Who will win the ABSA Currie Cup in 2011?

[Seaton]

Simple poll, who will win, and if you can spare the time, why?



As for me, the Sharks B)

Reason- They're awesome B)





Actually I think WP will win, because I think they will be the least affected by Bok call-ups

 

[JJR]

Has to be The Sharks!! It will be a repeat of last year; WP should have the 2nd strongest side with the Boks gone. Sharks u/21 also stand a good chance; bladdy good squad; there are SA Junior representitives that can't even make the Sharks U/21 squad.

Possible Sharks team for Currie Cup(obviously Boks are gone)-

1.Van Staden
2.Burden
3.Herbst
4.Mostert
5.Hargreaves
6.Daniel
7.Deysel
8.Kankowski
9.Mcloed
10.Michalak
11.Mvovo
12.Joubert
13.Jacobs
14.Ndungane
15.Terblanche (C)...wish he would retire!!!

16.Cooper
17.Chadwick
18.Skeate/Bresler
19.Botes
20.M.Coetzee
21.JLP
22.Bosman/Ludik

WP Possible Team

1.Blaauw
2.Tiaan
3.Harris
4.Elstadt
5.Adriaan Fondse
6.P.Louw
7.Kolisi
8.Koster/Vermeulen (When Fit)
9.Duvenhage
10.Grant (Still gonna be there?....likes to visit Japan, LOL)
11.JJ
12.Bosch...still there?
13.Sadie
14.Poolman
15.Jantjes

Sharks U/21 Players to watch.

Front Row- Hulk Mkhize and Nic Schonert...two future stars, both SA Junior Representitives.

Looseforwards- Francois Kleinhans and Siseko Jafta also both SA Junior Reps. A guy i have known since 2007 from his High School Days. Big Ball Carrying Brynard Stander ,really keen to see how he does. M.Coetzee (No.8) is still eligibal to play for this side (U/21) for 2 more years; but he has already played Superugby and is making the step up quite comfortably...so it is Unlikely.

Centre-Paul Jordaan; Fastest SA Sevens Springbok and SA U/20. He is eligibal to play for this side (Sharks u/21) for 3 years more! Lets see how the Schoolboy star does now that he has joined The Sharks Academy.

There r Lots of players i have heard about in this squad, but not seen play some play yet; keen to see how they do, few of these Guys have had long term injuries and have now all returned...Guys i have not seen, but are rated highly by others is Chris Cloete, Johan Schooembee and anyone who plays for College Rovers or Collegians Rugby Clubs...HA.

Local Rugby Scene...too keen for it to get Started!!

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Well, Griquas should be competitive (even without Pretorius) and while the Pumas and Leopards will probably claim a scalp or two it's probably still between the 'big' five. Bulls, Stormers and Sharks undoubtably the best but will also lose the most senior personel to the Springboks so it's balanced on a knife edge if you ask me.

Likely team line-ups and how I rate them;

1 WP
1 Blaauw 2 Liebenberg 3 Harris 4 Elstadt 5 Fondse 6 Kolisi 7 Koster 8 Vermeulen 9 Duvenhage 10 Grant 11 Poolman 12 Bosch 13 Sadie 14 Engelbrecht 15 Jantjes

2 Kwazulu Natal
1 Van Staden 2 Burden 3 Herbst 4 Hargreaves 5 Skeate 6 Botes 7 Deysel 8 Kankow 9 McCleod 10 Potgieter 11 Mvovo 12 Bosman 13 Terblanche 14 Ndungane 15 Ludik

3 Gauteng
1 Van Rensburg 2 Maku 3 Cilliers 4 Van Heerden 5 Van der Merwe 6 Minie 7 Rhodes 8 Strauss 9 Vermaak 10 Jantjies 11 Mapoe 12 La Grange 13 Murray 14 Van Rensburg 15 Taute

4 Free State
1 Oosthuizen 2 Strauss 3 Nel 4 Uys 5 Steenkamp 6 Myburgh 7 Johnson 8 Floors 9 Carse/De Bruyn 10 Ebersohn 11 Benjamin 12 Uys/Strauss 13 Ebersohn 14 Snyman 15 Daniller

5 Noord Transvaal
1 Greyling 2 Botha 3 De Klerk 4 Kruger 5 Mabeta 6 Kuun 7 Stegmann 8 Potgieter 9 Snyman 10 Brummer 11 Basson 12 Olivier 13 Pretorius 14 Van den Heever 15 Kirschner

1 to 5 very even actually. That's assuming the players the coaches prefer stay along the same lines as they did in the Super 15 without players possibly still leaving or youngsters getting a go IE without the unforseens. Personally, I'd love to see Eben Etzebeth get a call up to either the number 5 or 7 jersey. Though a loose forward combo of Vermeulen, Koster and Etzebeth wouldn't be very balanced.

 

[JJR]

Waar is Michalak, Marius Joubert en Gerhard Mostert...they will all surely be in the starting Lineup for The Sharks!!

Bulls stand no chance...it is between Sharks and Wp. Sharks will Def. top the Log Standings at the end and meet Wp in the final in Durban. What happens in Durban is up to who pitches up on the day; but then again, Sharks team will have around 11 players with International experience in their 22 whilst WP will only have around 3 at most. My money is subjectively and objectively on The Sharks to win, again.

Sharks CC Players with International Experience-

-Fred Michalak
-Hargreaves
-Daniel
-Deysel
-Kankowski
-Mcloed
-Bosman
-Joubert
-Terblanche
-Mvovo
-Ndungane
-Adi Jacobs

Guys who will most likely be off on Bok Duty- Beast, Smit, Bissie, Jannie, Alberts, Lambie and JPP.

 

[Amobokoboko]

WP or Sharks altho I really hope the Griquas and Cheetahs will cause some mayhem

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Waar is Michalak, Marius Joubert en Gerhard Mostert...they will all surely be in the starting Lineup for The Sharks!!

Bulls stand no chance...it is between Sharks and Wp. Sharks will Def. top the Log Standings at the end and meet Wp in the final in Durban. What happens in Durban is up to who pitches up on the day; but then again, Sharks team will have around 11 players with International experience in their 22 whilst WP will only have around 3 at most. My money is subjectively and objectively on The Sharks to win, again.

Oh, yeah, I forgot about Joubert coming back. So I assume Michalak will be staying on then? Pity, I rate Lambie at 10; he has a greater influence on the game from 10 than at 15. Hopefully he'll see his return to the 10 jersey and Michalak doesn't hang around too long. Sure the Sharks are favourites but as you said, it should be Sharks vs WP at Durban and then its anybody's game. PPROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVINCE!!

 

[Feicarsinn]

'Mon the Pumas.

 

[Draggs]

Honestly, I don't want Michalak hanging around, or at least we need to shift him to 9.
Lambie is a much better standoff and we can't ruin him like Russell, Steyn, and Pienaar by shifting him around.
Mind you, we won't have Lambie for the CC, so we can still use Michalak there.

-Mostert is off to Stade, not sure if that is before or after the CC. Shame, at least Bresler seems like a good prospect. (Bresler over Skeate)
-Hoffmann over McLeod.
-Kankowski might be involved with the Boks but we have Coetzee who seems to be a decent player. (Also Groenewald)
-Is Terblanche retiring? This has got to be his last season if he isn't. I can see him on the bench or filling in on rotation. Hargreaves would be my choice as captain.

 

[DorceOutSide]

i think the sharks will end up winning it if not then the wp

 

[Sker]

Griquas!

Why? I just have a feeling, they need to win it sometime. Otherwise WeePee!

 

[Amobokoboko]

A bit of topic, but wasn't there a Argentina team that participated in the Currie cup last year and showed some good skill

 

[Draggs]

A bit of topic, but wasn't there a Argentina team that participated in the Currie cup last year and showed some good skill

Pampas XV won the Vodacom Cup this year.
I can't recall any Argentine sides in the Currie Cup, perhaps someone else can give a definitive answer.

 

[JJR]

Currie Cup is only SA Teams. Obviously Pampas XV was allowed to play in vodacom cup, to help them develop their players and build some depth before they join the Tri-nations/ Four Nations. Vodacom Cup consists mainly of young/Age group players and Fringe players for the SA Superugby sides. Unfortunately The Sharks XV were unable to play Mostert, anton Bresler, Burden, JLP, etc in the Semis of the comp, because they had been on the bench for the Superugby side...so Un far; left our Juniors to do the Job; but it was always gonna be tough losing so many key players and they also lost M.Coetzee who was great for The Sharks XV all season.

 

[Seaton]

I still rate they would have won that semi JJR if there was a different ref. Penalizing the Sharks for apparently collapsing their own maul on the Pampas 5 metre line

As for the Griquas, I'm sure Sarel will hang around for the CC, otherwise he will be sitting around doing nothing until the Waratahs preseason starts.

I'm not sure about Olivier and Viljoen though.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Olivier moves to Aironi to play Magners League which starts in september, so he will be gone. Viljoen... Not sure where he is going. Has he signed anywhere yet?

 

[Seaton]

Olivier moves to Aironi to play Magners League which starts in september, so he will be gone. Viljoen... Not sure where he is going. Has he signed anywhere yet?

He also signed for Aironi, if I am not mistaken

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

He also signed for Aironi, if I am not mistaken

Frans Viljoen (flank) from the Cheetahs has signed for them, yeah. Not Riaan Viljoen (fullback) from the griquas as far as I know. I think Aironi are going to get a lot of value out of Fans Viljoen; not the flashiest but he certainly adds that grunt every team needs.

 

[Seaton]

Indeed, you are correct.

Certainly won't be last time I make an error due to similair/ identical surnames no doubt.

A little off topic, but not worth a new thread, but what do you guys think of the yet-to-be-made-official-but-odds-on-to-be-approved new format of the the Currie Cup?

Supposed to 6 teams in the Premier division, with the Kings guaranteed participation and non-relegation status for 3 years.
8 teams in the second division, with the winner playing a home and away relegation/ promotion tie.

It's a crock of s***e if you ask me, one of the reasons why the big unions are willing to play youngsters is because there is no threat of relegation, but the removal of the bottom two teams would mean that one of the big 5 would finish last/ second to last (assuming the Kings finish last), and face the play-off.

Now, frankly I don't see how the second division teams would get the money to acquire players to be able to be competitive in these ties, but the threat of possible relegation would mean that the big 5 won't risk developing young players if experienced players can be brought in short term.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Indeed, you are correct.

Certainly won't be last time I make an error due to similair/ identical surnames no doubt.

A little off topic, but not worth a new thread, but what do you guys think of the yet-to-be-made-official-but-odds-on-to-be-approved new format of the the Currie Cup?

Supposed to 6 teams in the Premier division, with the Kings guaranteed participation and non-relegation status for 3 years.
8 teams in the second division, with the winner playing a home and away relegation/ promotion tie.

It's a crock of s***e if you ask me, one of the reasons why the big unions are willing to play youngsters is because there is no threat of relegation, but the removal of the bottom two teams would mean that one of the big 5 would finish last/ second to last (assuming the Kings finish last), and face the play-off.

Now, frankly I don't see how the second division teams would get the money to acquire players to be able to be competitive in these ties, but the threat of possible relegation would mean that the big 5 won't risk developing young players if experienced players can be brought in short term.

Idiotic if you ask me. Effectively relegating the Griquas along with both Pumas and Leopards (both capable of upsetting a 'big' union with a few stars on Springbok duty) if they insist on giving the Kings a 'free pass'. Hell, the Griquas might end above some of the bigger unions. How will they determine who gets the cut? This will only further devalue the CC.

6 spots (5 if the Kings get their's on a platter) will put undue pressure in the bigger unions, probably leading to more conservative approaches by them, and effectively cut off any hope of the other unions to ever get promoted. That makes the championship a lot less dynamic and interesting.

 

[sethry101]

I am a sharks support through and through but with the lions keeping their Superrugby team i believe they will be strong contenders for the ***le. Good luck to them, but GO SHARKS!!!