Absa Currie Cup Preview – Week 10
- Photo by Andrew Schoeman / Rugby15
The second and third placed teams on the Absa Currie Cup log, DHL Western Province and The Sharks, face tricy away games this weekend when they travel to Pretoria and Bloemfontein respectively.
Both the Vodacom Blue Bulls and the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, the two most successful Absa Currie Cup sides in the last decade, would have prefered to be higher up on the log and will be hard pressed to get back to winning ways this weekend.
The front runners in the Premier Division, the MTN Golden Lions, face the Platinum Leopards in Potchefstroom on Friday, while the Ford Pumas will be looking for their first win of the season when they travel to Kimberley to take on GWK Griquas.
In the Absa Currie Cup First Division, log leaders, the EP Kings, host the Valke in Port Elizabeth while the Tasol Solar Griffons travel to George to face the SWD Eagles. Second-placed Regent Boland Cavaliers have bye.
Platinum Leopards vs MTN Golden Lions
With four tough games left before the Absa Currie Cup semi-finals, the MTN Golden Leopards will be travelling to Potchefstroom looking for an “80 minute performance” against the Platinum Leopards on Friday evening.
And while they are comfortably at the top of the log, the team from Johannesburg realise they can’t afford to slip up at Profert Olën Park against the bottom-placed Leopards.
MTN Golden Lions assistant coach Carlos Spencer said his team knows the trip down the N12 won’t be easy, but they will be looking to stamp their authority on the game.
“It certainly won’t be easy. This is quite a tough game for us before we take on the big four. The Leopards have a good style and they like moving ball around,” said Spencer.
“And we’ve got a lot to work on, even though we had a good victory (against GWK Griquas) last week. We made too many errors in the second half, which allowed them back into the game. We’ve been trying all season to get an 80 minute performance, but have not managed to do that. It’s concerning, but we are working hard on it.”
Speaking about their position at the top of the log, five points clear of the second-placed DHL Western Province, Spencer said it’s a nice position to be in: “We realise we have four tough weeks coming up and can’t afford to let slip from now on.”
Platinum Leopards vs MTN Golden Lions
Date: Friday, 16 September
Kick-off: 19:10
Venue: Profert Olën Park, Potchefstroom
Referee: Stuart Berry
Last three meetings in Absa Currie Cup:
- · 9 July 2010: MTN Golden Lions won 43-13 in Rustenburg
- · 27 August 2010: MTN Golden Lions won 45-22 in Johannesburg
- · 30 July 2011: MTN Golden Lions won 53-36 in Johannesburg
GWK Griquas vs Ford Pumas
Still winless after nine rounds, the Ford Pumas will be desperate to get back to winning ways when they travel to Kimberley to face GWK Griquas at GWK Park on Saturday afternoon.
“I wouldn’t say we’re desperate, rather frustrated,” explained Ford Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse.
“It’s been a season of near misses and it doesn’t feel good, but we’re keeping our heads high and will go to Kimberley looking for that elusive first win of the season. Yes, we have a number of injuries which makes things tough, but we won’t back down.”
According to Stonehouse his team enjoys the expected dry and fast conditions in Kimberley and if they can use their opportunities and have a little bit of luck go their way, they can pull this one through.
“We don’t get 15 chances in every game, we get two and we have to make sure we use them. We’ve also not been lucky with the bounce of the ball and some decisions going against us this season, but if we can curb our mistakes and play like we can, I know we can win this game,” he said.
GWK Griquas have won their last three Absa Currie Cup matches against the team from Mpumalanga, including a close 40-33 victory earlier this year in Nelspruit.
GWK Griquas vs Ford Pumas
Date: Saturday, 17 September
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: GWK Park, Kimberley
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Last three meetings in Absa Currie Cup:
- · 13 August 2010: GWK Griquas won 58-25 in Kimberley
- · 2 October 2010: GWK Griquas won by 61-31 in Witbank
- · 29 July 2011: GWK Griquas won 40-33 in Nelspruit
Toyota Free State Cheetahs vs The Sharks
The last time these two sides met in the Absa Currie Cup, The Sharks amassed 26 points in the opening 22 minutes as they went on to win by 43-34 in Durban. While they won’t mind a similar start at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday, the KwaZulu-Natalians realise it will be very difficult.
What’s more, the Free State Cheetahs fought back in that game at the end of July to eventually lose by “only” 43-34. And even though the team from Bloemfontein are regarded as KZN’s “bogey side”, Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford says they are looking forward to the trip.
“The nice thing about the Cheetahs is that in the last couple of years going up to Bloemfontein, we’ve actually had some positive results. There was a time when there was a bogey issue, but we feel we’ve got that out the way,” said Bashford.
“Any home game for any union is vitally important, you have to win your home games, so that draw against the Blue Bulls (last weekend) would have disappointed them, especially leading for most of the game before the Bulls came back at them.
“They’ll be looking at that and they won’t want to slip up at their home ground again this weekend. This will be a huge game for both teams.”
Toyota Free State Cheetahs vs The Sharks
Date: Saturday, 17 September
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Last three meetings in Absa Currie Cup:
- · 31 July 2010: The Sharks won 25-13 in Bloemfontein
- · 18 September 2010: The Sharks won by 30-16 in Durban
- · 30 July 2011: The Sharks won 43-34 in Durban
Vodacom Blue Bulls vs DHL Western Province
A wounded Vodacom Blue Bulls side is a dangerous one and that is something DHL Western Province will be mindful of when they travel to Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria for this vitally important Absa Currie Cup match on Saturday.
The Blue Bulls, still in sixth place on the log, have to win to keep alive their slim chances of reaching the semi-finals. On the other handm DHL WP have a home semi-final in sight as they are currently second on the Premier Division log.
Allister Coetzee, head coach of DHL Western Province, knows the importance of a home semi-final after his team finished in the top two on the log for the last two seasons: “Our first aim is to reach the semi-finals and then to get home advantage. But we won’t be getting ahead of ourselves as we have a very tough game ahead,” said Coetzee.
“Because of a host of injuries, we’re playing with a relatively young side this year and going to Pretoria will be a new experience for most of them. We also realise that this is a different Blue Bulls side to one we played in first round (when WP won 35-7 in Cape Town).
“Having said that, we’ve prepared well and are looking forward to it, even though we’ve had a challenging year when it comes to injuries. Fortunately, whenever we’ve roped in youngsters, they have not let themselves or the team down. That bodes well for next year’s Vodacom Super Rugby series as part of our objective is to keep developing young players in the Absa Currie Cup.”
Vodacom Blue Bulls vs DHL Western Province
Date: Saturday, 17 September
Kick-off: 17:05
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Pro Legoete
Last three meetings in Absa Currie Cup:
- · 14 August 2010: DHL WP won 15-12 in Cape Town
- · 2 October 2010: Vodacom Blue Bulls won 36-32 in Pretoria
- · 30 July 2011: DHL WP won 35-7 in Cape Town
Absa Currie Cup First Division
The EP Kings have an opportunity to stretch their lead at the top of the Absa Currie Cup First Division standings on Friday when they host the Valke in Port Elizabeth.
The Regent Boland Cavaliers, second on the log just one point behind the Kings, have a bye this weekend and will be keen to see how their closest competitors perform against the team from the East Rand.
In the only other First Division match this weekend, the SWD Eagles host the Tasol Solar Griffons in George, also on Friday evening. The third-placed Eagles have a golden opportunity to put a bit of daylight between themselves and the chasing pack as the race for spots in the semi-finals heats up.
Weekend matches:
EP Kings vs Valke
Date: Friday, 16 September
Kick-off: 19:00
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Referee: Joey Salmans
Last three meetings in Absa Currie Cup First Division:
- · 7 August 2010: EP Kings won 38-3 in Port Elizabeth
- · 17 September 2010: EP Kings won 50-35 in Kempton Park
- · 5 August 2011: EP Kings won 36-20 in Kempton Park
SWD Eagles vs Tasol Solar Griffons
Date: Friday, 16 September
Kick-off: 19:00
Venue: Outeniqua Park, George
Referee: Sindile Mayende
Last four meetings in Absa Currie Cup First Division:
- · 31 July 2010: SWD won 18-14 in Welkom
- · 10 September 2010: SWD won 42-27 in George
- · 8 October 2010: SWD won 32-30 in George (semi-final)
- · 6 August 2011: SWD won 48-45 in Welkom
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