Currie Cup, Round Five - Teams and Predictions

SATURDAY & SUNDAY PREVIEW: Round Five of the Currie Cup has the potential for the real contenders to step up.

On Saturday, the Cheetahs welcome the Lions to Bloemfontein for their encounter, and the Bulls host Griquas at Grizzly Park in Pretoria on Sunday.

Saturday’s lone fixture between the Cheetahs and Lions sees two competitive sides going toe-to-toe against each other. The Free Staters lead the standings on 16 league points, while the men from Johannesburg are third on 15 points.

Since losing their opening-round fixture in Wellington against Boland, Frans Steyn’s Cheetahs have recovered well to win three games on the bounce, including last weekend’s nail-biting 31-24 triumph over WP.

The Lions edged Pumas last week by a point, while their only loss to date has gone the way of in-form Boland (29-10 in Wellington).

Jandre Nel has scored four tries so far, the most by a Cheetah player, while Rabz Maxwane have collected three tries in four games for the Lions.

The Lions have won all three previous encounters in this fixture with the Cheetahs, including last September’s exciting 43-34 triumph at Ellis Park, which followed on two away victories in Bloemfontein. The last time the Free Staters were victorious over the Lions was in April 2023 in Johannesburg, by 52-15.

The Cheetahs will be desperate to snap their three-match losing streak against the Lions and assistant coach Ruan Pienaar is eager to see his charges turn opportunities into points.

“It’s a tough one.

“They’ve played some brilliant rugby over the last number of weeks. Like always, we are excited to play at home and hopefully we can improve on our last performance.

“There’s no doubt it’s going to be another proper battle. One of our biggest focus areas has been making sure we turn our entries into points,” Pienaar told reports earlier in the week.

*Article continues below…

“I think we also need to play in the right areas, and our kicking game can always improve as well. In all our games, we’ve had quite a few 22-metre entries, but we haven’t converted most of them into points.

“That’s something we were a lot better at towards the end of the SA Cup, so it’s been a big focus.

“Defensively, there’s always room for improvement. Against Western Province last week, our discipline in the second half let us down.

“So, there’s still a lot to work on, but also a lot that we’ve already improved. Hopefully, we can keep building on that.

“We’ll definitely have to be at our best,” the coach said.

Cohen Jasper was at the heart of the Toyota Cheetahs’ charge to the top of the Carling #CurrieCup log.#WhereChampionsRise | #PremierRugbyRealPassion pic.twitter.com/Er5ceY04KA

— The Carling Currie Cup (@TheCurrieCup) August 20, 2025

In Sunday’s last fixture of the round, the sixth-placed Bulls will be hoping to break a two-game losing streak when they host fourth-placed Griquas at Grizzly Park, home of the Tuine Rugby Club, in Daspoort.

Since going down to Griquas in June 2022, the Bulls have won three games on the bounce against their visitors this weekend.

Phiwe Nomlomu’s team opened their 2025 campaign with wins over WP (48-23) and the Sharks XV (64-0), but then suffered defeats to the Pumas (41-7) in Pretoria and away to Boland last weekend (28-20).

In contrast, Pieter Bergh’s side from Kimberley have strung together a run of three home wins since losing 49-28 away to Pumas in round one, and they will be keen to claim a first win on the road this season.

Victory to the Peacock Blues would secure them a place in the semifinals but they can expect a strong response from the Bulls, who lost their last two games.

“We know how important this match is, and we’re actually looking forward to playing away from home. It’ll be something different playing at the Tuine-Grizzlies Rugby Club which is a new venue and a new environment.

“We’ve played on club fields before. So, it’s nothing new for us. We’re excited about it.

“It’s going to be tough, but we want to set the record straight, improve on a few things, and get the win. We’ll need to be at our very best this weekend.”

Injury concerns for the Bulls loom large, with both flyhalves ruled out during the match, forcing the team to rethink its options ahead of a crucial home fixture. “We’re going to have to see what we look like going into next week in terms of what we have from a medical and contact perspective,” he explained.

Despite the setback, Nomlomo remains steadfast in his belief in the team’s process and potential. “Our process is quite strong,” he said. “It’s not unique where we are, but we’re going to have to rise. Our fate is still in our hands, which is a beautiful place to be.”

Nomlomo stressed how vital it would be for the Bulls to improve not only their discipline but also their composure when opportunities arise.

*Article continues below…

“We have the ability to match any team on our day,” he said. “But to achieve the results we want, we must be sharper, more clinical, and manage the game better, especially when we’re in attacking positions.”

With a crucial home match coming up, the Bulls have little time to reflect on the loss before turning their attention to recovery and preparation. Nomlomo remains confident that, with the right adjustments, his team can bounce back stronger.

“The most important thing for us is this weekend. We can’t look past this weekend. We are going to give it our all,” Lomlomo concluded.

Saturday, August 23

Cheetahs vs Lions
(Free State Stadium; Bloemfontein – Kick-off: 14.00; 12.00 GMT)

Prediction: 

@rugby365: Lions by seven points

Teams:

Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12 Ali Mgjijima, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 Franco Smith, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Neels Volschenk, 7 Mihlali Mosi, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Juan Venter, 3 Frankie dos Reis, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Cameron Dawson
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Hencus van Wyk, 18 Ben Pitout, 19 Thabang Mahlase, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Jandre Nel, 22 Banie Britz, 23 Michael Annies

Lions:15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Kelly Mpeku, 10 Lubabalo Dobela, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Darrien Landsberg (captain), 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Morne Brandon, 1 Juan Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Sam Francis, 23 Tapiwa Mafura

Referee: Dylen November
Assistant Referees: Paul Mente, Daniel Canhenga
TMO: Ben Crouse

Bulls v Griquas
(Grizzly Park, Pretoria – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT)

Prediction:

@rugby365: Griquas by three points

Teams:

Bulls:15 Stravino Jacobs, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Katlego Letebele, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Zak Burger, 8 JJ Theron, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Nama Xaba (captain), 5 Dylan de Leeuw, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Jean Erasmus, 2 Esethu Mnebelele, 1 Ruan Swart
Replacements: 16 Shaun Schurmann,l 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Bryan le Roux, 19 Josh Strauss, 20 Marco Ferreira, 21 Brooklyn Newman, 22 Liam Koen, 23 PA van Niekerk

Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombi Zwelenedaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Caleb Abrahams, 8 Carl Els, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Derik Pretorius, 2 Cebo Dlamini (captain), 2 Janco Uys, 1 Eddie Davids
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Ig Prinsloo, 19 Athenkosi Khethani, 20 Phumzile Maqondwana, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Tom Nel, Connor Mahoney

Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant Referees: Christopher Allison, Hernus Coetzee
TMO: Cwengile Jadezweni