Currie Cup discussion

[QKXV]

Sorry QKXV but at the end of the day Naas is with the Falke. [/b]

Really? I had no idea. How long has Naas been with them and does it help? Sorry but living in the UK makes it difficult for me to catch up with Currie cup news, apart from what I see on tinternet now and again.

That's not good as it means we might get Joost in, the good news is that you might get lucky and get just Joost's knowledge, but then, on the other hand you might get only his ego..... and apparently there is alot of it.

 

[Huckleberry]

Naas was just recently appointed with Rudy Joubert as the coaches of Valke.

 

[QKXV]

Naas was just recently appointed with Rudy Joubert as the coaches of Valke. [/b]

Wow, should be interesting to see how this develops.

 

[BokMagic]

As far as I know, Naas has been the director of rugby at the Valke for about 2 years now, but it`s the 1st I`ve heard of him being appointed as coach over there.

Does the Vlke have a bit of extra cash these days? If so, then well done to them for spending it wisely, on structures, rather than a couple of big-name, has-been signings.

 

[fokkenkak]

I think the sharks lighties will cause some problems but there will be a lack of experienced players to help guide them to success, so id say probaly a semi place is we will end up

 

[BokMagic]

In news from the Bulls camp, former Bok fullback Ricardo Loubsher has been appointed as the Bulls backline coach.



Discuss.

 

[QKXV]

I know Loubscher was Louden's assistant but isn't this just a temporary thing? I think it's a good idea to see how he goes during the currie cup. My guess is they'll have another backline coach for S14 '08.

 

[christin]

I know Loubscher was Louden's assistant but isn't this just a temporary thing? I think it's a good idea to see how he goes during the currie cup. My guess is they'll have another backline coach for S14 '08. [/b]

Yea i think so to that they will have another backline coach next year. I think the reason for Louden leaving might be that his sucess now with the bulls made him more acttractive for overseas buyers!



What do you guys think? Should Jake White stay or should he go? I think SA Rugby must make Pieter De Viliers new springbok coach, just so to keep the anc quite! On the other hand he is not that bad coach <_< ! The thing for me is that they can make the whole Springbok team black as long as they win every single match who cares, but what is the chance of that happening?

I think the sharks lighties will cause some problems but there will be a lack of experienced players to help guide them to success, so id say probaly a semi place is we will end up [/b]

I think that the sharks might just do better than you expect, but then there is also the lions and wp that has almost all their players for the curriecup season

 

[BokMagic]

Greetings Christin, and welcome to TRF.

Well, I for one actually rate Pieter De Villiers pretty highly. He`s come the same route as Jake, up through the age-group ranks with the u21`s. And he`s been very successful with them too- winning a tourney, and ending up losing finalist in the other one, both away from home. He`s also got a great rapport with a lot of the youngsters who`ll make out the core of our 2011 RWC challenge, just like JW had with guys like John Smit, BJ Botha, Jean De Villiers, Ashwin Willemse, Schalk Burger, Fourie Du Preez, Ricky January- all who played under him at u21 level.

I`m actually a big fan of Jake`s, I tend to think he`s an awesome coach. If he got the support from SARU that Graham Henry gets from the NZRU, our results could well have been right up there with the AB`s. Remember when JW wanted to rest 10 senior Boks from CC rugby in 2005, and got the 2 finger salute? Well, if those guys were rested in 05, I reckon that we wouldn`t have had that massive injury toll in 06. I`d actually like JW to stay on as Bok coach until 2008/09, before handing over to De Villiers, but he`s simply burned too many SARU bridges to stay on after RWC2007.

Anyway, back to the Currie Cup. I believe that it`ll be very much a 3-horse race this year. The Bulls have incredible strength in depth in virtually every position. They also have the experience of winning when it matters, so they should be right up there come finals time. The Lions have also been highly impressive this year in the S14, and their young tight 5 are growing with every game. Possible CC finalists, if you ask me. And then of course, there is the enigma that is the Province. On paper, a very handy side. Unfortunately coached by an idiot, but still able to produce the goods on the day. Might sneak in a stellar semi performance, but I doubt whether they`ll be consistent enough to turn it on for 2 weeks running.

The other 2 big hitters, might just struggle. The Sharks will lose the bulk of their tight 5, but with a lot of very promising loose forward and backline youngsters still on the park, they might just get a semi spot. Expect gus like Kankowski, Daniel, Barritt and Scott Spedding to step up to the plate and really perform.

The Cheetahs might struggle without the coaching of Rassie. And their big-name players, with the exception of RWC certainty Juan Smith, failed to step up in the S14.

So that`s my early predictions. All of which are subject to change, naturally..........

 

[Steve-o]

How about the upsets that happened this weekend that just passed! Great to see the underdogs Boland beating WP and Griquas edging out the Bulls (Great game). LOVE it! The Lions vs Sharks game was fast paced, and I believe the Lions were lucky to take it

 

[BokMagic]

Yes, things are really hotting up, after just 2 weeks of action hey! So, my 4 favourites to make the semi`s- WP, Bulls, Lions and Sharks have all played 2, won 1 and lost 1. Things are getting pretty interesting right now, and there`ll be precious little scope for any of the big guns to drop points going forward, especially with the Cheetahs looking very hot at present.

 

[Bull]

Geez some really poor matches this weekend. Bulls played ppor as did WP. But it's still very early in the CC and a lot is still going to happen.

 

[Boggle]

I swore at WP this weekend, good gosh they were cocking about.



You have to give it to Boland though, they played like filthy ******** but they pulled it off, I was so looking forward to seeing a great running game, and then the rain decided to show up. :angry:

 

[BokMagic]

Tis weekend`s fixtures are:

Valke vs Boland

Sharks vs The Mighty Province

Cheetahs vs Griekwas

Blue Bulls vs Lions

Two very interesting clashes between the big boys this weekend- the coastal brethren of the Sharks and Province will both be smarting after losing last weekend in games both probably targeted to win.

And then there`s the cross- Jukskei battle between the Bulls and the Lions. No love lost there really.

Predictions anyone?

 

[Boggle]

Why is the currie cup thread so dead my friends ?

So, I'm pretty excited about this weekend really, especially after the "friendlies" of the weekend.
Lions got a big scare after Border allmost came back and took the victory from them losing just narrowly by 31 - 35.
Bulls lost their game against the Leopards 17 - 20 with Richard Bands losing the plot completely and getting a red card for punching someone in the face after getting chirped at.

And province winning, rather blandly it would seem (*didn't get a chance to watch the game*), against the SWD eagles 30 - 8 I believe.

So Province with an actual win under their belt and with their shiny new coach (*pun intended*) take on the Bulls at newlands.


And of course Lions take on the Cheetahs at Ellis Park, I'm hoping for a Province win obviously, but I also would like the Lions to do us all a favour and get the jump on the men from the Freestate just to level out the playing field again.

Sharks play Boland too, but I'm pretty sure they should bag that one.

 

[BokMagic]

Well, I think that the Lions vs. Cheetahs game might just produce some awesome rugby- both backlines have, at times, looked really enterprising. Look out for Bok 7`s star Rayno Benjamin in this game.

The Sharks were very impressive last week in their win over Griekwas on attack, but looked pretty vulnerable on defense. Don`t know if Boland will be good enough to take advantage, they`re probably cruising for a bruising. But the Bolanders have overcome some serious odds already this season, just getting a squad together after the Fidentia mess, so who knows? For the Sharks, old man Stefan Terblanche really looked impressive so far this season, and could be a star in this game.

And then of course, the biggie. North versus South. Mega pack versus quicksilver backs. Brawn versus brains ( well, now that Fester`s gone, anyway....). Boer versus Soutie even. Of course, I`m talking about the biggest of biggies when it comes to local derbies. No prizes for guessing which team I`ll be supporting!

Boggle, I`m a bit out of touch with the squads for this weekend`s games, what with the Billabong Pro in town and all. How looks the Province and Bulls squads?

 

[Boggle]

According to The Supersport website.


Western Province



Team: 15. Conrad Jantjes, 14. Sireli Naqelevuki, 13. Dylan Des Fountain, 12. De Wet Barry, 11. Tonderai Chavhanga, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Paul Delport, 8. Robbie Diack, 7. Gerrie Britz, 6. Luke Watson (Captain), 5. Selborne Boome, 4. Ross Skeate, 3. Eddie Andrews, 2. Schalk Brits, 1. JD Moller

Replacements: 16. Christiaan Liebenberg, 17. Brok Harris, 18. Andries Bekker, 19. Pieter Louw, 20. Bolla Conradie, 21. Corne Uys, 22. Brent Russell


Blue Bulls



Team: 15. Johan Roets, 14. John Mametsa, 13. JP Nel, 12. Wayne Julies, 11. Marius Delport, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Neil Powell, 8. Dewald Johan Potgieter, 7. Johan Wasserman (Captain), 6. Hottie Louw, 5. Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4. James Clifford Milton, 3. Rayno Gerber, 2. Derick Kuun, 1. Jaco Engels

Replacements: 16. James van der Walt, 17. Werner Kruger, 18. Gideon Johannes Stegmann, 19. Ruan Vermeulen, 20. JP Joubert, 21. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22. Lukhanyo Nontshinga


Billabong Pro ?

what's that all about then ?

 

[QKXV]

Ha got my SKy boks last Friday and all set up now, will finally be able to watch some CC matches again, breaksfast at mine will be a huge plate of AB v Aus, followed by a light snack of Lions V Cheetas and then on to the main course of Boertjie V soutie like Bokmagic calls it.

Lekker

 

[Garth Truter]

Yoohoo, Currie Cup time again! Western Province all the way!
[/b]

That would be great, but not currently playing very good rugby, hope the new coach turns the ship around.

 

[Juan le Roux]

the lepords won the blue bulls and I have been waiting for this my hole live I am a huge lepord fan and think they have a bright future