Preview: Vodacom Cup, Round Seven

All eyes will be on Diamantveld High School in Kimberley on Saturday, when the only two unbeaten teams left in the South Section of the Vodacom Cup clash in a replay of the 2012 Final.

Griquas, the defending champions, host Western Province in a highly-anticipated clash at Diamantveld.

Both these sides are unbeaten after four matches and their performances have been very similar thus far, with a points difference of 69 for the visitors from Cape Town and 70 for the home team.

Western Province top the South Section log on 19 points though, with Griquas second on 18.

The high-flying SWD Eagles will be looking to for their first away win of the season after already beating the Sharks XV and Free State XV in George when they travel up the N2 to take on the EP Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natalians, at home in Empangeni to the Boland Cavaliers on Saturday, will be looking to reverse a three-match losing streak when they travel north up the coast.

In the North Section, the Golden Lions will retake the lead at the top of the standings if they can beat the Leopards XV at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Current log leaders, the Blue Bulls, have a bye and can slip back to third position if the Pumas record a convincing victory over the Falcons at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Friday.

This week, we're looking at former South African Under-20 speedster Sergeal Petersen, who is now with the Free State XV after making his mark for the EP Kings, and Golden Lions loose forward Ruaan Lerm.

Rising Star #13 – Sergeal Petersen (Free State XV)

To call Sergeal Petersen a try-scoring machine would not be amiss as this young flyer from the Free State continues to rack up the five-pointers since swapping Port Elizabeth for Bloemfontein.

Considering that he is not yet 21, it's amazing to think that Petersen has been on the lips of rugby supporters in South Africa for a three seasons already.

He first shot to prominence when he scored two tries in the first-ever Super Rugby match for the Southern Kings, way back in 2013 as an 18-year-old, fresh from completing high-school less than three months earlier.

Petersen ended up with four tries in eight Super Rugby matches before he even turned 19 and was one of the Kings' heroes in 2013.

At 1.71m tall and weighing in at around 84kg, Petersen makes up for his lack in size with lightning quick feet and speed to burn. He also knows his way to the try-line as he showed for the Junior Springboks last year, when he scored three tries in the Junior World Championships in New Zealand.

Due to untimely injuries, he's had limited time at Currie Cup level, but last year he was back to his best and in the U21 Provincial Competition and amassed seven tries for EP.

At the end of last season, Petersen made a move to the Free State after he had represented Eastern Province at every level from Under-13 up. He also played SA Schools in 2012, his final year at Grey high School in Port Elizabeth, where he scored three tries in as many games in the Green and Gold.

Petersen made his debut for the Free State XV two round ago when they beat the Sharks XV in Kokstad and last weekend, in his second match for his new province, the speedster showed his new home crowd in Bloemfontein what he is capable of when he scored twice against his former team-mates from the Bay.

Rising Star #14 – Ruaan Lerm (Golden Lions)

The 23-year-old Golden Lions loose forward Ruaan Lerm is somewhat of a veteran in Vodacom Cup terms, having amassed 21 caps for the Golden Lions in the last four seasons.

He made his senior debut in 2012, less than two years after finishing school at EG Jansen in Boksburg, from where he represented the Falcons at U16 and U18 levels.

Lerm is a solid and mobile loose forward – he stands 1.90m tall and weighs in at 103kg – who can shift around in the back row between openside flank and No 8.

This year, Lerm started with a bang and scored three tries in the opening round for the unbeaten Golden Lions. He's played in four of their five matches, either at openside flank or No 8, and has a total of four tries this season.

Last year, Lerm's five Vodacom Cup tries were the most for the team from Johannesburg as they went all the way to the final, missing out on only one match during the season.

With an abundance of loose forwards in Johannesburg, Lerm went to Griquas on loan last year, where he made eight appearances in the Currie Cup Premier Division – his first taste of rugby at that level after being part of the Golden Lions' U19 and U21 squads between 2011 and 2013.

He has since had a brief introduction to Vodacom Super Rugby, making his debut off the bench earlier this season when the Emirates Lions travelled to Durban to take on the Sharks, but the impressive Lerm is sure to get another opportunity at this level sooner rather than later.

Round Seven fixtures:

Friday, April 24

Pumas v Falcons

Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

Kick-off: 19.00

Referee: Archie Sehlako

Border Bulldogs v Free State XV

Venue: BCM Stadium, East London

Kick-off: 19.00

Referee: Rodney Boneparte

Saturday, April 25

Golden Lions v Leopards XV

Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Kick-off: 14.30

Referee: Jaco Pretorius

Griffons v Limpopo Blue Bulls

Venue: Northwest Stadium, Welkom

Kick-off: 15.00

Referee: Ricus van der Hoven

Griquas v Western Province

Venue: Diamantveld High School, Kimberley

Kick-off: 15.00

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

EP Kings v SWD Eagles

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Kick-off: 15.00

Referee: Tahla Ntshakaza

Sharks XV v Boland Cavaliers

Venue: Empangeni

Kick-off: 15.30

Referee: Lourens van der Merwe

Byes: Blue Bulls, Welwitschias

Source: @bokrugby