Currie Cup Round Three - Teams and predictions
SATURDAY & SUNDAY PREVIEW: The Bulls and Lions will head into Round Three of the Currie Cup with their tails up and will hope to keep their momentum going in their respective matches.
The table-topping Bulls face the Pumas at Loftus Versfeld after coming off two big wins against Western Province and the Sharks.
The Pumas suffered their first loss of the season to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and will be desperate to get back on the horse against a Bulls outfit that looks nearly unstoppable at the moment.
Bulls assistant coaches James Winstanley and Josh Strauss said the Pumas will provide the Bulls a fierce contest, and they will arrive at Loftus Versfeld to prove a point.
The article continues below…
“We’re anticipating a fierce set-piece contest. They are a well-oiled team,” Winstanley said.
“They’ve been proficient for several years and have great cohesion and continuity with a clear DNA that works for them.
“They’ll be disappointed with last week. For us, it’s a first opportunity against a much older and experienced SA Cup qualifier.
“We foresee a difficult game ahead of us on Saturday.”
Strauss added: “In terms of the challenge, they are a more cohesive side. They’ve been together for a long time.
“The first two games we’ve played teams that probably had the same amount of time [together] that we had as a squad.
“The Pumas had a disappointing match against the Cheetahs, so they’ll come for us and try to prove a point.
“But we are ready for it, we prepared well and will take the game as it comes.”
In the following clash, the Sharks welcome the Cheetahs to Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.
The defending champions will be eager to secure a win over their inland rivals and move up the standings after suffering two heavy losses against the Lions and Bulls, respectively.
The Cheetahs bounced back strongly against the Pumas last Friday with scrumhalf Jandré Nel dotting down four times and earning the Player of the Match award.
Cheetahs Director of Rugby Frans Steyn said, despite the Sharks’ woeful record thus far in the Currie Cup, he is worried about the amount of talent in their team and the desperation factor that could play a role.
The article continues below…
“We all know rugby by now, so I don’t think it’s going to be easy.
“We need to stick to our goals we want to achieve, and hopefully that will work for us.
“I’m worried about this weekend. They’ve [the Sharks] got a lot of talent in their squad, so we’ll need to have our ducks in a row.”
Steyn added: “We know how we as South Africans are when we are down and things are not going our way, so we’ll have to pitch up.
“We’ll need to start well and be there for 80 minutes.
Sharks head coach JP Pietersen said that they did a self-reflection and a chat with United Rugby Championship head coach John Plumtree and Director of Rugby Neil Powell.
The article continues below…
“It’s been a week where we reflected on ourselves. The boys are disappointed.
“There’s not much more you can say as a coach, but be positive and try to help lift them up.
“There are still a couple of games in the competition, and we only have two games behind us.
“The nice thing is that they [the players] responded well. We had a good Monday where we spoke openly and honestly, where they spoke about how they can fix things.
“There was a bit of a chat from Plum [John Plumtree] also, who came in to talk to some of the boys.
“Neil [Powell] also spoke to the players and said that it’s part of the process of what we’re [busy] doing.
“Yes, it’s not working now, but you never know, it might work this weekend. That was good from them to chat to the players.”
Junior Springbok flyhalf Vusi Moyo will make his starting Currie Cup debut alongside vice-captain and scrumhalf Bradley Davids. Pietersen said that it’s not just rotation, but they are also experimenting to see what works for the team.
The article continues below…
“We’re trying a combination with Brad [Bradley Davids] and [Vusi] Moyo with Jean [Smith] and Ceano [Everson] coming off the bench.
“We want to see if they can ignite the team and give us more of an attacking platform or something that can spark the team.
“We don’t have a lot of time and much of a pre-season, so we have a short time to find solutions and try out combinations.”
On Sunday, Currie Cup returnees Boland hosts the in-form Lions in Wellington following their narrow loss to Griquas in an entertaining clash in Kimberley.
The Bolanders have been impressive thus far, stunning the Cheetahs in the last minute through a try by BlitzBok Donovan Don and pushing Griquas all the way last week while playing an entertaining and exciting brand.
Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi said that his side won’t be complacent heading into this clash and that Boland has been impressive thus far during the season.
The article continues below…
“It’s a mouthwatering contest. Boland has been incredibly competitive.
“If you look at the SA Cup and the first two [Currie Cup] rounds, where they pushed Griquas all the way and got an impressive win over the Cheetahs, who are also an impressive outfit.
“The message for us is that there’s no way that we can be complacent, notwithstanding the last two wins.
“We must look forward to it, and there isn’t much complacency from our side, and it shows in training.
“They [Boland Cavaliers] can expect a fired-up team coming from Johannesburg.”
Nkosi added: “Boland are fresh from a loss, but there was very little in it.
“At one stage, they were 12 or 14 points ahead against Griquas, and it was an away game in any case.
“More than anything, they would’ve taken a lot of positives from that performance and their win against the Cheetahs.
“They’ll be primed to be back at home and play against us.”
Boland Cavaliers assistant coach Jacquin Jansen highlighted key areas of his side that they focused on during the week, especially the set-piece battle.
“We focused this week on ball retention and worked on our counterattacking game.
“We also emphasised our kicking game. If we can master that, we can put the Lions under pressure.
“Our set-piece will also be vital for us. We want to achieve 100 percent in that department.
“It wasn’t bad against Griquas. We won all our line-outs and all our scrum feeds and one or two on their feed, where we conceded a couple of penalties.
“We want to keep our penalty count low against the Lions, which will be vital for us.”
The article continues below…
Saturday, August 9
Bulls v Pumas
(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365com: Bulls by 20 points
Teams:
Bulls: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Katlego Letebele, 13 Cornel Smit, 12 Chris Smit, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Zak Burger (captain), 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 JJ Theron, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Jean Erasmus, 2 Juann Else, 1 Dylan Smith
Replacements: 16 Esethu Mnebelele, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Casper Badenhorst, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Dylan de Leeuw, 21 Marco Ferreira, 22 Daimon O’Connel, 23 PA van Niekerk
Pumas: 15 Tino Swanepoel, 14 Stefan Coetzee, 13 Sango Xamlashle, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Darren Adonis, 10 Danrich Visagie, 9 Ross Braude (vice-captain), 8 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Ntsika Fisante, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Etienne Janeke
Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Zuki Sali, 18 Dewald Maritz, 19 Hanno Theunissen, 20 Andre Fouché, 21 Russwell Fredericks, 22 Tiaan Pretorius , 23 Dalvon Blood
Referee: Morne Ferreira
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Excellent Mnkomo
TMO: Archie Moko
Sharks v Cheetahs
(Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium, Clermont – Kick-off: 17.10; 15.10 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365com: Cheetahs by 18 points
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Jaco Williams, 14 Phiko Sobahle, 13 Diego Appollis, 12 Marnus Potgieter, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Matt Ramao, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Corne Rahl, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Jacques Marais, 1 Phatu Ganyane.
Replacements: 16 Willem van den Hever, 17 Simphiwe Ngobese, 18 Dian Heunis, 19 Coetzee le Roux, 20 Jannes Potgieter, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Albie Bester.
Cheetahs: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Ntokozo Makhaza, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12 Franco Smith, 11 Banie Britz, 10 Clayton Blommetjies, 9 Jandre Nel, 8 Neels Volschenk, 7 Sisonke Vumazonke, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Juan Venter, 3 Frankie Dos Reis, 2 Vernon Paulo, 1 Cameron Dawson
Replacements: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Hencus van Wyk, 18 Aranos Coetzee, 19 Thabang Mahlase, 20 Gideon van der Merwe, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Ali Mgijima, 23 Ethan Wentzel
Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant referees: Paul Mente, Phumzile Mbewu
TMO: Egon Seconds
Sunday, August 10
Boland Cavaliers v Lions
(Boland Stadium, Wellington – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365com: Lions by 15 points
Teams:
Boland Cavaliers: 15 James Tedder, 14 Donavan Don, 13 David Brits, 12 Lunathi Nxele, 11 Xavier Mitchell, 10 Ashlon Davids (vice-captain), 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Thurlow Marsh, 7 Ludio Williams, 6 Sauliegh Arendse, 5 Marlyn Williams (captain), 4 Michael Benadie, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Wayrin Losper
Replacements: 16 HP van Schoor, 17 Mthokozisi Gumede, 18 Laurence Victor, 19 Ameer Hendricks, 20 Khwezi Mafu, 21 Chriswill September, 22 Juan Mostert, 23 Erik Lambrecht
Lions: 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Kelly Mpeku, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 WJ Steenkamp, 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Raynard Roets, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Jaco Visagie (captain), 1 SJ Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Stian de Bruyn, 19 Johndre Stopforth, 20 Luca Ribbens, 21 Renzo du Plessis, 22 Layton Horn, 23 Bronson Mills
Referee: Maruis van der Westhuizen
Assistant referees: Dylan November, Zoe Naude
TMO: Cwengile Jadezweni
