Hits & Misses: Young stars on Bok radar impress, Bulls' horror start
OPINION: Round Three of the Currie Cup Premier Division had derbies, upsets, and exciting debuts, while there were also those teams that were desperate to return to winning ways after Round Two disappointments.
Griquas and the Cheetahs opened the third round of action with a humdinger in Kimberly on Friday night, with the hosts edging Frans Steyn’s men 24-21 after a nail-biting final quarter to end their early unbeaten run.
The Stormers XXIII bounced back from their subpar performance last week to secure a 36-28 win over the Sharks XV at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, while the Lions built on their 28-0 half-time lead to crush the Bulls 42-19 at UJ Stadium to jump from third to top of the log.
On Sunday, the Pumas dampened the home crowd’s Sunday vibes by beating Boland Cavaliers 20-15 in Wellington, handing them their first defeat at home in two seasons.
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We look at the highs and lows from the third round of Currie Cup Premier Division action.
Hits:
Young stars on Bok radar impress
The Stormers XXIII match against the Sharks XV was a blow-for-blow affair for much of the game, and that tit-for-tat nature extended into individual performances as well, with one of the highlights of the coastal derby the top touches from some of their youngsters.
Luan Giliomee, who featured at fullback in the SA ‘A’ game against Zimbabwe, ran a boss of a line in the 34th minute to set up Ross Braude for the score-leveling try (14-14), while Markus Muller snatched the lead back from the Sharks when he scored in his Currie Cup debut after a burst of pace shortly before half time (19-14).
Both players added glimpses of their abilities, and both showed just why they made it onto the Springbok radar, with Muller making the first alignment camp of the season and Giliomee rubbing shoulders with senior Springboks while training for the SA ‘A’ run-out against the Sables.
Both produced pleasing performances at the weekend, while Giliomee in particular beamed maturity and authority beyond his years from fullback.
Boosted interest in the Currie Cup
Ellis Park was a bleak sight during the Lions’ 52-29 victory over the Pumas in Round Two, with not even a couple of thousand fans in attendance.
The crowd was always going to look better playing at UJ Stadium, a smaller-capacity venue, but the real eye-catcher was the Stormers XXIII game.
Given the developmental-competition status of the Currie Cup, 14 300 supporters in attendance is a neat number.
The popularity or growth of a competition is relayed through its attendance numbers, and the numbers have proven that there is still interest.
Miss:
Bulls XV and their horror start
The Bulls have now suffered losses to the Boland, Griquas, and the Lions, wallowing at the bottom of the table with just one point earned in three outings.
There is sometimes an argument to be made for struggling teams who just narrowly miss out on results, but the Bulls XV were hammered by the Lions and Griquas, while Boland defeated them 24-10.
They have a points difference of minus 67, and their performances until now reflect it.
