Currie Cup, Round Three - Teams and Predictions

PREVIEW: The showdown between the Bulls and the Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld will headline Round Three’s fixtures in the 2024 Currie Cup season.

Both sides are currently unbeaten with the Cheetahs sitting on top of the standings with 10 points after two bonus point wins over the Griffons and Western Province.

The Bulls are in third spot with nine points. The Lions are also unbeaten with nine points but sit ahead of the Bulls due to their superior points difference.

Friday’s match in Pretoria will be a stern test for the Cheetahs, who are the defending champions and one of the favourites to lift the coveted trophy once again.

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“It’s a very important game for us. We would like to stay on top but it’s going to be a massive challenge,” Cheetahs head coach Izak van der Westhuizen told @rugby365com.

“They [Bulls] have a massive squad and good depth.

“I want to see our pack of forwards stand up. I think we are a proud unit.

“I think the scrums went a bit sideways against WP last weekend and that is something that we are looking to fix.”

Cheetahs loose forward Aidon Davis says the experience in the Bulls squad makes them a powerhouse in this tournament.

“The teams with the bigger squads set aside Currie Cup teams, but they are still quality players,” said Davis.

“If you look at the Bulls’ pack forwards, there are Springboks, there are boys that played a lot of European Cup rugby.”

One of the more notable changes in the Cheetahs team sees Springbok wing Sbu Nkosi drop out of the matchday squad due to personal reasons.

Bulls head coach Phiwe Nomlomo has made minor rotational changes to his side for the clash.

“Cobus [Wiese] is not available for us this week on family grounds and Boeta [Chamberlain] misses out because he was away the weekend before and the short turnaround just did not allow us to integrate him back,” said Nomlomo.

He adds: “It has been a good start for us and we want to keep the consistency going forward.

“We need to keep our focus on the now and not get carried away, so we are all systems go for tomorrow [Friday] against the Cheetahs and then move on from there.

“They [Cheetahs] have been on a good run against us for a while now but tomorrow is not about revenge or anything but an opportunity for us to execute what we have been working on.

“Yes, we take learnings from the past and the game in itself is very important, considering they are one of the unbeaten sides in the competition, so we must look to be on top of our game.

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Meanwhile, the Lions will have a tricky encounter at home against Griquas on Friday.

The men from Kimberley fought back from 7-24 down to upset a strong Sharks team 34-31 last weekend.

The Lions also showed their title credentials with a 75-21 win over the Pumas in Nelspruit.

“Griquas are a very good team. You saw what they did in the SA Cup,” said Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi.

“Pieter Bergh is an exceptional coach. He has done some good work there.

“We have been where the Sharks were – last year we went to Kimberley and lost in the last minute.

“Griquas are an exceptional team. They’ve got some handy players there.”

Friday’s final game will see the winless Sharks up against the Pumas at Kings Park.

JP Pietersen’s side will be without their Boks this week and they will be desperate to get a win under their belts.

However, the Pumas will be hurting after that embarrassing defeat to the Lions last weekend.

“We had two opportunities to finish off the game and we didn’t take those,” Pietersen told @rugby36com when asked about what his team needed to work on after that defeat to Griquas.

“We have to give credit to Griquas for putting us under pressure.

“What we have been working on is just the balance. The balance of playing and the balance of game management.

“That was the chat this week. How can we control things better when we are in the cycle of not going forward or going backwards and how can we transfer pressure”

The weekend’s action will end on Sunday with a match between the Griffons and Western Province in Welkom.

Both teams are still without a win in the tournament and they occupy the bottom two spots in the standings.

Fullback Clayton Blommetjies makes his return from injury.

There will also be Western Province debuts for wing Jared Africa, centre Jonathan Roche, props Mhleli Khuzwayo and Nicolas Roebeck and lock Andre Goehals.

The bulk of the debutants have shown their worth for Western Province Under-21 and will be eager to make an impression for the senior team in Welkom.

Director of Rugby John Dobson said that there is a good blend of youth and experience in the team.

“While we have a few young players getting an opportunity, there are also some wise older heads in the matchday squad that will provide crucial guidance.

“It is also great to see more local club players getting like Nicolas Roebeck coming through and credit must go to Jerome Paarwater for his work in identifying more promising talent.

“The trip to Welkom will be a good experience for everyone involved and we know it will have to be a focused 80-minute performance if we are to get the result we are looking for,” he said.

See below for this weekend’s teams and predictions!

Friday, July 19:

Lions v Griquas
(Ellis Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Lions by 15 points.

Teams:

Lions: 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Rabs Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Kelly Mpeku, 10 Sam Francis, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Ruhan Straeuli, 7 Sibabalo Qoma, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Raynard Roets, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Jaco Visagie (captain), 1 Morgan Naudé.
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 Conrad van Vuuren, 19 Luca Ribbens, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Zander du Plessis, 23 Bronson Mills.

Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Marcqiewn Titus, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Sako Makata, 10 Lubabalo Dobela, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Hanru Sirgel (captain), 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Carl Els, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Athenkosi Khetani, 3 Janu Botha, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Leon Lyons.
Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Derik Pretorius, 21 Stephan Smit, 22 Bobby Alexander, 23 Zinedine Robinson.

Referee: Griffin Colby
Assistant referees: Local
TMO: Christie du Preez

Bulls v Cheetahs
(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria – Kick-off: 17.00; 15.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Bulls by seven points.

Teams:

Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Henry Immelman, 13 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 12 Chris Barend Smit, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Bernard van der Linde, 8 Celimpilo Gumede, 7 Merwe Olivier, 6 Nizaam Carr (captain), 5 Jannes Kirsten, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Joe van Zyl, 1 Dylan Smith.
Replacements: 16 Juann Else, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Abulele Ndabambi, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Cornal Hendricks.

Cheetahs: 15 Litha Nkula, 14 Cohen Jasper, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 Ethan Wentzel, 9 Marko Jansen van Vuren, 8 Oupa Mohoje, 7 Aidon Davis, 6 Jeandrè Rudolph, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuuren, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Neels Volschenk, 22 Jandrè Nel, 23 Reinhardt Fortuin.

Referee: Sean Muller
Assistant referees: Local
TMO: Egon Seconds

Sharks v Pumas
(Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 19.00; 17.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Sharks by three points.

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Muller du Plessis, 12 Alwayno Visagie, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Jannes Potgieter, 6 Siya Ningiza, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Reinier Viljoen, 3 IG Prinsloo, 2 Daniel Jooste, 1 Abraham Reyneke.
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Meno Barnard, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Tiaan Fourie, 23 Jaco Williams.

Pumas: 15 Stefan Coetzee, 14 Darren Adonis, 13 De-an Ackermann, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Phiko Sobahle, 10 Danrich Visagie, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Kwanda Dimaza, 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Ntsika Fisanti, 5 Deon Slabbert, 4 Jeandre Leonard, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Eduan Swart (captain), 1 Etienne Janeke.
Replacements: 16 Darnell Osuagwu, 17 Stephan de Jager, 18 Dewald Maritz, 19 Malembe Mpofu, 20 Andre Fouche, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Wian van Niekerk, 23 Lundi Msenge.

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
Assistant referees: Local
TMO: Paul Mente

Sunday, July 21:

Griffons v Western Province
(North West Stadium, Welkom – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Western Province by 10 points.

Teams:

Griffons: 15 Gurshwin Wehr, 14 Christiaan Nel, 13 Keanu Vers, 12 Robbie Petzer, 11 Qamani Kota, 10 Kyle Cyster, 9 Keegan Schaefer, 8 Mingo Piti, 7 Jared Kruger, 6 Thato Mavundla (captain), 5 Curtly Thomas, 4 Rian Olivier, 3 Moango Ngundue, 2 Chadley Wenn, 1 Mthokozisi Gumede.
Replacements: 16 Willem van der Hever, 17 Simon Westraadt, 18 Buhle Nojekwa, 19 Joshua Paris, 20 Matthew Gray, 21 Orateng Koikanyang, 22 Cheslin Arendse, 23 Gilroy Philander.

Western Province: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Jared Africa, 13 Luke Burger, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 7 Louw Nel, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Hendre Stassen, 3 Vernon Matongo, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Mhleli Khuzwayo.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Nicolas Roebeck, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 Andre Goehals, 20 CJ Velleman, 21 Labib Kannemeyer, 22 Damian Markus, 23 Courtnall Skosan.

Referee: Hanru van Rooyen
Assistant referees: Local
TMO: Egon Seconds