Currie Cup, Round 10 - Teams and Predictions
THICK AND FAST: There is no rest for the wicked in the Currie Cup, as four of the six teams that played this weekend are in action again on Wednesday.
There will only be two games in Round 10 after the match between the Pumas and Sharks was cancelled due to positive Covid-19 tests in the Sharks team.
The Sharks have informed SA Rugby that they are not able to field a team for the match without putting player welfare at risk. As determined by the competition rules, the Pumas will be awarded four log points because of the cancellation and the result will be noted as 0-0.
The first of Wednesday's matches will be in Pretoria where we will see the second-placed Bulls host the third-placed Griquas at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Wednesday's final game involves the Cheetahs, who are at the bottom of the table, taking on the Lions at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Western Province have a bye.
We take a closer look at Wednesday's fixtures!
Wednesday, August 11:
Bulls v Griquas
(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria - Kick-off: 16.45, 14.45 GMT)
The Bulls return to Fortress Loftus for an equally tricky game against Griquas.
These two teams currently occupy second and third on the log respectively and victory will go a long way in ensuring they remain in the hunt for home ground advantage in the semifinals.
The Bulls are coming off a 28-35 defeat to the Sharks, while Griquas also suffered a defeat in Round Nine as they went down 42-45 to the Lions in Kimberley.
"Griquas are having a season that they are enjoying," said Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White.
"If I look at their record they have done phenomenally well.
"They have beaten the big teams away from home and I am sure they would want to build on that.
"They are not an easy team to play against. Every contest has 100 percent commitment from their side.
"My very first game here [at the Bulls] I think we played Griquas and we were 10 or 14-nil down quickly.
"They are a good side and they have improved, and they got some good players who are playing well."
White said his team have been working hard to right the wrongs after their performance in Durban.
“It’s a short turnaround time for us, and we have had a few areas we have had to work on in the past few days to ensure that we can be competitive and bounce back this week.
"We do hope that the changes we have made will yield positive results and that we can be able to play our best rugby again on Wednesday," he said.
Last 10 Currie Cup matches
2015: Bulls won 36-12, Pretoria
2015: Bulls won 46-32, Kimberley
2016: Griquas won 39-38, Kimberley
2016: Bulls won 57-20, Pretoria
2017: Bulls won 51-45, Kimberley
2017: Bulls won 44-42, Pretoria
2018: Bulls won 45-40, Kimberley
2019: Griquas won 37-15, Pretoria
2020: Griquas 0-0 Bulls (match cancelled - Round Four)
2021: Griquas 0-0 Bulls (match cancelled - Round Five)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Bulls by 15 points.
Teams:
Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Schalk Erasmus, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements – from: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Jacques du Plessis, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Stedman Gans, 24 Joe van Zyl, 25 Muller Uys, 26 WJ Steenkamp, 27 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 28 Richard Kriel.
Griquas: 15 Ashlon Davids, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Chris Hollis, 12 Johnathan Francke, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Hanru Sirgel, 7 Luyolo Dapula, 6 Ruan Steenkamp (captain), 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Stefan Willemse, 3 Janu Botha, 2 Alandre van Rooyen, 1 Nqobisizwe Mxoli.
Replacements – from: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Andrew Kuhn, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 Jeandré Leonard, 20 Gideon van der Merwe, 21 Raegan Oranje, 22 Andre Swarts, 23 Ederies Arendse, 24 Andrew Beerwinkel, 25 Johan Momsen, 26 Theo Boshoff.
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant Referees: Local
TMO: Egon Seconds
Cheetahs v Lions
(Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein - Kick-off: 19.00; 17.00 GMT)
Wednesday’s final match could turn into a proper cat fight in Bloemfontein, where the Cheetahs host the Lions.
These two sides are at the wrong end of the standings and will be giving their all to move up to keep their play-off aspirations alive.
The Cheetahs will be disappointed by their narrow 39-40 loss to Western Province in Cape Town at the weekend, especially after they dominated large stages of the game.
Their captain Ruan Pienaar knows that they will need to put in an 80-minute performance to come away with a win on Wednesday.
"We know that they [Lions] will probably look to play a similar game to us," said Pienaar
"They like high tempo and they got a lot of game-breakers. On turnovers, they got a lot of pace and they are dangerous.
"I think they a got a similar DNA to us, so I think it will be an action-packed game.
"We know them well and they know us well and they are an exciting team, so we know it’s going to be an 80-minute battle again.
"We learnt this past weekend that we got to close those games down and play for the full 80, so I think that is what it will take."
Last 10 Currie Cup matches
2015: Lions won 43-33, Johannesburg
2016: Cheetahs won 37-29, Bloemfontein
2016: Cheetahs won 55-17, Bloemfontein
2017: Cheetahs won 30-24, Bloemfontein
2017: Lions won 44-17, Johannesburg
2018: Lions won 47-14, Johannesburg
2019: Lions won 24-22, Bloemfontein
2019: Cheetahs won 31-28, Bloemfontein (Final)
2020: Lions won 39-23, Bloemfontein
2021: Lions 0-0 Cheetahs (match cancelled - Round Five)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Cheetahs by three points.
Teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Craig Barry, 13 David Brits, 12 Siya Masuku, 11 Malcolm Jaer, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Jean Droste, 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Cameron Dawson.
Replacements: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Aluluthu Tshakweni, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Victor Sekekete, 20 Andisa Ntsila, 21 Mihlali Mosi, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Chris Smit.
Lions: 15 Duncan Matthews, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Ruhan Straueli, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Emmanuel Tshituka, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Henco van Wyk.
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Referees: Local
TMO: Ben Crouse