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Play off Fixtures
After 10 weeks of hard-fought battles in Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Durban we are at the point what we've been waiting for: The play-offs! The strength-vs-strength format has given us 30 games in which many talented youngsters have come through the ranks to boost their team's depth. The return of the Springbok players in Round 10 gave most teams the quality injection needed to prepare for the final stages.
Newlands, Cape Town (Saturday, 14:30 Local)
In the first semi final on Saturday the Golden Lions take on Western Province at Newlands in Cape Town. The visitors from Johannesburg will rely on the quality of fly-half Elton Jantjies and the dynamic back-row consisting of Jaco Kriel, Derick Minnie and Wille Britz. Those 3 combined for a total of 13 tries and will be looking to score some 5-pointers when they take on a back-row with options in Duane Vermeulen, Siya Kolisi, captain Deon Fourie and veteran Schalk Burger. The battle will be an epic one and has the potential to be a great game of running rugby when these guys are on the field. Western Province will be strong in the line-outs with the return of Eben Etzebeth, who had a strong game against the Sharks last week.
In Round 9, both teams played in Cape Town and Western Province won 36-23 including a try at the death by Michael Rhodes which gave them the all important bonus point. The meeting between the two in Jo'burg in round 4 was a close one with a 31-31 draw. No guarantees can be given, but Western Province has a great record against the Golden Lions/Transvaal in Currie Cup play-off rugby. In 1997, they beat the Lions at home and in last years edition, they beat them at their own turf. The last time the Golden Lions beat Western Province in Cape Town in the play-offs/finals was in 1939.
Kings Park, Durban (Saturday, 17:00 Local)
When the game in Cape Town is done and dusted, we move to that other coastal team hosting a semi final. The Natal Sharks will welcome the Free State Cheetahs to Durban and will be looking to book a ticket for their 4th consecutive Currie Cup final, and 5th in 6 years. The only year they did not make it to the final, they also hosted the Free State Cheetahs at home. Back in 2009, nobody thought there was even a chance of the Sharks missing out on a final. They won the Currie Cup the previous year and topped the table after the regular season that year and they beat the Cheetahs home and away.
This year everything is pointing at another final for the Durban team. Not only did the Sharks win in Bloemfontein (15-18), they demolished the Cheetahs team in Durban in round 7 when they scored a total of 7 tries to get to 50 points (50-26). Currie Cup top try-scorer Raymond Rhule (7 tries this season) will be the biggest threat for the Sharks defense. With Johann Sadie and Robert Ebersohn they also have a very potent center combination which will give the Sharks duo of Heimar Williams and Tim Whitehead a good run on Saturday. The fly-half battle between Johan Goosen and Patrick Lambie is important to see who will be the Bok no. 10 when the national team travels to Europe.
Both teams will play with an all-Bok front row and with arguably the 2 best hookers in the world on the field, this is definitely one game to watch for all you guys. Pieter-Steph du Toit will take on Lood de Jager in the line-outs which will prove to be an epic battle as well. In the past the Sharks have a good record against the Cheetahs when it really counts. Besides the loss in 2009, the Cheetahs have not beaten the Sharks in Durban in the play-offs.
1st leg Promotion/Relegation
Hoffe Park, Kimberley (Saturday, 19:10 Local)
Hoffe Park, Kimberley (Saturday, 19:10 Local)
When the 2 semi-finals are finished, we have another game waiting: The promotion/relegation between the Griquas and Pumas. By ending in 6th place in this years Currie Cup Premier Division, the Griquas will have to fight to stay in the top flight division of the oldest rugby competition in the world. They will take on a strong Pumas side that cruised to 1st place in the First Division, winning all 14 games and getting 10 try-scoring bonus points in the process. They stayed ahead of the Eastern Province Kings and beat those Kings in the play-offs, 53-30, to claim the championship. Former Shark Rosco Speckman is their main threat with 11 tries this year, followed closely by JW Bell (10) and Coenie van Wyk (9) who scored 30 of the 76 tries of the Pumas this year. The Pumas also have quite some players with Premier Division experience in Ivann Espag, Rudi Mathee, Francois du Toit, Renaldo Bothma, Carl Bezuidenhout, Wilmaure Louw and Stefan Watermeyer. Shaun Venter, the Pumas scrum-half will play his last games for the team before moving to the Cheetahs next year.
On the other end, there's a Griquas team who will desperately do everything to stay in the Premier Division. The province, a vital part of the Cheetahs Super Rugby franchise, has had a bad year after a great start. Their win in Durban against the Sharks in round 1, was their only win while th team suffered from injuries to Janro van Niekerk, Ligtoring Landman and PJ Vermeulen while the call up of Willie le Roux to the Bok team also significantly weakened the team on attack. However, they have the full-back in the team for this crucial encounter and they will look to put up a good show at home. The peacock-blues machine will rely on a strong back-row with Marnus Schoeman, Burger Schoeman and Leon Karemaker. Up front, Lourens Adriaanse will be leading a pack that sees the experienced Ryno Barnes and Steph Roberts complete that front-row. Especially in the back-line the Griquas have quality. Howard Mnisi and JP Nel have shown what they can do on attack which will give the Pumas combination of Louw and Watermeyer (both former Griquas) a run for their money. Boela Serfontein will see himself in quite a pickle, similar to Andries Strauss last year. he plays for Pumas but has signed with Griquas for 2014. Nobody will question his devotion but it is always a tricky thing when you hold the fate of your future team in your hand at some point in the game.
The most recent encounters between the two teams were back in 2011, when the Premier Division still had 8 teams. Both times, the visiting team escaped with the points. In round 3, the Griquas won in Nelspruit, 33-40, with both teams scoring 5 tries. 7 weeks later, in round 10, the Pumas snatched a victory at the death in Kimberley, when fly-half Carl Bezuidenhout scored a try in the final seconds of the game, giving them the win: 31-34. In this game, the tries were also equally divided, 4 each.
