Currie Cup stats set scene for thrilling semi-finals

Oct 17 • General News • 2906 Views • Comments Off on Currie Cup stats set scene for thrilling semi-finals

With the pool stages of the Currie Cup Premier Division – sponsored by DirectAxis and Nashua – a thing of the past, key statistics from the last 14 weeks indicate two thrilling semi-finals await this weekend.

The table-topping Cell C Sharks, who have had the most offloads and second best defensive record in the Currie Cup, will face tough competition from the Vodacom Blue Bulls in Durban at 14h30 on Saturday, as the visitors not only lead the try-scoring and overall ball-carrying statistics with 64 tries and 1,508 ball carries, they also boast the top try-scorer in fullback Warrick Gelant.

DHL Western Province, meanwhile, who will host the Xerox Golden Lions at DHL Newlands in the second semi-final at 17h00 on Saturday. Judging by the stats, the men from Johannesburg will have to be at their attacking best to score some tries, as the hosts boast the highest tackle percentage at an impressive 88.8%.

Reaffirming their defensive prowess, DHL WP loose forward Nizaam Carr leads the statistics with the most successful tackles and most tackle involvements, while the Capetonians’ lock JD Schickerling is on top in the dominant tackle category.

But DHL Western Province will have to be at their best behaviour, as the Xerox Golden Lions’ Jaco van der Walt has been the most successful goal kicker among the top four sides with an 88.6% success rate and a 100% kicking record last weekend, while the Gautengers also dominated the ball-carrying and tackle statistics in the final pool round.

Currie Cup Premier Division – Final Standings

TEAM	P	W	D	L	T	C	PG	DG	PF	PA	PD	PTS
Cell C Sharks	12	10	0	2	49	32	10	3	352	229	123	47
DHL Western Province	12	7	0	5	58	41	12	0	410	308	102	37
Xerox Golden Lions	12	6	0	6	48	35	12	0	346	395	-49	35
Vodacom Blue Bulls	12	5	0	7	64	49	13	0	457	442	15	32
Toyota FS Cheetahs	12	6	0	6	48	36	15	0	357	458	-101	31
Steval Pumas	12	4	0	8	48	36	12	0	348	371	-23	27
Tafel Lager Griquas	12	4	0	8	48	44	21	0	391	458	-67	26