Currie Cup, Round Eight - teams and predictions

MIDWEEK MADNESS: The table-topping Cheetahs have a bye as the second half of the season gets underway, allowing the chasing pack an opportunity to set an early marker.

The defending-champion Bulls, on 25, are just one point behind the unbeaten Cheetahs and can claim the lead when they host Western Province at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday in the first of two BIG north-south derbies.

The Round Eight action starts in Nelspruit when the resurgent Pumas host the Lions, with Griquas hosting the Sharks in Kimberley – before the match of the round.

The Bulls’ only loss this season was against the Cheetahs.

WP has struggled in the Currie Cup and their only win has been against the winless, hapless and bottom-placed Lions.

However, Province coach Jerome Paarwater has brought in some Springbok experience – with Juan de Jongh making a comeback from a lengthy injury lay-off.

He will be able to rely on other seasoned campaigners like Sergeal Petersen, Timothy Swiel and captain Nama Xaba.

Bulls coach Gert Smal, who named veteran Bok flyhalf Morne Steyn to captain the side, will look to World Cup-winning Springbok Bismarck du Plessis to provide the muscle up front.

Smal admitted the second half of the season will present the Bulls with a few ‘different’ challenges.

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“This week have the north-south showdown times two,” he said of the mid-week Currie Cup clash, followed by the United Rugby Championship between the Stormers and Bulls in Cape Town on Saturday.

“Having been with Western Province and the Stormers for many years, I know exactly how they feel about coming up to Loftus Versfeld,” Smal told @rugby365com.

He added that Province has changed their approach to the game in the last few weeks and look to employ a more expansive game.

Paarwater said his team is “up for the challenge” at Loftus.

He said it is all about “taking ownership” of the mistakes and defeats in the first half of the season.

“Accountability and discipline are the key aspects,” the WP coach told a pre-match media briefing.

He added that the players responded well to the ‘frank’ discussions they had.

* The game in Kimberley is also significant in terms of the play-off race – with the Sharks in third place on 18 points, just ahead of the fourth-placed Griquas (15 points).

Griquas coach Pieter Bergh admitted they can afford to lose any ground on their Durban-based rivals.

“It is our last home game in a while, with four away games and just one home game after this week,” the coach said of a run that has seen them beat the Lions, Pumas and WP in Kimberley.

He spoke of the importance of standing up to the Sharks in the set pieces, which the men from Durban rely heavily on for momentum.

“The last two matches they played – against the Cheetahs and Bulls – were in the wet,” Bergh told @rugby365com.

“They are a team that is very pragmatic in their approach,” he said, adding: “They maul a lot to get penalties and then let up a line-out to maul again.

“They also have some good kickers in their team that can put you under pressure with their kicking game.

“We have had a lot of rain in Kimberley recently and we could not even train on our pitch, so we expect mush the same from them.

“They also play a lot off No.9, with their big ball-carriers.

“It is likely to be one of the most physical games we’ll play.”

Sharks coach Etienne Fynn said his team has focussed on eliminating their errors, given the conditions.

“Griquas have traditionally been extremely tough and uncompromising at home,” the Fynn said,

“With George Whitehead back, they have a flyhalf who manages the game exceptionally well.”

* In Nelspruit the team with the most to lose is the Pumas, currently fifth on the standings on 10 points and in dire need of staying in touch with the leaders.

The Lions, who have yet to win a game, was handed a 50-point hammering by the Pumas back in January.

Coach Mziwakhe Nkosi admitted that his team’s first outing against the side from Mbombela posed a bit of a challenge in week two of the competition.

“The biggest message to our guys in our preparations is that we need to match them physically from a set piece point of view as well as on go-forward ball,” Nkosi said.

“We’re quite excited about the team we’ve selected.

“If you look at the makeup of the side, it’s guys who’ve put up their hands and are now being duly rewarded. The key thing now is to get a bit of synergy and play as a team.”

“It’s been a challenging season for us from a Currie Cup perspective.

“Our depth has been tested week in and week out, but despite that, it’s afforded opportunities for some of our players from the Varsity Cup to put their hands up and stake their claim in senior rugby,” he concluded.

All the Round Eight teams and predictions below!

Wednesday, April 6

Pumas v Lions
(Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit – Kick-off: 15.30; 13.30 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Pumas by 18 points

Teams

Pumas: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Alwayno Visagie, 12 Eddie Fouche, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Chriswill September, 8 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 7 Anele Lungisa, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Shane Kirkwood, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Ignatius Prinsloo, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Corne Fourie.
Replacements: 16 Llewellyn Classen, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Etienne Janeke, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Phumzile Maqondwana, 21 Giovan Snyman, 22 Ali Mgijima, 23 Devon Williams.

Lions: 15 Vaughen Isaacs, 14 Boldwin Hansen, 13 James Mollentze, 12 Tyler Bocks, 11 Zeilinga Strydom, 10 Luke Rossouw, 9 Jurich Claasens, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Lindo Ncusane, 6 Sasko Ndlovu, 5 Lunga Ncube/Cal Smid, 4 Peter-John Steenkamp, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (captain), 2 Jacque-Lois du Toit, 1 Kayden Kiewit.
Replacements: 16 Dameon Venter, 17 Banele Mthenjane, 18 Chergin Fillies, 19 Connor van Buuren, 20 Cal Smid/MJ Pelser, 21 Ginter Smuts, 22 James Tedder, 23 Ngia Selengbe.

Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
Assistant referees: Ashleigh Murray-Pretorius, Local
TMO: Quinton Immelman

Griquas v Sharks
(Griqua Park, Kimberley – Kick-off: 17.45; 15.45 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Sharks by five points

Teams

Griquas: 15 Rynhardt Jonker, 14 Munier Hartzenberg, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Alex-Zander du Plessis, 11 Luther Obi, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Sibabalo Qoma, 7 Hanru Sirgel, 6 Niel Otto (captain), 5 Derik Pretorius, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Janu Botha, 2 Simon Westraadt, 1 Eddie Davids.
Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Kudzwai Dude, 18 Andries Schutte, 19 Johan Retief, 20 Michael Amiras, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Ashlon Davids, 23 Christopher Hollis.

Sharks: 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Lloyd Koster, 13 Marnus Potgieter, 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 Curwin Gertse, 10 Joaquin Bonilla, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Celimpilo Gumede, 7 Dylan Richardson, 6 James Venter (captain), 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Dian Bleuler.
Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Khwezi Mona, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Olajuwon Noah, 21 Thembelani Bholi, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Jean Smith.

Referee: Adriaan Jacobs
Assistant referees: Jaco Kotze, Local
TMO: Egon Seconds

Bulls v WP
(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria – Kick-off: 20.00; 18.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Bulls by 16 points

Teams

Bulls: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 David Kriel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Morne Steyn (captain), 9 Keagan Johannes, 8 Muller Uys, 7 WJ Steenkamp, 6 Jaco Labuschagne, 5 Janko Swanepoel, 4 Rynhardt Ludwig, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.
Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Raynard Roets, 20 Werner Gouws, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Juan Mostert, 23 Richard Kriel.

Western Province: 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Timothy Swiel, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Nama Xaba (captain), 5 Connor Evans, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Kwenzo Blose.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Simon Miller, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 Kade Wolhuter, 23 Mnombo Zwelendaba.

Referee: Griffin Colby
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Local
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen

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