Currie Cup, Round Two - teams and predictions

PREVIEW: The defending champion Sharks and the giant-killing Boland Cavaliers are being thrust straight back into the Currie Cup spotlight.

If last week’s dramatic opening weekend was anything to go by, we are in for another wild ride!

Saturday’s first match at Ellis Park sees a Lions team, brimming with confidence, host a very youthful Western Province.

The Johannesburg-based side made a strong statement in the opening round, dismantling the Sharks by 41 points, while Province fell short against the Bulls in Cape Town.

Those results have a big bearing on the next match, 50-odd kilometres up the N1 to Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where Bulls and Sharks go head-to-head.

These two have produced some memorable clashes over the years, including last year’s epic semifinal, which ended 40-all after regular time, before the Sharks sneaked an extra-time winner.

However, based on last week’s dominant performance in Cape Town and their roster, the Pretoria outfit will be favourites, while the Durbanites will need a marked improvement to be competitive on Saturday at Loftus.

Sunday’s fixture in Kimberley sees the giant-killing Boland Cavaliers team tackle an unpredictable Griquas.

Boland coach Hawies Fourie will hope for a repeat of last week’s heroics against the Cheetahs.

The main match of the weekend is in the administrative capital, Pretoria, where the Sharks will again feature a team that borders on an age-group selection.

Another loss will be a massive blow to their prospects of retaining the title.

Currie Cup coach JP Pietersen described some aspects of the Sharks’ performance last week as ‘average’, adding that the youngsters must remain “in the system for as long as possible”.

Unlike 2024, when the Durban-based outfit also struggled in the early stages, this year they won’t have the luxury of calling up Springboks and senior United Rugby Championship campaigners.

With a single round, revamped competition, the opportunities to revive their season are limited.

“Last week [in the loss to the Lions] the caps in the team were just over 100,” Pietersen told @rugby365com.

“There is just not enough experience and game time in the group, making it a tall order.

“We have fight and good players in the group,” he said, adding: “We need time, taking it day by day, and we already saw improvement from last week’s training to this week.”

The coach hopes the introduction of successful Baby Boks Jaco Williams, Simphiwe Ngobese, Matt Romao and Simphiwe Moyo will add another layer of depth to a team lacking proficiency.

“The Baby Boks stepped up and contributed to an improvement in training this week.”

Bulls assistant coach James Winstanley said they are ‘privileged’ to be able to call up Scotland international Jaco van der Walt at flyhalf, with Boeta Chamberlain shifted to fullback in place of the injured Henry Immelman.

Despite last week’s blowout against the Lions in Johannesburg, the Bulls’ assistant believes the Sharks remain a serious threat at will be a different prospect in Round Two.

“They have many ‘reference points’ to improve,” he said, adding that the Sharks had ‘limited time’ to prepare.

“There are real strengths to their game.

“Their line-out contest is a real theme; they put a lot of pressure on the breakdown, and their kicking game is excellent.”

(Continue below …)

* Western Province is another team relying heavily on age-group players, an approach that cost them dearly in Round One.

Dewaldt Duvenage, the WP backline coach, said it was always going to be a challenge in the opening week, with some many different players coming together at short notice.

“There were signs, on attack, that there are positive things we can take forward,” the former scrumhalf, turned coach, said.

“We thrive on the opportunities we get from our organised chaos, but there are a lot of work-ons” he added.

Duvenhage was not beating around the Bush about the team’s obvious challenges in the set piece, which cost them dearly against the Bulls and will again be an issue at Ellis Park.

“The main issue was a lack of discipline and our set pieces, which were not functioning as we wanted.

“It is a good thing that it was all under the microscope in the first game.

“We have made some plans and are looking forward to [facing] the Lions.”

He added that without quality possession, they can’t play Province rugby, a high-tempo game.

Keeping his cards close to his chest, he said they have a “spring in their step” in the build-up to the Ellis Park trip.

* On Sunday, the Boland Cavaliers will field an unchanged match-day 23 for their encounter against Griquas in Kimberley.

Fresh off a thrilling 37-35 home victory over the Cheetahs in Wellington – a match that was decided after 88 pulsating minutes, coach Hawies Fourie has opted for continuity as his side looks to build momentum in the country’s elite provincial competition.

“We were fortunate not to suffer any serious injuries,” Fourie said.

That, however, excludes experienced but new scrumhalf, Louis Schreurder, who is still not available for selection due to an ankle injury suffered last week during a training session.

Despite the emotional high of the Cheetahs’ win, claimed in front of a large and vociferous home crowd at the Boland Stadium, Fourie remains grounded and is demanding improvement.

“There’s still a lot we need to sharpen up on.

“We struggled in the scrums in the second half and made a few handling errors and mistakes at the rucks,” he added.

“We’ve worked hard this week, and I believe we’ll be better on Sunday.”

Facing a well-coached and dangerous Griquas side at home presents a formidable test for the men from Wellington.

“They’ve got a proper team with exciting backs, and they play at a high tempo.

“If you look at the SA Cup clash between Boland and Griquas earlier this year, we’re expecting a fast-paced game with plenty of tries. It’s going to be exciting for the fans and we’re looking forward to it,” concluded Fourie

All the Saturday and Sunday teams and predictions follow below …

Saturday, August 2

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

Prediction

@rugby365com: Lions by 11 points

Teams

Lions: 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Lubabalo Dobela, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 WJ Steenkamp, 7 Jarod Cairns, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Raynard Roets, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Jaco Visagie (captain), 1 Morgan Naude.
Replacements: 16 Marno Grobbelaar, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 Heiko Pohlmann, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Kade Wolhuter, 23 Kelly Mpeku.

Western Province: 15 Shilton van Wyk, 14 Sako Makata, 13 Luke Burger, 12 Damian Markus, 11 Jared Africa, 10 Kyle Smith, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Louw Nel, 7 Gideon van Wyk, 6 Zain Davids (captain), 5 Gary Porter, 4 Alex Groves, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 18 Arno Gustafson, 19 Andre Goedhals, 20 Erhard Lambrecht, 21 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 22 Gino Cupido, 23 Tristan Leyds.

Referee: Christopher Allison
Assistant referees: Stephan Geldenhuys, Paul Mente
TMO: Archie Sehlako

Bulls v Sharks
(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria – Kick-off: 17.10; 15.10 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Bulls by eight points

Teams

Bulls: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Chris Barend Smit, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Nama Xaba (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Juann Else, 1 Dylan Smith.
Replacements: 16 Esethu Mnebelele, 17 Ruan Swart, 18 Jean Erasmus, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 JJ Theron, 21 Steven Nel, 22 PA van Niekerk, 23 Cornel Smit.

Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Phiko Sobahle, 13 Litelihle Bester, 12 Janco Purchase, 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Jean Smith, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Jannes Potgieter, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Deon Slabbert, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Bryce Calvert, 1 Phatu Ganyane.
Replacements: 16 Jacques Marais, 17 Simphiwe Ngobese, 18 Dian Heunis, 19 Gideon Koegelenberg, 20 Matt Ramao, 21 Ceano Everson , 22 Vusi Moyo, 23 Albie Bester.

Referee: Sean Muller
Assistant referees: Dylen November, Lulutho Matomela
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen

Sunday, August 3

Griquas v Boland Cavaliers
(Griqua Park, Kimberley – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Cavaliers by five points

Teams

Griquas: 15 Connor Mahoney, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Gurshwin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Caleb Abrahams, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Carl Els, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Cebo Dlamini, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Eddie Davids.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Ig Prinsloo, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Marco de Wit, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Tom Nel, 23 Cameron Hufke.

Boland Cavaliers: 15 James Tedder, 14 Marcqiewn Titus, 13 David Brits, 12 Lunathi Nxele, 11 Donavan Don, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Chriswill September, 8 Sibusiso Sangweni, 7 Khwezi Mafu, 6 Gift Dlamini, 5 Marlyn Williams (captain), 4 Michael Benadie, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Wayrin Losper.
Replacements: 16 HP van Schoor, 17 Lamla Nunu, 18 Laurence Victor, 19 Ameer Hendricks, 20 Thurlow Marsh, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Juan Mostert, 23 Xavier Mitchell.

Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant referees: Hanru van Rooyen, Daniel Canhenga
TMO: Cwengile Jadezweni

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* Additional reporting: Boland media department