Absa Currie Cup First Division Preview – Week 12
The Eastern Province Kings and the SWD Eagles will battle it out for pole position in the Absa Currie Cup First Division this weekend when these sides meet at the Nelson Mandela Stadium on Friday at 19h00.
Both teams will host semi-finals next month as well as compete in the Absa Currie Cup promotion/relegation games that will follow at the conclusion of the competition. The hosts are currently in first place on 37 points but are only two points clear of their George opponents.
The Port Elizabeth outfit and the Eagles are also aware that victory on Friday evening will set themselves up for a series of promotion/relegation clashes against the Platinum Leopards while the loser will compete against the Barloworld Toyota Pumas for promotion in to next season’s Absa Currie Cup Premier Division.
The EP Kings will be confident of securing the win as they are currently enjoying an undefeated home run during this season’s competition. They have recorded victories against the Boland Cavaliers (23-16), Border Bulldogs (49-6), Griffons (26-25) and the Valke (38-3) in games played in Port Elizabeth.
The SWD Eagles on the other hand have recorded three victories on the road in the 2010 Absa Currie Cup First Division. They beat the Border Bulldogs (17-7) in East London, the Valke (55-47) in Kempton Park and the Griffons (18-14) in Welkom. The visitors though suffered a 38-33 defeat against the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington during week 10.
It was also the EP Kings who snatched a hard-fought 19-17 victory at Outeniqua Park when these sides last met in the Absa Currie Cup First Division earlier this year.
While much of the focus will be on which team will finish the season in pole position, the battle for third and fourth place will also be decided this weekend when the Boland Cavaliers host the Griffons in Wellington on Friday at 15h00.
The Welkom side is currently in third position on the log with 27 points and is three behind the Cavaliers. The Griffons have conceded four defeats this season which include loses on the road against the EP Kings (26-25) in Port Elizabeth, Border Bulldogs (22-20) in East London and SWD Eagles (42-27) in George. They recorded a 69-30 win over the Valke in Kempton Park during week seven.
The Griffons will also fancy their chances of defeating the Cavaliers in Wellington as the hosts have conceded home defeats against the Eastern Province Kings (33-22) and the Border Bulldogs (50-46). They have however defeated the SWD Eagles (38-33) and the Valke (41-21) in their other games played at the Boland Stadium in this season’s competition.
There’s also the battle for the wooden spoon in the Absa Currie Cup First Division when the Valke host the Border Bulldogs in the final league game of the season at the Barnard Stadium on Saturday at (15:00).
The hosts are currently occupying the last place on the log with nine points while their opponents from East London are on 11. The Valke have conceded home defeats this season against the Eastern Province Kings (50-35), Griffons (69-30), Boland Cavaliers (53-10) and the SWD Eagles (55-47).
The Border Bulldogs on the other hand secured a 50-46 win over the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington, but conceded a 33-12 defeat against the SWD Eagles in George, a 49-6 loss to the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth and a 48-33 defeat against the Griffons in Welkom.
Absa Currie Cup First Division Previews – Week 12:
SWD Eagles v Eastern Province Kings
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Friday 1 October 2010. Kickoff: 19h00
Referee: Sandile Mayende (SARRA)
Assistant referees: B Crouse (AR1), F Yamile (AR2)
TMO: N/A
Head to Head – Eastern Province Kings v SWD Eagles (since 2005):
| P: 11 W: 3 L: 8 PF: 172 PA: 273 | |||
| 05/08/2005 | EP 36 | SWD 17 | EPRFU Stadium, Port Elizabeth |
| 09/08/2006 | EP 8 | SWD 47 | Outeniqua Park, George |
| 22/09/2006 | EP 17 | SWD 36 | EPRFU Stadium, Port Elizabeth |
| 04/08/2007 | EP 6 | SWD 13 | EPRFU Stadium, Port Elizabeth |
| 22/09/2007 | EP 34 | SWD 17 | Outeniqua Park, George |
| 06/10/2007 | EP 3 | SWD 38 | Outeniqua Park, George |
| 19/07/2008 | EP 6 | SWD 29 | Outeniqua Park, George |
| 09/08/2008 | EP 21 | SWD 26 | EPRFU Stadium, Port Elizabeth |
| 22/08/2009 | EP 6 | SWD 15 | Despatch |
| 03/10/2009 | EP 16 | SWD 18 | Outeniqua Park, George |
| 20/08/2010 | EP 19 | SWD 17 | Outeniqua Park, George |
Eastern Province Kings’ recent form at home:
- The hosts are undefeated at home during this season’s competition after recording victories over the Boland Cavaliers (23-16), Border Bulldogs (49-6), the Griffons (26-25) and the Valke (38-3).
- The Eastern Province Kings suffered two home defeats against the SWD Eagles and the Pumas during last year’s competition.
- In the 2008 Absa First Division, the Port Elizabeth side recorded two home victories against the Border Bulldogs and the Griffons.
SWD Eagles’ recent form on the road:
- The George outfit recorded away victories against the Border Bulldogs (17-7), Valke (55-47) and against the Griffons (18-14) in this season’s competition, but suffered a 38-33 defeat against the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington during week 10.
- The visitors secured three victories on the road during the 2009 season against the Border Bulldogs, Valke and the EP Kings.
- The SWD Eagles recorded only one win on the road against the EP Kings during the 2008 Absa Currie Cup First Division.
Griffons v Boland Cavaliers
Boland Stadium, Wellington
Friday 1 October 2010. Kickoff: 15h00
Referee: Joey Salmans (SARRA)
Assistant referees: J Jaftha (AR1), L Manuel (AR2)
TMO: S Veldsman
Head to Head – Boland Cavaliers v Griffons (since 2005):
| P: 5 W: 2 L: 3 PF: 195 PA: 154 | |||
| 05/08/2006 | Boland 59 | Griffons 0 | Boland Stadium, Wellington |
| 22/09/2006 | Boland 27 | Griffons 37 | North West Stadium, Welkom |
| 17/10/2008 | Boland 54 | Griffons 15 | Boland Stadium, Wellington |
| 24/10/2008 | Boland 42 | Griffons 50 | North West Stadium, Welkom |
| 20/08/2010 | Boland 13 | Griffons 52 | North West Stadium, Welkom |
Boland Cavaliers’ recent form at home:
- The Wellington side has conceded home defeats against the Eastern Province Kings (33-22) and the Border Bulldogs (50-46), but defeated the SWD Eagles (38-33) and the Valke (41-21) in their games played at the Boland Stadium in this season’s competition.
- The hosts, who competed in the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division last season, secured two home wins against the Platinum Leopards and also against the Pumas in their Promotion/relegation match played in Wellington.
- The Boland Cavaliers also won two home games during the 2008 Absa Currie Cup season against the Valke and Griffons (promotion/relegation).
Griffons’ recent form on the road:
- The Griffons suffered a last minute 26-25 defeat to the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth during week two, conceded a 22-20 loss to the Border Bulldogs in East London during week four and also went down 42-27 against the SWD Eagles in George during week nine’s action in the 2010 Absa Currie Cup First Division. They however recorded a 69-30 win over the Valke in week seven.
- In the 2008 Absa Currie Cup First Division, the Welkom side suffered only one defeat on the road against the EP Kings.
Valke v Border Bulldogs
Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park
Saturday 2 October 2010. Kickoff: 15h00
Referee: Pro Legoete (SARRA)
Assistant referees: F Groenewald (AR1), S van Staden (AR2)
TMO: N/A
Head to Head – Valke v Border Bulldogs (since 2005):
| P: 5 W: 3 L: 2 PF: 155 PA: 188 | |||
| 20/08/2005 | Valke 34 | Border 28 | Bosman Stadium, Brakpan |
| 09/09/2005 | Valke 37 | Border 36 | Absa Stadium, East London |
| 22/08/2009 | Valke 31 | Border 48 | Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park |
| 03/10/2009 | Valke 15 | Border 39 | Sisa Dukashe Stadium, Mdantsane |
| 20/08/2010 | Valke 38 | Border 37 | Buffalo City Stadium, East London |
Valke’s recent form at home:
- The hosts, who conceded home defeats to the EP Kings (50-35) in week 10, Griffons (69-30) in week seven, Boland Cavaliers (53-10) in week two and suffered a 55-47 home loss to the SWD Eagles in week four, lost all five of their Absa Currie Cup First Division matches during last year’s competition.
- The Valke recorded home victories against Vodacom Western Province and the GWK Griquas during their stay in the 2008 Absa Currie Cup.
Border Bulldogs’ recent form on the road:
- The Border Bulldogs secured a 50-46 win over the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington during week five, but conceded a 33-12 defeat against the SWD Eagles in George, a 49-6 loss to the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth and a 48-33 defeat against the Griffons in Welkom.
- The East London side achieved one victory on the road against the Pumas in the 2008 Absa First Division.
Absa Currie Cup First Division Standings
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | B | Pts | |
| Eastern Province Kings | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 298 | 179 | 119 | 5 | 37 |
| SWD Eagles | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 317 | 228 | 89 | 7 | 35 |
| Griffons | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 325 | 210 | 115 | 7 | 27 |
| Boland Cavaliers | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 319 | 280 | 39 | 8 | 24 |
| Border | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 208 | 347 | -139 | 3 | 11 |
| Valke | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 220 | 443 | -223 | 5 | 9 |
Absa Currie Cup First Division – Leading points’ scorers:
| T | C | P | D | Pts | ||
| Ambrose Barends | SWD Eagles | 2 | 18 | 19 | 0 | 103 |
| Jacquin Jansen | Boland Cavaliers | 3 | 23 | 11 | 0 | 94 |
| Jannie Myburgh | Griffons | 0 | 23 | 11 | 0 | 79 |
| Logan Basson | Border Bulldogs | 3 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 56 |
| Jeff Taljard | Border Bulldogs | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 45 |
| Norman Nelson | Eastern Province Kings | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| Cornal Hendricks | Boland Cavaliers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| Jandré Blom | SWD Eagles | 1 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 34 |
| Coert Cronje | Valke | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| JW Jonker | Griffons | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Jeremy Plaatjies | Boland Cavaliers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Shaun Raubenheimer | SWD Eagles | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Hendrik van der Nest | Griffons | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
Absa Currie Cup First Division – Leading try-scorers:
| T | ||
| Norman Nelson | Eastern Province Kings | 8 |
| Cornal Hendricks | Boland Cavaliers | 7 |
| JW Jonker | Griffons | 6 |
| Hendrik van der Nest | Griffons | 6 |
| Coert Cronje | Valke | 6 |
| Jeremy Plaatjies | Boland Cavaliers | 6 |
| Shaun Raubenheimer | SWD Eagles | 6 |
| Werner Griesel | Griffons | 5 |
| Kyle Hendricks | Valke | 5 |
| Bobby Joubert | SWD Eagles | 5 |
Issued by SARU Communications
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