Currie Cup Preview: Round Eight

 

Only 10 points currently separates the top five teams on the log table, while the Blue Bulls and Griquas still have mathematical chances of sneaking into the semifinals if they win all their remaining matches and topple a few top teams.

 

In Friday’s matches the Pumas host Western Province in Nelspruit and the Free State Cheetahs meet the Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein.

 

On Saturday the Sharks take on the Eastern Province Kings in Durban and Griquas go up against the Golden Lions in Kimberley.

 

Victories forWestern Province and Golden Lions, in particular, would improve their chances of securing home semifinals, while wins for the Blue Bulls and Griquas will be vital to keep alive their faint semifinal hopes.

 

 

 

The clash in Nelspruit should be exciting as the Pumas will be determined to extend their winning run at home and to remain in the top four on the log standings. 

 

This determination will be fuelled by the fact that they come off back-to-back defeats, meaning they will be under pressure to rediscover their winning ways.

 

They will, however, have to deliver a top-class performance to achieve this as Western Province have been in fine form this season and will have their sights set on maintaining their lead on the log table to remain in pole position for a home semifinal and possibly a home final. 

 

History favours the Cape side as the Pumas have won only one of the 17 matches between the teams dating back to 1997.

 

Western Province coach Allister Coetzee has pinned his hopes of a victory on the players who guided the team to a bonus-point win last week, with the only change in the starting team being the inclusion of prop Pat Cilliers in place of Brok Harris.

 

Harris will join Scrumhalf Nic Groom and utility back Michael van der Spuy on the bench.

 

Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse made six changes to his team which includes former Springbok Sevens player Ruwellyn Isbell starting on the wing, while JW Bell will start at fullback and JC Roos at flyhalf.

 

Prediction: Western Province have by far been the best team in the competition thus far, only stumbling once to the Golden Lions. The Pumas meanwhile have impressed many with their heart and determination – this coupled with the fortress they have built at Mbombela makes them a tricky task to overcome. In the end, it should be the form and star-quality that sees the Pumas to their first home defeat by 10 points.

 

 

Pumas: 15 John-Wessel Bell, 14 Ruwellyn Isbell, 13 Jacobus Jonker, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Rosko Speckman, 10 Juan-Claude Roos, 9 Reynier van Rooyen, 8 Renaldo Bothma/Reginald Kember, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corne Steenkamp (captain), 5 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 4 Marius Coetzer, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Frankie Herne, 1 Corne Fourie.

Replacements: 16 Francois du Toit, 17 DeJay Terblanche, 18 Uzair Cassiem, 19 Reginald Kember/Christo le Roux, 20 Dylon Frylinck, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Jerome Pretorius.

 

Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh (captain), 12 Jaco Taute, 11 Justin Geduld, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Alistair Vermaak.

Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Manuel Carizza, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Michael van der Spuy.

 

Referee: Jaco van Heerden

Assistant referees: Christie du Preez, Stefan Breytenbach

 

 

In Bloemfontein the Free State Cheetahs will look to build on their bonus-point victory against the EP Kings with the hope of forcing their way into the top four.

 

But they will be wary of the fact that the Blue Bulls will be fighting for survival in the competition.

 

These factors will set the scene for a nail-biting clash.

 

With home ground advantage and a recent spike in the Free State Cheetahs form’ counting in their favour they will enter the clash with confidence.

 

They will also draw comfort from their superior attack this season, which has earned them eight tries more than the Pretoria side in the last seven matches.

 

The teams, however, are matched on 20 tries conceded so far in the competition, which could result in a tightly-contested battle.

 

Interestingly Free State have won four of the last five matches between the teams in Bloemfontein.

 

Free State Cheetahs coach Rory Duncan made three changes to his run-on team with Springbok prop Coenie Oosthuizen, No.8 Jean Cook and wing Rayno Benjamin recovering from injuries to take up their places.

 

His Blue Bulls counterpart Frans Ludeke made six changes to his team, which includes the return of four Springboks.

 

Captain and flank Deon Stegmann has served his suspension, while Akona Ndungane will start on the wing, JJ Engelbrecht at centre and scrumhalf Piet van Zyl takes over from Rudy Paige.  

 

Prediction: A really tough one to call. The Bulls have gained some momentum as the competition has progress, but then again so have the Cheetahs. Both teams have made changes for the better as they welcome back some big name players, this should really up the ante of the game. The Bulls have always favoured fortress Loftus when enacting their better performances so expect the travel to Bloemfontein to blunt their charge as the Cheetahs just sneak over the line by four. 

 

 

The Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Willie du Plessis, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Jean Cook, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Tienie Burger, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Henco Venter, 4 George Marich, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.

Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Werner Lourens, 19 Neil Claassen, 20 Shaun Venter, 21 Pieter-Steyn de Wet, 22 JP du Plessis.

 

Blue Bulls: 15 Ulrich Beyers, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Sampie Mastriet, 10 Jacques Louis Potgieter, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Jono Ross, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Dean Greyling.

Replacments: 16 Callie Visagie, 17 Morné Mellet, 18 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19 Wiaan Liebenberg, 20 Rudy Paige, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Jesse Kriel.

 

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen 

Assistant referees: Lourens van der Merwe, Francois Pretorius

TMO: Willie Vos

 

 

 

The Sharks will be determined to build on their victory against the Blue Bulls when they meet the EP Kings in Durban, but they will be careful to write off the Port Elizabeth team who have delivered competitive performances in their last two matches.

 

Interestingly the EP Kings, who have yet to win a match in the competition, have scored one more try than their Durban counterparts this season, although their defence has let them down.

 

This attacking performance will certainly give the visitors some confidence going into the clash.

 

The hosts, however, will be mindful of the fact that the Port Elizabeth team have only beaten them once since the 1996 season when they registered a 22-16 victory in Port Elizabeth in 1999.

 

In Durban Sharks coach Brad MacLeod-Henderson made only one enforced change to his starting team with flank Khaya Majola earning his first start in place of the injured Jacques Botes in the loose trio.

 

EP Kings coach Carlos Spencer made injury-enforced changes to his pack as lock and captain Steven Sykes and props Lizo Gqoboka and Tom Botha were ruled out due to injury.

 

This resulted in props Charles Marais and CJ van der Linde earning starts, while lock Steven Cummins will start alongside stand-in captain Darron Nell in the engine room. 

 

The other changes were the inclusion of scrumhalf Tobie Botes and centre Tim Whitehead.

 

Prediction: The Sharks are riding high on some well deserved momentum after putting in a good performance in on the road against the Bulls, it seems as if the men from Durban have finally awoken. On the other hand, the Kings are still flogging a dead horse in their search for a initial victory, however, they should not be totally written off as it is only a matter of time before they come good. Still, it should be the Sharks day by a fair few points – 14 to be exact.

 

 

The Sharks: 15 SP Marais, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Tera Mtembu (Captain), 7 Etienne Oosthuizen, 6 Khaya Majola, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 JC Astle, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick.

Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Stephan Lewies, 19 Johan Meyer, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Tim Swiel, 22 Tonderai Chavhanga.

 

 Eastern Province Kings: 15 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 14 Ronnie Cooke, 13 Tim Whitehead, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Ntabeni Dukisa, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Tobie Botes, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Devin Oosthuizen, 6 Stefan Willemse, 5 Darron Nell (captain), 4 Steven Cummins, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Charles Marais.

Replacements: 16 Albe de Swardt, 17 Charl du Plessis, 18 Cameron Lindsay, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Tim Agaba, 21 Kevin Luiters, 22 Scott van Breda.

 

Referee: Ben Crouse 

Assistant referees: Stuart Berry, Eduan Nel

TMO: Johan Greeff

 

 

Griquas will face a tough task in Kimberley trying to contain the Golden Lions who come off back-to-back bonus-point victories.

 

The hosts, however, have claimed big scalps this season and will look to repeat this feat in the hope of keeping alive their faint semifinal hopes.

 

The home team’s defence, in particular, will have to be solid to achieve this as the Golden Lions have scored an impressive 30 tries in their seven matches up to now, while their pack will also have their work cut out as the Johannesburg team’s forwards have laid a good foundation up front.

 

Form aside, the visitors will take comfort from the fact that they have won five of the last seven matches between the teams, with two of these wins being in Kimberley.

 

Griquas coach Hawies Fourie made several changes to his team, many of which were injury enforced as flyhalf Francois Brummer, prop Steph Roberts and No.8 Burger Schoeman have all been ruled out.

 

Among the changes Dean Grant will start at flyhalf, Carel Greeff at the back of the scrum and prop Janro van Niekerk takes over in the front row.

 

Golden Lions coach Johan Ackermann also made a few changes to his team which will see centre Howard Mnisi earn his first start for the Johannesburg side against his former team, with the other change among the backs being the inclusion of scrumhalf Ross Cronje in place of Ricky Schroeder.

 

Up-front prop Jacques van Rooyen and flank Warwick Tecklenburg will start at the expense of Schalk van der Merwe and Albertus Smith respectively.

 

The main change on the bench is the return of star flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff from injury.  

 

Prediction: The Lions have been rampant in their attack and when they have the freedom to dictate the game they are majestic to watch. However, if there was one team that could halt their free flowing game, it is the abrasive Griquas – especially on the hard ground in Kimberley. Although the Griquas have picked up a few big scalps along the way, don't expect them to cash in at home this time as the Lions make it a close 8 point game.

 

 

Griquas: 15 Gouws Prinsloo, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Johnathan Francke, 12 Wayne Stevens (captain), 11 PJ Vermeulen, 10 Dean Grant, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Jaco Nepgen, 6 Ruaan Lerm, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Hilton Lobberts, 3  Nicolaas van Dyk, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Janro van Niekerk.

Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Simon Westraadt, 18 RJ Liebenberg, 19 Marnus Schoeman, 20 Abrie Griesel, 21 Jacquin Jansen, 22 Danie Dames.

 

Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe,12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.

Replacments: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Schalk van der Merwe/Julian Redelinghuys, 18 Derick Minnie, 19 Albertus Smith, 20 Mark Richards, 21 Marnitz Boshoff, 22 Nicolaas Hanekom.

 

Referee: Jaco Peyper

Assistant referees: Oregopotse Rametsi, Jan Venter

TMO: Jason Jaftha