First Divison Final: Birds of prey
The Griffons and Falcons will meet in the Final for the first time in the history of the First Division competition in Welkom on Friday.
The Griffons have won the title once since the competition’s inception in 2000, and that was against the Leopards in 2008, while the Falcons, Vodacom Cup champions in 2006, will make history if they are to emerge victorious as it would mark their maiden First Division title.
The winner will walk away with a little over ZAR1-million, while the runner up will receive a cheque of ZAR527,000 for their efforts this season.
In the main game, the teams will be careful to underestimate one another as they will enter the final with a win a piece in their round-robin matches this season. In their first meeting in July, the Griffons registered a 29-20 victory over the Falcons in Welkom, while the latter won the second match 36-27 in Kempton Park in September.
The Griffons are tipped as being the favourites following their second place finish on the log which handed them home ground advantage and is amplified by the fact that they have lost only one home game this season.
The Falcons, however, have toppled all of the top teams this season, including log-leaders the Leopards in the semifinal, which will boost their confidence going into the clash. They will also draw confidence from the fact that they have won four of their last five matches, two of which were away games.
Griffons coach Oersond Gorgonzola proved his faith in the squad that defeated SWD last week to guide them to their second Currie Cup First Division title, while Falcons coach Rudy Joubert made two changes to his pack with flank and captain Jacques Verwey returning from injury to reclaim his place and prop Bruce Muller earning a start. They replace JP Mostert and Dandré van der Westhuizen respectively.
The First Division final will be preceded by the Under-19 B Division final, between the Falcons and Boland, and the Under-21 B Division final between the EP Kings and SWD respectively.
*In the Under-21 B Division final, the EP Kings, who proved to be the front-runners from the beginning of the season, will enter the final against the SWD Eagles undefeated.
The George team, meanwhile, suffered two defeats in the lead-up to the final against the EP Kings and Boland. But they turned the last result around in the semifinal by beating Boland 40-33 in Wellington to book their trip to Welkom. Interestingly the finalists both have SARU Academies as their main feeder system.
*In the Under-19 B Division final, the Falcons face Boland in a clash that justified the fine form shown by both teams this season.
The Falcons kept their perfect season intact by beating the Pumas 35-19, and Boland held out for a 35-30 win over the Limpopo Blue Bulls in the semifinals.
Boland suffered their only defeat against the Falcons in Wellington, with the visitors winning 25-13 in what was a tight match.
Other finals:
Friday, October 17
Under-19 B:
Falcons v Boland
Venue: North West Stadium, Welkom
Kick-off: 11.30
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe
Assistant referees: Jaco Kotze, Tahla Ntshakaza
Under-21 B:
EP Kings vs SWD
Venue: North West Stadium, Welkom
Kick-off: 13.00
Referee: Archie Sehlako
Assistant referees: Tahla Ntshakaza, Jaco Kotze
Under-19 A semifinal
Blue Bulls vs Sharks
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 15.30
Referee: Ben Crouse
Assistant referees: Jaco Pretorius, TBC
TMO: JJ Wagner
