Vodacom Cup Quarter-finals Preview
The two finalists in the 2010 Vodacom Cup, the Vodacom Blue Bulls and the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, have their work cut out for them if they want to replicate their achievements this season.
Both these teams scraped through to the quarter-finals of the Vodacom Cup this season by finishing in fourth place in their respective sections.
Seven players that competed for the Vodacom Blue Bulls in last year’s Vodacom Cup final, were included in the defending champions’ team that will take on the MTN Golden Lions on Saturday in their quarter-final at Wits University at 14h30.
Scrumhalf Ruan Snyman, centre Stefan Watermeyer, flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff, flanker Okkie Kruger, lock Fudge Mbeta and prop Morne Mellet have been named in the starting line-up of the Pretoria team, while Cornell Hess (lock) will warm the bench.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls qualified for the knock-out stage after ending the league phase of the Vodacom Cup in fourth position. They lost five games during the competition, while the MTN Golden Lions – along with GWK Griquas the most successful team in Vodacom Cup history – topped the Northern Section after winning six of their seven league fixtures.
The only games the team from Johannesburg didn’t win, were against the two top sides from the Southern Section. The MTN Golden Lions lost to the Pampas XV (15-9) and drew with DHL Western Province (18-18) in round one.
John Dobson, coach of DHL Western Province, has selected nine players with Vodacom Super Rugby experience in his team that host the Sharks XV at DHL Newlands on Saturday at 16h20.
Winger Danie Poolman, centres Johan Sadie and Paul Bosch, prop JD Moller, as well as locks Adriaan Fondse and Anton van Zyl have been included in to the Cape team who will be aiming to maintain their undefeated run in the competition, while Tiaan Liebenberg (hooker), Hilton Lobberts (lock) and Tim Whitehead (centre) are on the bench.
The Pampas XV, the only team that have finished the league phase of the competition having won all their games, “host” the Toyota Free State Cheetahs at Profert Olën Park in Potchefstroom on Friday at 16h30.
The Argentineans ended the league phase in first position on the South Section log with 37 points, four clear of the second placed DHL Western Province, the only other team in the competition that has not conceded a defeat this season.
The Pampas XVs beat the Vodacom Blue Bulls (27-22), MTN Golden Lions (15-9), GWK Griquas (32-29), Ford Pumas (46-20), Platinum Leopards (38-20), Welwitschias (52-10), Valke (57-15) and the Tasol Solar Griffons (52-29) this season.
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs, coached by SA U20 assistant coach Pine Pienaar, notched up four victories and conceded four defeats this year.
In the other Vodacom Cup quarter-final of the weekend, the GWK Griquas host the Ford Pumas at GWK Park on Friday at 19h00. The team from Kimberley, four time Vodacom Cup champions, ended the season in second position on the North Section log – five points behind the MTN Golden Lions.
Vodacom Cup quarter-final fixtures:
Friday 29 April 2011
16h30 Pampas XV v Toyota Free State Cheetahs at Profert Olën Park, Potchefstroom
19h00 GWK Griquas v Ford Pumas at GWK Park, Kimberley
Saturday 30 April 2011
14h30 MTN Golden Lions v Vodacom Blue Bulls at Wits University, Johannesburg
16h20 DHL Western Province v Sharks XV at DHL Newlands, Cape Town
Vodacom Cup Leading Points’ Scorers (2011):
| Player | Team | T | C | P | D | Pts |
| Lionel Cronje | DHL Western Province | 4 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 95 |
| Coenie van Wyk | Ford Pumas | 3 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 75 |
| Willie Le Roux | Boland Cavaliers | 4 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 74 |
| Louis Strydom | Toyota FS Cheetahs | 0 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 67 |
| Tiaan van Wyk | Tasol Solar Griffons | 0 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 66 |
| Santiago Iglesias | Pampas XV | 1 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 60 |
| Nicolas Sanchez | Pampas XV | 1 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 59 |
| Kyle Hendricks | Valke | 4 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 56 |
| Chrysander Botha | Welwitschias | 1 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 52 |
| Jaco van Schalkwyk | EP Kings | 0 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 52 |
Vodacom Cup Previous Winners:
| 1998 – | GWK Griquas |
| 1999 – | MTN Golden Lions |
| 2000 – | Toyota Free State Cheetahs |
| 2001 – | Vodacom Blue Bulls |
| 2002 – | MTN Golden Lions |
| 2003 – | MTN Golden Lions |
| 2004 – | MTN Golden Lions |
| 2005 – | GWK Griquas |
| 2006 – | Valke |
| 2007 – | GWK Griquas |
| 2008 – | Vodacom Blue Bulls |
| 2009 – | GWK Griquas |
| 2010 – | Vodacom Blue Bulls |
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