Preview: Currie Cup, Round Five
They are sure to grab a substantial portion of the spotlight, as the Currie Cup race begins to heat up.
However, there is also the ongoing financial circus in Port Elizabeth that is threatening to turn the Eastern Province Kings into a circus act.
Among the Springbok discards who will feature in South Africa's premier domestic competition this week are Marcel van der Merwe (Blue Bulls), Jan Serfontein (Blue Bulls), Teboho Mohoje (Free State Cheetahs) and Cobus Reinach (Sharks).
Then there are Bok training squad members Siyabonga Ntubeni and Steven Kitshoff, who will both start in the front row for Western Province.
We look at Round Five!
Friday, September 4
Blue Bulls v Free State Cheetahs
(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria – Kick-off: 19.10; 17.190 GMT)
The Blue Bulls this week repeatedly stated that their first round win (57-19) over the Free State Cheetahs counts for nothing.
As captain Pieter Labuschagne put it: "This is going to be a different ball-game."
The Bulls caught the Cheetahs by surprise with their expansive game and by now the opposition would have had plenty of time to analyse their game properly.
The return of Springboks Marcel van der Merwe and Jan Serfontein will add plenty of experience and depth to the team's already impressive player resources.
Then there is also the return of Bok scrumhalf Francois Hougaard, having missed last week's win over Griquas when he attended his sister's wedding.
Coach Nollis Marais admitted the Bulls caught the Cheetahs "off-guard" in the first-round match.
"They are a much improved side," Marais said of the Cheetahs, adding: "They played well [against Western Province] at Newlands in the rain and could have won that match.
"Last week against WP they killed them off in the first 30 minutes. They are an in-form side."
Marais also spoke of some of the bad habits that has prevented his team from playing to their full potential.
"At times, when something goes wrong, we tend to go into our shells. It is a big focus for us at the moment."
Cheetahs coach Franco Smith has not rushed any of his returning Springboks back – with loose forward Teboho Mohoje named on the bench wing Cornal Hendricks not considered this week.
Recent results:
2015: Blue Bulls won 57-19, Bloemfontein
2014: Blue Bulls won 31-22, Bloemfontein
2013: Free State Cheetahs won 22-7, Bloemfontein
2013: Blue Bulls won 26-10, Pretoria
2012: Free State Cheetahs won 32-18, Bloemfontein
2012: Blue Bulls won 34-30, Pretoria
Prediction: The Blue Bulls may be talking the Free State Cheetahs up, but the men from Pretoria remain favourites. They have a rich vein of form and that should be enough to see the Bulls win by 15 points.
Teams:
Blue Bulls: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Roelof Smit, 6 Pieter Labuschagne (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Rudolph Snyman, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Ivan van Zyl, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Jan Serfontein.
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Elandre Huggett, 1 Burrie Uys.
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Reniel Hugo, 19 Oupa Mohoje, 20 Freddy Ngoza, 21, Ruan van Rensburg, 22 Sias Ebersohn.
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant referees: Francois Pretorius, Vusi Msibi
TMO: Willie Vos
Saturday, September 5
Sharks v Pumas
(Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT)
Revenge will be on the minds of the Sharks, as they await the Pumas team who ambushed them in Nelspruit in Round One of the competition.
Sharks Director of Rugby Gary Gold, who welcomed back Springbok scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, suggested it could be a brutal affair.
"Physicality is going to be a critical element against the Pumas," Gold said.
"They are not a massively elaborate team, but what they do they do well."
Pumas coach MJ Mentz wasted no time in drafting in Springbok prop Vincent Koch – a man on a mission to prove that his Test nightmare against Argentina was a one-off lapse.
However, Mentz's concerns revolve as much around his team's lack of discipline than their shoddy set pieces.
"Discipline is a big issue for us," Mentz said, adding: "Last week [an 11-41 loss to the Golden Lions] we had four yellow cards.
"We had some honest discussions and the players know we can't afford anymore lapses like that.
"We had a penalty count of 24-6 against us last week. You may be able to debate some of those calls, but those were the calls.
"Some harsh words were said in team meetings this week. It is now in the hands of the players to correct the matter and the players who don't make the necessary adjustments will suffer the consequences."
Mentz also said the Sharks are now a very different team from the one they beat 33-24 in week One.
"They have started to get some good momentum going and they are a team that always play well at home."
Recent results:
2015: Pumas won 33-24, Nelspruit
2014: Pumas won 32-22, Nelspruit
2014: Sharks won 34-17, Durban
2011: Sharks won 33-20, Durban
2011: Sharks won 23-22, Witbank
Prediction: The Pumas' campaign has derailed after a promising start, while the Sharks' graph is on an upwards curve. The Sharks should win an arm-wrestle, by seven points.
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Wandile Mjekevu, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Daniel du Preez, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Marco Wentzel (captain), 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Gerhard Engelbrecht, 2 Monde Hadebe, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 John-Charles Astle, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Stefan Ungerer, 21 Heimar Williams, 22 Garth April.
Pumas: 15 John-Wessel Bell, 14 Bernado Botha, 13 Hoffmann Maritz, 12 Stefan Watermeyer (captain), 11 Rosko Speckman, 10 Juan-Claude Roos, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Jason-Colin Fraser, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Jaco Bouwer, 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Rudi Mathee, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jacques Momberg, 1 Corné Fourie.
Replacements: 16 Francois du Toit, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Khwezi Mona, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Jerome Pretorius.
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert, Jason Jaftha
TMO: Marius Jonker
Western Province v Griquas
(Newlands, Cape Town – Kick-off: 17.05; 15.05 GMT)
The defending champions, Western Province, are coming off back-to-back defeats and while it would be – in the words of coach John Dobson – perverse to talk of a crisis, they can't afford another defeat.
They were boosted by the return of Springbok training squad members Steven Kitshoff and Siyabonga Ntubeni.
However, the most significant change this week was at flyhalf, where Kurt Coleman is starting ahead of an out-of form Demetri Catrakilis.
Dobson was cautious not to point fingers at individuals, but admitted that errors is what cost his team most – labelling it "horror minutes".
The selection of Chris Cloete at openside flank may also prove to be of significance.
"We've had two periods of 20 to 25 minutes of horror shows," Dobson said.
"[Against the Bulls] we got bullied for 20-odd minutes and this past weekend we made three errors that saw us go 3-25 down.
"In some areas we put ourselves under pressure in the last two weeks," he said, adding that changes were necessary to stop the slide.
Griquas coach Hawies Fourie continued his weekly batch of changes as they seek their first win of the season.
The return of veteran Springbok Hilton Lobberts is the most significant of the adjustments he made to the make-up of his team.
Recent results:
2015: Western Province won 43-19, Kimberley
2014: Western Province won 36-12, Cape Town
2013: Western Province won 19-13, Cape Town
2013: Western Province won 20-19, Kimberley
2012: Western Province won 45-21, Cape Town
2012: Western Province won 25-20, Kimberley
Prediction: Griquas have struggled all season and are still winless. They will come up against Western Province at a bad time – a team desperate to get their campaign back on track. Western Province will win by at least 15 points.
Teams:
Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Jaco Taute, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr (captain), 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Chris Cloete, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jean-Pierre Smith, 18 Chris van Zyl, 19 Jurie van Vuuren, 20 Godlen Masimla, 21 Robert du Preez, 22 Dillyn Leyds.
Griquas: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Sandile Ngcobo, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Ruhan Nel, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Tian Meyer (captain), 8 Carel Greeff, 7 RJ Liebenberg, 6 Hilton Lobberts, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Jaco Nepgen, 3 Stephan Kotze, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Steph Roberts.
Replacements: 16 AJ Le Roux, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Ewald Van Der Westhuizen, 19 Jonathan Adendorf, 20 Leon Karemaker, 21 Gouws Prinsloo, 22 Jacquin Jansen.
Referee: Jaco van Heerden
Assistant referees: Rodney Boneparte, Archie Sehlako
TMO: Johan Greeff
Golden Lions v Eastern Province Kings
(Ellis Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off: 19.10; 17.10 GMT)
Given the player turmoil in Port Elizabeth, this should be a 'walk in the park' for the Golden Lions.
However, complacency can be a giant killer and the table-topping Lions will be keen to avoid losing to what has the appearance of a second-string Kings selection.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann, who used the opportunity to rotate some key personnel, will be disappointed that regular captain Warren Whiteley was injured in training run on Thursday.
Ackermann, while being sympathetic to the plight of the Kings' players, made it clear that they will not be holding back.
"It is not easy on any player, but we can't read too much into that from a preparations point of view," Ackermann said.
He said he expect his players to be in a mean mood.
"I expect nothing less than their best attitude no matter how they [the Kings] prepare."
In the wake of Whiteley's late withdrawal on Thursday, Ackermann opted for centre Howard Mnisi to take the reins for the first time.
Recent results:
2015: Golden Lions won 51-14, Port Elizabeth
2014: Golden Lions won 41-22, Port Elizabeth
Prediction: If there is no complacency the Eastern Province Kings can expect to be on the receiving end of another 50-point hiding from the Golden Lions.
Teams:
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Nicolaas Hanekom, 12 Howard Mnisi (captain), 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Lohan Jacobs, 8 Fabian Booysen, 7 Albertus Smith, 6 Stephan de Wit, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Lourens Erasmus, 19 Jano Venter, 20 Ricky Schroeder, 21 Marnitz Boshoff, 22 Jacques Nel.
Eastern Province Kings: 15 Hansie Graaff, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Tim Whitehead (captain), 11 Sylvian Mahuza, 10 Karlo Aspeling, 9 Dwayne Kelly, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Thembelani Bholi, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Tazz Fuzani, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Basil Short, 18 Cornell Hess, 19 Eital Bredenkamp, 20 Enrico Acker, 21 Elgar Watts, 22 JP du Plessis.
Referee: Stuart Berry
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs, Ricus van der Hoven
TMO: JJ Wagner
Compiled by Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
