased about the seven they scored themselves, much hard work on a game-plan, structure, discipline and a defence that let in six tries by the Kavaliers lies ahead for coach Naka Drotske this week. The good news is the form of fly-half Jacques-Louis Potgieter who has seemingly fired their backs into action since the injury to Chris Rossouw.
The Blue Bulls rested their players and nearly paid the price, although they still would have been second on the log even if they had lost. In defence of for the poor rugby, was a young Bulls side without any game time together on the field.
The Leopards put their third 50 past the Pumas in three matches this season when they beat them 50-18 in Potchefstroom to stroll into the final of the First Division. They'll meet the Griffons who beat the Eagles17-10 in the other semifinal, leaving the Eagles' with some egg on their face after lodging a complaint against the Griffons for using ineligible players in their last encounter ten days ago.