Business time in the Currie Cup
With just two rounds of fixtures left until the Currie Cup play-offs there will be some crucial match-ups this weekend as teams jostle for a place in the knockout phase of this closely contested season.
Griquas will be playing for their Currie Cup survival while the Blue Bulls will not want to lose touch with the top four teams on the log when the two sides clash in Kimberley on Saturday.
Defeat for the home team, currently in sixth position on the log, would knock them out of semifinal contention, but victory is just as important for the Blue Bulls, who are in fifth place.
The Lions, the only team to have qualified for the play-offs thus far, will look to secure the first position on the log when they host Western Province in Johannesburg on Saturday. If the home team can win, they will finish top of the Currie Cup log for the first time since 1999.
Elsewhere, the Cheetahs and the Sharks are involved in a mini-duel for home ground advantage in the semifinals when they play the two bottom-placed teams, the Pumas and Leopards, this weekend.
Pumas v Cheetahs
(Puma Stadium, Witbank - 19.10; 17.10 GMT)
The Pumas were ruthlessly taken apart by the Cheetahs when the two sides met earlier in the season, going down 80-16 in Bloemfontein, but since then the team from Mpumalanga have won two of their games, including a victory in Kimberley over the Griquas and they will be hoping to give their home fans something to cheer about in Witbank.
Although the Cheetahs have looked unstoppable at times this season, they have also thrown away leads in some high pressure home games against the Blue Bulls and the Lions, with both matches ending in draws, and they will be desperate to get back to winning ways against the Pumas.
Cheetahs captain, Adriaan Strauss, is of the opinion that their difficulties have arisen from poor decision making and individual errors, something they would like to rectify in Witbank on Friday.
"I believe we can sort these issues out and will be switched on not to repeat them. For now, our most important task is to go to Witbank and ensure we get the victory we need over there. Things like bonus points don't come into the equation now, we just have to get back onto the winning track first," said Strauss.
Prediction: The Pumas will play with plenty of passion in what is their last home game of the season, but their defensive frailties will eventually be exposed by a Cheetahs team that can be devastating when they get some momentum going. The Cheetahs to win by more than 15 points.
The teams:
Pumas: 15 MJ Mentz, 14 Wilhelm Loock, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Dewald Pretorius, 11 Johan Jackson, 10 Carl Bezuidenhout, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Christo le Roux, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corné Steenkamp (captain), 5 Eduan van der Walt, 4 JP Mostert, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Pellow van der Westhuizen, 1 Dawie Steyn.
Replacements: 16 Brett Nel, 17 Michael de Neuilly-Rice, 18 RW Kember, 19 Nico Mostert, 20 Hendrik van der Nest, 21 Coenie van Wyk, 22 Siviwe Magaba.
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Ryno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Philip Snyman, 11 Cameron Jacobs, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Pieter Labuschagne, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Marcel van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Boom Prinsloo, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Riaan Smit, 22 Andries Strauss.
Referee: Sindile Mayende
Assistant referees: Christie du Preez, Phillip Bosch
TMO: Gerrie Coetzee
Griquas v Blue Bulls
(GWK Park, Kimberley - 15.00; 13.00 GMT)
It is never easy at GWK Park, but the Blue Bulls will have to overcome the Kimberley-factor as well as a fired-up Griquas side if they are to keep their Currie Cup semifinal hopes alive.
Even though the Blue Bulls have been relatively successful in the Northern Cape - they haven't lost there in Currie Cup rugby since 2007 - their coach, Pine Pienaar, admitted that this could be one of their toughest matches of 2011.
The Pretoria side have lost fullback Zane Kirchner to World Cup duty, but Pienaar has selected the Bok trio of loosehead prop Dean Greyling, flank Deon Stegmann and wing Akona Ndungane who are all back after injury lay-offs.
"The reality is that Griquas could still get past us on the log, so they have everything to play for as well. We will probably need 10 points from our last two games to stay in the play-off race, so it will be two pretty desperate teams taking on each other," Pienaar said.
"It has always been a massive challenge to go and beat Griquas on their home patch and we will need all the experience we can get to do that. It is therefore very pleasing to welcome back the three Springboks to our team," he added.
Griquas welcome back their mercurial scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius this weekend and if he can replicate the form that saw him turn the game against the Leopards last weekend, the Blue Bulls will certainly have their hands full.
Prediction: The youthful Blue Bulls have had a relatively tough time of it this season but they seem to be hitting form at the right time with some encouraging results in recent weeks. The Griquas will throw everything at their rivals as they seek to knock them out of the competition and secure themselves a semifinal spot. It will be a tense affair in Kimberley but we are tipping the Blue Bulls to edge it by less than five points.
The teams:
Griquas: 15 Rudi Vogt, 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Matthew Rosslee, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Riaan Viljoen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Leon Karemaker, 7 Justin Downey, 6 Jonathan Mokuena (captain), 5 George Earle, 4 Hendrik Roodt, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Ivann Espag.
Replacements: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Steph Roberts, 18 Jaco Nepgen, 19 Burger Schoeman, 20 Marnus Hugo, 21 Earl Rose, 22 Monty Dumond/Fabian Juries.
Blue Bulls: 15 Gerhard van Heever, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Louis Fouché, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha (captain), 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Warwick Tecklenburg.
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe
Assistant referees: Sindile Mayende, DeGoede Haasbroek
TMO: JC Fortuin
Lions v Western Province
(Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg - 17.05; 15.05 GMT)
The Lions can secure their first Currie Cup home semifinal in more than a decade if they can beat Western Province at in Johannesburg on Saturday. The last time the Lions finished in the top two on the Currie Cup log was way back in 1999, when their current captain, Josh Strauss, was still at primary school.
Victory over Province would put the Johannesburg-based team in an untouchable position at the top of the log, but they realise it won't be easy against a resurgent young team that managed to squeak a win over the Sharks in Durban last week.
A couple of hours earlier, the Lions showed massive resolve to fight back from 11-25 down with five minutes to go in their game against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein to go home with a hard-fought 25-25 draw, and they will need to show that kind of character if they are to finish on top on Saturday.
"Coming back against the Cheetahs certainly fired us up a bit more and the character we showed late in that game was a great plus," said Strauss.
"And even though we saw what WP did in Durban, we're not focused on other results. We know the four best teams will make it to the semifinals and for us now, consistency is the key, as it has been all season.
"We're trying to stay away from getting too nervous and only have our goal for the weekend in mind - to win. It won't be easy, as one of their strongest features is their dedication on defence, so we need to ensure we play a good brand of attacking rugby and try to expose that," he explained.
Western Province welcome back a couple of key players this weekend including flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis, and they will be hoping that his educated boot will make the difference against the log-leaders.
Prediction: The Lions have had great continuity this season and showed last week that they have what it takes to fight right until the end. They face a young Western Province team that found a way to win last weekend so this should be a close one but we are backing the home team to take it by about seven points.
The teams:
Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Doppies la Grange, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Joshua Strauss (captain), 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 David Bulbring, 19 Jaco Kriel, 20 Burton Francis, 21 Dylan des Fountain, 22 James Kamana.
Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 JJ Engelbrecht, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage/Nic Groom, 8 Nick Köster, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Nick Fenton-Wells, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg (captain), 1 JC Kritzinger.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Hilton Lobberts, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Pieter Louw, 21 Groom/Louis Schreuder, 22 Johann Sadie.
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees: Mark Lawrence, Christie du Preez
TMO: Johann Meuwesen
Leopards v Sharks
(Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng - 19.10; 17.10 GMT)
It has been more than two years since the Leopards last scored a try in the Currie Cup against the Sharks, and they will need a number of those if they are to upset the apple cart in Phokeng this weekend.
Currently in second position on the log, the Sharks have their aim of a home semifinal still within their own hands and a bonus point victory at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday will go a long way in ensuring they stay in that position.
Like most of the other so-called big unions in the competition, The Sharks have had the depth of their squad tested because of injuries and national call ups, but last weekend's home defeat at the hands of Western Province was still a bitter pill to swallow for John Plumtree, coach of the Durban side.
"The issues we have are inexperience, we have a pretty light front row, we've had injuries and it hasn't been easy," said Plumtree.
"It's never easy for the bigger unions in a World Cup year, but we're positive. In saying that, we can't be expected to play like the main Sharks side that people recall from Super Rugby.
"We're taking it game by game - it's been a struggle for us all year, a frustrating season and we're picking up long term injuries, so it's been hard work. But we're still in it and we'll fight 'til we die. That's our attitude," he explained.
Prediction: The Sharks did not manage to score four tries against the Leopards when the sides met in Durban earlier in the season and they will be desperate to secure a full haul of five log points in Phokeng on Saturday. The Durban side have struggled for consistency this season but we expect them to have too much firepower for the brave Leopards. The Sharks to win by 20 points.
The teams:
Leopards: 15 Hoffmann Maritz, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Charl Weideman, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht, 11 Vainon Willis, 10 Wesley Dunlop, 9 Johann Laker, 8 Robert Kruger, 7 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 6 Philip de Wet, 5 Brendon Snyman, 4 Brad Mockford, 3 Dewald Coetzee, Gavin Williamson, Jean-Jacques Rossouw.
Replacements: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Alfred Wauts, 18 Christo van Niekerk, 19 Juan Pretorius/Siya Mdaka, 20 Liam Slatem, 21 Clayton Durand, 22 Jovan Bowles.
Sharks: 15 Gouws Prinsloo, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Conrad Hoffmann, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Jean Deysel, 3 Eugene van Staden, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Jan Andre Marais, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Marius Joubert, 22 Stefan Terblanche.
Referee: Joey Salmans
Assistant referees: Marius Jonker, Sieg van Staden
TMO: Johan Greeff