News
Preview: Currie Cup, Round Five
August 06 2009
The table-topping Griquas face the first of three tough weeks in Currie Cup as Western Province head North to Kimberley on Friday. The Free State Cheetahs will be under massive pressure when they host the Blue Bulls while Juan Martin Hernandez makes his debut for the Sharks.
Closet Griquas fans are appearing out of cracks all over South Africa as Dawie Theron and his team breath new life into a sometimes overly-predictable tournament. What a breath of fresh air it has been to see a team other than one of the 'big five' lead the way.
Unbeaten in four rounds, the Griquas' schedule is about to get very hard as they must host Western Province and then the Blue Bulls before travelling to the Shark Tank.
The most successful team in the Currie in the last five years, the Free State Cheetahs are having a nightmare of a season so far and will be fielding a new captain when the Blue Bulls arrive in Bloemfontein. The visitors have a few big names back in blue for the clash with their old foes and will be champing at the bit twist the knife.
Elsewhere, injury-struck Boland host the Lions in wet Wellington while the Leopards are up against it when 'El Mago' and the Sharks head to Rustenburg.
Fixtures:
Friday, August 7
Griquas v Western Province
Boland Kavaliers v Lions
Leopards v Sharks
Free State Cheetahs v Blue Bulls
Standings:
1 Griquas 19
2 Blue Bulls 14 3 Western Province 13
4 Sharks 135 Lions 11
6 Boland Kavaliers 4 7 Free State Cheetahs 1
8 Leopards 0
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Previews:
Griquas v Western Province
GWK Park, Kimberley
Western Province will be going all out to secure their first victory away from home when they travel to Kimberley on Friday.
While WP's pack has been in impressive form so far, there is one stat that won't escape the attention of their coach Allister Coetzee when they run out on one the hardest surfaces in the country: the Griquas have scored twice as many tries as their Cape Town rivals prompting Coetzee to tag his side as the underdogs.
Not that the Griquas have been playing overly expansive rugby either. Their no frills approach has born fruit - kicking, defending and feeding off turnovers to tally up 22 tries.
Half-backs Naas Olivier and Sarel Pretorius have made life hell for the opposition but it remains to be seen if they have an answer to Willem De Waal's territorial kicks.
Griquas coach Dawie Theron has hardly tampered with the squad that defeated the Lions 23-19 in Johannesburg last Friday. The only change is on the bench where front rower Andries Kruger bumps Simon Westraadt out of the matchday 22.
"At this stage, we are waiting to see what kind of game Western Province will be playing and who they will be using in the backline," said Theron.
"We are facing a running or a kicking game and we hope to be prepared for both on Friday afternoon. We have some tough games at home during the next few weeks, so it's important that we don't lose any momentum at this stage in the competition."
As for the visitors, Coetzee has made three changes to his team. At scrum-half Dewaldt Duvenage is back in place of Conrad Hoffman, who started against the Leopards last weekend.
In the pack, loosehead prop JD Moller moves to the bench to make way for the return of Wickus Blaauw, who was rested, and Chris Jack takes the place of Hilton Lobberts in the second row.
Lock Adriaan Fondse has recovered from his injury sustained in the Super 14 and makes a welcome return to the side, starting off the bench.
Griquas: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Dewald Pretorius/ Egon Seconds, 13 Jaco Bekker, 12 Barry Geel, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Jonathan Mokuena (c), 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Rohan Kitshoff, 5 Jacques Lombard, 4 Brendon Snyman, 3 Ruaan du Preez, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Albertus Buckle.
Replacments: 16 Andries Kruger, 17 Steph Roberts, 18 Heinrich Stride, 19 Sean Plaatjie/ Nolan Clark, 20 Dougie Helmuth, 21 Hanno Coetzee, 22 Gavin Passens.
Western Province: 15 Joe Pietersen,14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Juan De Jongh, 12 Peter Grant, 11 Gio Aplon, 10 Willem De Waal, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Luke Watson (c), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Anton Van Zyl, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JD Moller, 18 Adriaan Fondse, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Morgan Newman, 22 Frikkie Welsh
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Joubert
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Boland v Lions
Boland Stadium, Wellington
With just a single win this season - against the Leopards- Boland are desperate to rack up a few points and will looking to use their home ground to their advantage on Friday.
The Cape has seen plenty of rain in the last two days and many a team has fallen foul of a soggy surface in Wellington. The home side's preparation has however been hampered by a spate of injuries and 'flu.
For the second week in a row that Boland coach Deon Davids has had to ring the changes, making five in total and a positional switch. Luckily for Davids first-choice fly-half Elgar Watts passed a late fitness test after injuring his knee earlier in the week.
With left wing Cornal Hendricks injured, former Valke flyer star Ernie Kruger gets start out wide.
Up front the coach has been forced to change both his flankers. Zolani Mofu was in bed with 'flu for most of the week, while David Hendricks injured a shoulder that will sideline him for eight weeks.
In come former Blue Bulls Vodacom Cup captain Carel Hoffman and Wendal Wehr.
In the front row Jané du Toit moves from loosehead to tighthead where he replaces Jacobie Adriaanse, who is nursing an ankle injury.
Loosehead prop Janro van Niekerk, who was supposed to frustrate the visitors in the scrums, failed his final, desperate fitness test due to an ankle injury he sustained against Griquas in Kimberley two weeks ago.
His place now goes to Matie strongman Johan Roets, who will make the starting line-up for the first time.
"Home matches are vital in the Currie Cup. We had a disastrous result in Kimberley a fortnight ago but improved a lot against the Blue Bulls at the weekend," said Davids.
"Now we need to take a step up. We are playing in front of our home crowd and need to get back on the score board."
Meanwhile, after being upset by the Griquas last week, Lions coach Hans Coetzee has made five changes to his side, four of which are in the backline.
An all-new half-back pairing sees fly-half Ruan Boshoff makes his Currie Cup debut for the Lions outside Jano Vermaak, who returns to the starting line-up after being sidelined with a light concussion. Boshoff replaces the experienced Herkie Kruger who is being rested. The Lions want to see how Boshoff, a former Blue Bulls youngster, will do at this level.
At inside centre Doppies la Grange gets his first start of the season in place of Walter Venter, who also has 'flu, while and Shandre Frolick and Henno Mentz start on the wings.
In the only change to the pack SA Schools lock Johan Snyman replaces Willem Stoltz, who has a neck niggle.
American flanker Todd Clever is back n the bench where he is joined by former UCT centre Pieter Engelbrecht.
Boland Kavaliers: 15 Justin Peach, 14 Deon Scholtz, 13 Hein Myburgh, 12 Dewey Swartbooi, 11 Ernie Kruger, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Alwyn Bester, 7 Carel Hoffman, 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 Rito Hlungwane, 4 Nico Esterhuyse, 3 Jane du Toit, 2 Conrad Burke (c), 1 Johan Roets.
Replacements: 16 Clemen Lewis, 17, 18 Frikkie Spies, 19 Zolani Mofu, 20 Danie van der Merwe, 21 Lionel Cornelius, 22 Llewellyn Adonis.
Lions: 15 Earl Rose, 14 Shandre Frolick, 13 Alwyn Hollenbach, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Henno Mentz, 10 Ruan Boshoff, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Franco van der Merwe, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (c), 5 Johan Snyman, 4 Nico Luus, 3 Gert Muller, 2 Hans van Dyk, 1 JC van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Derek Harwood, 17 Kevin Buys, 18 Wouter Moore, 19 Todd Clever, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Pieter Engelbrecht, 22 Dusty Noble.
Kick-off: 15:30 (13.30 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper
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Leopards v Sharks
Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, Phokeng
From the bright lights of Paris to the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, Juan Martin Hernandez, who has been named in the Sharks' starting line-up, is in for the cultural experience he was looking for when he decided to come to South Africa.
The Leopards are still chasing their first points in the tournament this season but are unlikely to pick up too many against the reigning Currie Cup champs.
The Sharks' crucial win over the Free State Cheetahs last weekend came at a cost, with Odwa Ndungane, Deon Carstens and Rory Kockott all ruled out of this week's match. Hernadez will take over Kockott's kicking duties.
Chris Jordaan will start for Ndungane on the wing while Charl McLeod comes in for Kockott at scrum-half. The new half-back pairing results in twin brothers Guy and Ross Cronje both named on the bench.
Amongst the forwards Keegan Daniel and Jacques Botes swap around to give one game-time and the other a well-deserved break.
In the front row, Wiehahn Herbst replaces Deon Carstens with Pat Cilliers shifting to loosehead to accommodate the U21 player at tighthead. Skipper Badenhorst will start at hooker in a rotational move with Craig Burden.
Two Leopard veterans, former captain André Swanepoel and lock Draad Linde return to the hosts starting XV. Swanepoel will don the Leopards jersey for the 72nd time and Linde is a veteran of 60 games for the North West side.
Linde replaces Ligtoring Landman at lock and joins Rudi Mathee in the second row. It will be Mathee's first opportunity to face the Sharks after leaving the Durban-based outfit last season, which opened the door for Jean Deysel to make his mark in SA rugby. A third change in the Leopards' pack sees Divan Kotze replacing Nardus Lombard at loosehead.
Amongst the backs the only change is at full-back where Russell Jeacocks replaces the unwell Jean Tiedt.
Emerging Springbok prop Philip Lemmer returns to the bench after withdrawing from the Western Province match.
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche (c), 14 Chris Jordaan, 13 Andries Strauss, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Juan Hernandez, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel , 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Albert van den Berg, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Skipper Badenhorst, 1 Patric Cilliers.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Michael Rhodes, 19 Jacques Botes, 20 Ross Cronje,21 Guy Cronje, 22 Waylon Murray
Leopards: 15 Russell Jeacocks, 14 Jovan Bowles, 13 Deon van Rensburg, 12 Berndt Theissinger, 11 Jan van Zyl, 10 Clayton Durand, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 RW Kember, 7 Wilhelm Koch (captain), 6 André Swanepoel, 5 Edrich Linde, 4 Rudi Mathee, 3 Barend van der Walt, 2 Gavin Williamson, 1 Divan Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Marthinus van der Westhuizen, 17 Philip Lemmer, 18 Rynard Landman, 19 Bennie Adams, 20 Theo van Wyk, 21 Bom Samaai, 22 Danie Dames.
Kick-off: 19.00 (17.00 GMT)
Referee: Pro Legoete
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Free State Cheetahs v Blue Bulls
Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Finalists four times in the last five years, the Free State Cheetahs have had awful start to this year's competition. Second last and trailing the leaders by whopping eighteen points, Naka Drotské's men need a result - and fast.
While they'll fancy their chances against the Leopards and Boland in the next two rows, the truth be told they can't wait that long. Unfortunately for the Free State faithful, they have another mountain to climb this weekend.
Hooker Adriaan Strauss will take over the captaincy this week as Hendro Scholtz injured his elbow during last weekend's match against the Sharks. Johan Wessels returns from a leg injury to pack down in Scholtz's place on the side of the scrum while Francois Uys continues at number eight.
Former Bulls scrum-half JP Joubert will get a crack at his old mates as he starts ahead of Tertius Carse.
The Blue Bulls have the luxury of including fit-again loose forwards Deon Stegmann and Pedrie Wannenburg in their run-on side.
Both Stegmann and Wannenburg have been sidelined with injuries and were on the Blue Bulls' bench for the match against the Boland Kavaliers last weekend.
Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has kept the rest of his starting XV unchanged, but Fudge Mabeta has recovered from his ankle injury and will be one of the substitutes.
Much is the intensity expected in the battle up front that the Bulls have named five forwards on their bench, including and entire spare front row.
Francois Hougaard has recovered from his groin injury and will join Burton Francis as the backline replacements.
"It is very important that our forwards are fresh and in the game for the full 80 minutes and therefore it was great to be able to select a five/two bench," said Ludeke.
"We all know that if you control things up front, you control the match and that is obviously one of our goals for Friday's game."
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Danwel Demas, 13 Corné Uys, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Jean-Pierre Joubert, 8 Francois Uys, 7 Frans Viljoen, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 David de Villiers, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Izak van der Westhuizen, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Tertius Carse, 21 Louis Strydom, 22 JW Jonker.
Blue Bulls: 15 Tiger Mangweni, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Marius Delport, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Heini Adams; 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün (c),1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Fudge Mabeta, 19 Dries van Schalkwyk, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Jaco Engels.
Kick-off: 19:10 (17.10G MT)
Referee: Sindile Mayende
