VC winner to Currie Cup winner?
Maties centre Paul Bosch will be looking to add a Currie Cup winners’ medal to his Varsity Cup medal when he lines up at inside centre for Western Province in their Currie Cup semifinal clash against the Blue Bulls.
A member of the Maties squad that secured another Varsity Cup triumph earlier this year, Bosch has been making steady strides at Currie Cup level, too.
However, his selection – in a Currie Cup semifinal – is without doubt his biggest opportunity yet and he will come up against an all-Springbok centre pairing of Wynand Olivier and Jaco Pretorius as WP seek a first final since 2001.
Joining Bosch in the WP midfield is Stellenbosch teammate Juan de Jongh – a Varsity Cup winner in 2008 – and fullback Joe Pietersen and lock De Kock Steenkamp also tasted success with Maties in the first-ever Varsity Cup.
Of course, forwards and backs coaches, Matt Proudfoot and Rob Fleck – respectively – have also played a huge role in WP’s resurgance this year and both cut their teeth in the Varsity Cup; Proudfoot as the Pukke head coach in 2008 and Fleck as UCT’s backline coach in 2008 and 2009.
Saturday’s clash against the Super 14 winners and last year’s Currie Cup finalists will take place at Newlands, in Cape Town.
The Western Province team: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Paul Bosch, 11 Frikkie Welsh, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Matt To’omua, 22 Sireli Naqelevuki.
Kick-off: 5pm – Saturday, October 17
