Preview: Currie Cup, Round Three

 

Like always in the provincial showpiece, there is another full house of fixtures with four exciting games over the weekend.

 

Friday sees a replay of the promotion-relegation battle that raged last year between the Pumas and the Griquas with Jimmy Stonehouse's Pumas hoping to add to their win from Round One.

 

On Saturday we have a basement battle between the Eastern Province Kings and the Blue Bulls both who have suffered big losses previously all thanks to the Golden Lions.

 

From the basement to the top of the table where Western Province host the mighty Golden Lions who sit on the summit equal with Province, but with a far superior points difference.

 

Finally the Cheetahs will meet the Sharks who will be hoping to stay undefeated against a Cheetahs team that recorded their first win against the Griquas last weekend.

 

 

 

These two will have a lot of history between them when they clash on Friday.

 

The Griquas lost out on a spot in this year's Currie Cup after a two-legged promotion-relegation match against the Pumas allowed the men from Nelspruit to take the vacant spot.

 

When the competition was expanded, the Griquas battled again for the open spot in the Currie Cup qualifiers.

 

Now they get the chance to face-off against each other in the premier division with more than pride at stake.

 

The Pumas have been far from a push over, winning their first game against the Cheetahs at Mbombela before throwing things away against the Sharks.

 

The Griquas remain winless having gone down to the same opposition as the Pumas, which has forecd coach Hawies Fourie into some drastic changes.

 

"We decided the guys who did not pull their weight will not feature this weekend," Fourie told rugby365 after electing to start Ikey Tiger Dean Grant at flyhalf.

 

"The competition is short and you can't slack off, you have to be switched on every week and at our best.

 

"This is a vital game and we must win, as the competition going forward will only get tougher."

 

The Pumas have impressed many with their physical game play and on-field intensity, but for master tactician Jimmy Stonehouse, this weekend is about matching fire with fire.

 

"We are both teams that like to be very physical in our approach to the game," said the coach.

 

"It is something that both we and Griquas use as a platform to get our game-plan going.

 

"Griquas have included a couple of guys like Ruan Lerm and Jonathan Adendorf to enhance their physical presence and we will be mindful of that."

 

Prediction: A real tough one to call in this battle-royale of the minnows. The Griquas are winless, but that can be a motivation – especially with a revamped and hungry team. The Pumas have a well rehearsed plan that will be effective, but also tested, against the Griquas – they are also on their home-turf where currently they are undefeated. It is going to be close but the Pumas should get their second win of the season by a few points.

 

 

Pumas: 15 Heinrich Steyl, 14 Ruwellyn Isbell, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Jerome Pretorius, 10 Justin van Staden, 9 Reynier van Rooyen, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Corné Steenkamp (captain), 5 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 4 Frikkie Spies, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Francois du Toit, 1 Corné Fourie.

Replacements: 16 Frankie Herne, 17 DeJay Terblanche, 18 Marius Coetzer, 19 Jaco Bouwer, 20 Dylon Frylinck, 21 JC Roos, 22 Rosko Specman.

 

Griquas:15 Francois Brummer, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Wayne Stevens (captain), 11 PJ Vermeulen, 10 Dean Grant, 9  Tian Meyer, 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Ruaan Lerm, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Jaco Nepgen, 4 Jonathan Adendorf, 3 Ewald Van Der  Westhuizen, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Steph Roberts.

Replacments: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Maks Van Dyk, 18 Hugo Kloppers, 19 RJ Liebenberg,20 Abrie Griesel, 21 Gideon La Grange, 22 Neil Marais.

 

Referee: Quinton Immelman

Assistant Referee:  Jaco van Heerden, Sieg van Staden

TMO: Johan Greeff

 

 

 

It is a lonely place at the foot of the table, but there is always room for two.

 

These two teams will be crawling all over each other to try and get the upper hand on the overall points log after both lost heavily at the hands of the Golden Lions.

 

The Kings have endured a rusty start to the campaign after being absent from the competition for 12 years. A scrappy loss to Province in Round One followed by a hammering by the Lions has left Carlos Spencer's men dejected.

 

Spencer has said outright that he is disappointed in a lot of his player's attitudes and commitment out on the field – which is understandable from the coach as his team has been desperate for top-tier rugby for some time now.

 

There have been four changes made to the forwards with the experienced Steven Sykes and Darron Nel coming into the second row to try and add some stability there – both physically and mentally.

 

Kings captain Luke Watson is not letting his oppositions poor performances thus far lure him into a false sense of security.

 

"I don't think the results so far reflect the calibre and quality of players the Bulls have," Watson said.

 

"So far in the first two games the Bulls have not been as fortunate as they would liked to have been, but it doesn't take away from the quality outfit that they are.

 

"They have a strong pack and a very good backline too, it is a formidable side we are coming up against and playing at home as well – it will be a big task for us.

 

The Bulls poor start to the competition has put masses of pressure on the Frans Ludeke, with the men from Pretoria a traditional powerhouse at Currie Cup level.

 

Ludeke boasts one of the more experienced team's in the competition and will be hoping that the first two losses can be only a minor speed-bump along the way.

 

He may have thrown some of his younger players like Jesse Kriel, William Small-Smith, Tony Jantjies, Rudi Paige and Bongi Mbonambi into the mix, but the mix of their youthful exuberance and the level-headedness of Akona Ndungane, Deon Stegmann and Jono Ross could be what is needed.

 

"We are under pressure following our opening two defeats and that is not the ideal position after only three weeks into a competition," Ludeke admitted.

 

"This is an experienced squad that have responded under pressure in the past, so I am confident we will deliver a better performance this week.

 

"We have been under-achieving away from Loftus and we welcome the chance to have home ground advantage again," the coach said.

 

Prediction: Ludeke has a point in what he is saying about his team – it is one that boasts plenty of experience all the way up to international level. The poor run has got to come to an end some time, and against the kings – another weak side – at Loftus, the Bulls should be able to record their first win by about 10 points.

 

 

Blue Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Sampie Mastriet, 10 Tony Jantjies, 9 Rudi Paige, 8 Jono Ross, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann (captain), 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Dean Greyling.

Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19 Wiaan Liebenburg, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Joshua Stander, 22 Ulrich Beyers

 

Eastern Province Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Ronnie Cooke, 13 Tim Whitehead, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Kevin Luiters, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Paul Schoeman, 6 Stefan Willemse, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 Darron Nell, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.

Replacements: 16 Mike van Vuuren, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Steven Cummins, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Jaco Grobler, 21 George Whitehead, 22 Siyanda Grey.

 

Referee: Lesego Legoete

Assistant referees: Jaco van Heerden, Cobus Wessels

TMO: Johan Greeff

 

 

When Titans clash there is bound to be thunder – thankful the weather in Cape Town looks set to be better than Pretoria last Saturday.

 

A really exciting clash awaits when these two free scoring teams take on each other in a top of the table clash, with only points scored differentiating the two.

 

The Lions are the only team to really have carried their good form from Super Rugby through with them as Johan Ackermann continues to make stars out of nobodies.

 

It can be said, quite cruelly, that Western Province have not brought through their Super Rugby form or they would be losing – but one thing they have brought with them is some attacking potency.

 

Another thing they have been able to bring through, from last week, is an unchanged team – which has been rare for coach Allister Coetzee.

 

"It is great to get that continuity and it is important in this competition," Coetzee said after naming an identical match-day 23.

 

"I have said before, my selections has been about giving the guys and opportunity too build continuity.

 

"We have got guys back in the squad who you would expect to be starting, but it is easy when the team performs well to keep who you have while the others wait their turn.

 

"Even a player like Jaco Taute is playing from the bench because we are backing those players who have performed for us."

 

Allister Coetzee has been excited about his teams new attacking edge having finally balanced it with their traditionally strong defence.

 

With players like Seabelo Senatla, Cheslin Kolbe and Juan de Jongh chomping at the bit to run the Lions may be in for a bit of a surprise having faced much tamer opposition so far.

 

In saying that, the Lions' attack has been even more potent the Western Province's after they put away 60 points on the Kings.

 

Johan Ackermann has put his faith in young flyhalf Jaco van der Walt after Springbok Marnitz Boshoff fractured his arm in the first round.

 

The coach is also without his super-star captain who has been rewarded with a call up to the Springboks.

 

Prediction: Another tough one to call, the Lions are the bookies favourites but it pays to be skeptical and look deeper. The Lions have had the better of the victories over the same opposition that Western Province has faced, however both of those wins came at home. Province have won home and away and this weekend it is another home game against the Lions who have lost their inspirational captain. While it could still go either way, it would not be too surprising to see Province win by five points.

 

 

Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh (captain), 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Alistair Vermaak.

Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Ruan Botha, 19 Rynhardt Elstadt, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Jaco Taute.

 

Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Ruan Combrinck, 10 Nicolaas Hanekom, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Derick Minnie (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.

Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Jaco Kriel, 20 Guy Cronjé, 21 Albertus Smith, 22 Howard Mnisi.

 

Referee: Craig Joubert

Assistant referees: Christie du Preez, Marc van Zyl

TMO: Deon van Blommestein

 

 

The Sharks have been quietly going about their business, remaining unbeaten, and would like to keep it that way when the Cheetahs show up in Durban.

 

The Sharks, as the defending champions, have been a little out of the lime-light with Province and the Lions picking up all the attention as well as all the points.

 

However, the Sharks remain undefeated and when you look closely at the structure of the team – you will find a lot of star-quality mixed in with exciting youth.

 

The Cheetahs have had a slow start to the tournament with an unexpected loss against the Pumas in Round One really throwing a dampener on the men from Bloemfontain's campaign.

 

They have now managed to bounce back against the Griquas and will be hopeful to carry on against the Sharks.

 

There are a few new weapons in their arsenal that the Sharks' assistant coach – Sean Everitt – has already picked up on.

 

"The driving maul is obviously a massive improvement from them [the Cheetahs]," Everitt said

 

"They did very well in the maul against Griquas and with Rory Duncan [Cheetahs coach] being a forwards orientated coach it seems like they are playing a lot more with their forwards.

 

"Our pack will have to stand up and be really physical against them, so we can stop the maul and the other treats they pose against us."

 

The Cheetahs new coaching team and new players have seen them depart slightly from their run-at-all-costs approach and if they can work that into some structure while keeping alive the excitement of players like Sarel Pretorius and Raymond Rhule – the Cheetahs could cause some head aches later on.

 

"It is extremely important to win every week," Everitt continued

 

"We planned the season according to the fixtures we have and come the second half of the season I expect a team like the Bulls and Cheetahs to bounce back.

 

"These games are going to be hard to win – we have to take as many points on offer to us as we can in the first half of the season."

 

Prediction: The Cheetahs may be on the up and starting to shake off the rust, but the Sharks are in a similar position and looking good – except that they have won two from two. There is less pressure on the Sharks at the moment as they slip under the radar and that will suit them just fine as they look to pick teams off one by one. A game in Durban for the Cheetahs against a Sharks' team dripping with talent may be a bridge to far for coach Duncan and his men. Look for the Sharks to find their attacking form and put past 15 against the Cheetahs.