Vodacom Cup Preview – Round Eight
The defending Vodacom Cup champions, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, need one log point from their final league fixture, on Saturday in Pretoria against the SWD Eagles, to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
Apart from the Vodacom Blue Bulls, the other quarter-final places have been confirmed, with seven teams in the two sections fighting it out for final log positions and, in some cases, home field advantage. This will spice up the final round of the 2011 Vodacom Cup.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls, who started the season with four successive defeats, host the Eagles at the fields of Pretoria Police on Saturday at 15h00. They are currently in fourth position on the Northern Section log, five points clear of the Platinum Leopards, who still have a mathematical change of making the play-offs when they host DHL Western Province in Potchefstroom, also on Saturday.
In the North Section, the MTN Golden Lions, who host the Border Bulldogs in Johannesburg on Saturday at 14h40, are currently in pole position with 26 points, four clear of the GWK Griquas who are in Kimberley for their match against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs on Friday at 19h00.
The undefeated Pampas XV lead the standings on the South Section log, followed by DHL Western Province. Both these teams are still unbeaten this season.
The Argentineans are in action against the Welwitschias on Friday at the Hage Geingob Stadium at 18h30. Should they win this game against the team from Namibia, they will top the South Section.
In the other Vodacom Cup matches of the weekend, the EP Kings take on the Tasol Solar Griffons at the North West Stadium on Friday at 15h00. The Valke and the Boland Cavaliers are in action at the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park on Saturday at 15h00.
Meanwhile local schools from the Mpumalanga region are set to participate in the final Community Rugby Match of the 2011 Vodacom Cup when the competition returns to the community of Nelspruit this weekend.
SARU and competition sponsor Vodacom, together with the development officers of the Mpumalanga Rugby Union, will be presenting its last basic rugby training sessions for schools at the Vodacom Cup match featuring the Ford Pumas and the Sharks XV.
Aspiring rugby players will be put through their paces at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Friday evening at 19h00. They will participate in a basic rugby obstacle course where they will be able to apply their passing, catching, kicking as well as side-stepping skills.
These sessions have been hosted during the 2011 Vodacom Cup competition where 140 schools from several provincial unions participated in similar programmes which provided rugby education and skills to aspiring rugby players.
Vodacom Cup Weekend Fixtures:
Friday, 15 April 2011
15h00 Tasol Solar Griffons vs EP Kings at North West Stadium, Welkom
18h30 Welwitschias v Pampas XV at Hage Geingob Stadium, Windhoek
19h00 GWK Griquas v Toyota Free State Cheetahs at GWK Park, Kimberley
19h00 Ford Pumas v The Sharks XV at Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Saturday, 16 April 2011
14h40 MTN Golden Lions v Border Bulldogs at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg
15h00 Valke v Boland Cavaliers at Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park
15h00 Vodacom Blue Bulls v SWD Eagles at Pretoria Police, Pretoria
16h00 Platinum Leopards v DHL Western Province at Profert Olen Park, Potchefstroom
Vodacom Cup logs:
| North Section | |||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | B | Pts |
| MTN Golden Lions | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 167 | 101 | 66 | 17 | 12 | 4 | 26 |
| GWK Griquas | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 249 | 131 | 118 | 36 | 12 | 6 | 22 |
| Ford Pumas | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 212 | 188 | 24 | 26 | 21 | 2 | 18 |
| Vodacom Blue Bulls | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 174 | 150 | 24 | 23 | 17 | 4 | 16 |
| Platinum Leopards | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 164 | 217 | -53 | 22 | 28 | 3 | 11 |
| Tasol Solar Griffons | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 154 | 311 | -157 | 19 | 45 | 6 | 10 |
| Valke | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 150 | 357 | -207 | 21 | 55 | 2 | 10 |
| Welwitschias | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 119 | 282 | -163 | 15 | 44 | 3 | 5 |
| South Section | |||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | B | Pts |
| Pampas XV | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 267 | 144 | 123 | 33 | 17 | 4 | 32 |
| Western Province | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 286 | 85 | 201 | 38 | 10 | 3 | 29 |
| Sharks XV | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 254 | 110 | 144 | 37 | 13 | 6 | 26 |
| Toyota FS Cheetahs | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 235 | 198 | 37 | 30 | 25 | 6 | 22 |
| EP Kings | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 216 | 101 | 115 | 28 | 11 | 5 | 16 |
| Boland Cavaliers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 224 | 204 | 20 | 32 | 27 | 4 | 16 |
| SWD Eagles | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 149 | 250 | -101 | 23 | 33 | 5 | 13 |
| Border Bulldogs | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 106 | 297 | -191 | 13 | 43 | 1 | 7 |
Vodacom Cup Leading Points’ Scorers:
| Player | Team | T | C | P | D | Pts |
| Lionel Cronje | DHL Western Province | 4 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 95 |
| Willie Le Roux | Boland Cavaliers | 4 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 69 |
| Coenie van Wyk | Ford Pumas | 3 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 68 |
| Nicolas Sanchez | Pampas XV | 1 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 59 |
| Tiaan van Wyk | Tasol Solar Griffons | 0 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 59 |
| Louis Strydom | Toyota FS Cheetahs | 0 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 55 |
| Kobus de Kock | Sharks XV | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 49 |
| Santiago Iglesias | Pampas XV | 1 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 48 |
| Jaco van Schalkwyk | Eastern Province Kings | 0 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 48 |
| Guy Cronje | Sharks XV | 1 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 47 |
| Chrysander Botha | Welwitschias | 1 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 47 |
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