Currie Cup semi-finalists out to win at all costs
The four Currie Cup semi-finalists, the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, Vodacom Blue Bulls, Xerox Golden Lions and DHL Western Province, will have one goal in mind when they take to field on Saturday – to win at all costs in the hope of booking their places in the Final next week.
The Currie Cup semi-finals – brought to you by Nashua and DirectAxis – will pit the unbeaten Toyota Free State Cheetahs against defending champions, the Xerox Golden Lions, in Bloemfontein at 15h00 on Saturday, while the Vodacom Blue Bulls will host DHL Western Province in a thrilling North-South derby in Pretoria at 18h00.
A victory for log-leaders, the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, in particular, would take them one step closer to a fairy-tale season, as it would extend their unbeaten run to nine matches – only two victories short of their 11-match winning record which they set in 2007. The last time they featured in the Currie Cup Final was in 2009.
They are, however, expected to face tough competition against the Xerox Golden Lions, who will be hunting their third successive final berth.
DHL Western Province, meanwhile, will have their sights set on their fifth consecutive Final berth when they meet the Vodacom Blue Bulls in what will mark the third straight Currie Cup semi-final encounter between the two rivals. The Capetonians won the last two semi-finals 23-18 and 31-23 respectively.
The Currie Cup semi-finals and Final will see the participating teams fielding 23 players following an agreement between SA Rugby and the participating unions that an extra front-ranker may be included in the match-day squad.
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs and Xerox Golden Lions also met in the Currie Cup semi-final last season in Johannesburg – a clash the hosts won 43-33 – however, the Free Staters have won both matches against the Johannesburg side this season. They registered a 37-29 victory in Bloemfontein in the Currie Cup pool stages, and defeated them 29-15 in Johannesburg in the Qualifiers.
History, however, suggests that it could be hard-fought clash, as the Bloemfontein side have won only two of their last five matches against the Xerox Golden Lions at home in the competition. Their last victory before this year’s pool rounds was in 2013. Adding to this, the Toyota Free State Cheetahs’ five home victories amongst the sides between 2007 and 2010 were decided by six points or less.
In Pretoria the clash between the Vodacom Blue Bulls and DHL Western Province is expected to be a humdinger given the intense rivalry between the teams. The home side will enter the match with confidence after finishing the season in second place on the log standings and since they defeated DHL Western Province 45-26 in the opening match of the season. But they will be wary of the fact that this result marked one of only two victories in their last nine Currie Cup matches against the Capetonians. Both victories, however, were at Loftus Versfeld.
The fact the Vodacom Blue Bulls last featured in the Currie Cup final in 2009 – which they won 36-24 against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs – is expected to motivate them significantly going into the clash.
Currie Cup semi-final fixtures (Saturday, 15 October):
Toyota Free State Cheetahs vs Xerox Golden Lions
Venue: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15h00
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
TV: SS1
Vodacom Blue Bulls vs DHL Western Province
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 18h00
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
TV: SS1
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
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