Kimberley takes centre stage – Vodacom Cup Round 7 Preview
All eyes will be on Diamantveld High School in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon when the only two unbeaten teams left in the South Section of the Vodacom Cup clash in a replay of the 2012 final.
GWK Griquas, the defending champions, host DHL Western Province in a highly-anticipated clash at Diamantveld.
Both these sides are unbeaten after four matches and their performances have been very similar thus far, with a points’ difference of 69 for the visitors from Cape Town and 70 for the home team. DHL Western Province top the South Section log on 19 points though, with GWK Griquas second on 18.
The high-flying SWD Eagles will be looking to for their first away win of the season after already beating the Cell C Sharks XV and Toyota Free State XV in George when they travel up the N2 to take on the EP Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natalians, at home in Empangeni to the Boland Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon, will be looking to reverse a three-match losing streak when they travel north up the coast.
In the North Section, the Xerox Golden Lions will retake the lead at the top of the standings if they can beat the Leopards XV at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon.
Current log leaders, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, have a bye and can slip back to third position if the Steval Pumas record a convincing victory over the Hino Valke at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Friday evening.
This week, we’re looking at former SA U20 speedster Sergeal Petersen, who is now with the Toyota Free State XV after making his mark for the EP Kings, and Xerox Golden Lions loose forward Ruaan Lerm.
Rising Star #13 – Sergeal Petersen (Toyota Free State XV)
To call Sergeal Petersen a try-scoring machine would not be amiss as this young flyer from the Free State continues to rack up the five-pointers since swapping Port Elizabeth for Bloemfontein.
Considering that he is not yet 21, it’s amazing to think that Petersen has been on the lips of rugby supporters in South Africa for a three seasons already.
He first shot to prominence when he scored two tries in the first-ever Vodacom Super Rugby match for the Southern Kings, way back in 2013 as an 18-year-old, fresh from completing high-school less than three months earlier.
Petersen ended up with four tries in eight Vodacom Super Rugby matches before he even turned 19 and was one of the Kings’ heroes in 2013.
At 1.71m tall and weighing in at around 84kg, Petersen makes up for his lack in size with lightning quick feet and speed to burn. He also knows his way to the try-line as he showed for the Junior Springboks last year, when he scored three tries in the Junior World Championships in New Zealand.
Due to untimely injuries, he’s had limited time at Absa Currie Cup level, but last year he was back to his best and in the Absa U21 Provincial Competition and amassed seven tries for EP.
At the end of last season, Petersen made a move to the Free State after he had represented Eastern Province at every level from Under-13 up. He also played SA Schools in 2012, his final year at Grey high School in Port Elizabeth, where he scored three tries in as many games in the Green and Gold.
Petersen made his debut for the Toyota Free State XV two round ago when they beat the Cell C Sharks XV in Kokstad and last weekend, in his second match for his new province, the speedster showed his new home crowd in Bloemfontein what he is capable of when he scored twice against his former team-mates from the Bay.
Rising Star #14 – Ruaan Lerm (Xerox Golden Lions)
The 23-year old, Xerox Golden Lions loose forward Ruaan Lerm is somewhat of a veteran in Vodacom Cup terms, having amassed 21 caps for the Xerox Golden Lions in the last four seasons.
He made his senior debut in 2012, less than two years after finishing school at EG Jansen in Boksburg, from where he represented the Valke at U16 and U18 levels.
Lerm is a solid and mobile loose forward – he stands 1.90m tall and weighs in at 103kg – who can shift around in the back row between openside flank and No 8.
This year, Lerm started with a bang and scored three tries in the opening round for the unbeaten Xerox Golden Lions. He’s played in four of their five matches, either at openside flank or No 8, and has a total of four tries this season.
Last year, Lerm’s five Vodacom Cup tries were the most for the team from Johannesburg as they went all the way to the final, missing out on only one match during the season.
With an abundance of loose forwards in Johannesburg, Lerm went to GWK Griquas on loan last year, where he made eight appearances in the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division – his first taste of rugby at that level after being part of the Golden Lions’ U19 and U21 squads between 2011 and 2013.
He has since had a brief introduction to Vodacom Super Rugby, making his debut off the bench earlier this season when the Emirates Lions travelled to Durban to take on the Cell C Sharks, but the impressive Lerm is sure to get another opportunity at this level sooner rather than later.
Round 7 fixtures:
Friday, 24 April
Steval Pumas v Hino Valke
Kick-off: 19h00
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Referee: Archie Sehlako
Border Bulldogs v Toyota Free State XV
Kick-off: 19h00
Venue: BCM Stadium, East London
Referee: Rodney Boneparte
Saturday, 25 April
Xerox Golden Lions v Leopards XV
Kick-off: 14h30
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Referee: Jaco Pretorius
Down Touch Griffons v Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls
Kick-off: 15h00
Venue: HT Pelatona Projects Stadium, Welkom
Referee: Ricus van der Hoven
GWK Griquas v DHL Western Province
Kick-off: 15h00
Venue: Diamantveld High School, Kimberley
Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
EP Kings v SWD Eagles
Kick-off: 15h00
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Referee: Tahla Ntshakaza
Cell C Sharks XV v Boland Cavaliers
Kick-off: 15h30
Venue: Emgangeni
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe
Byes: Vodacom Blue Bulls, FNB Welwitschias
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