The Sharks and Western Province must be favourites to progress to the Currie Cup final, writes JON CARDINELLI.
SHARKS vs BLUE BULLS (Saturday, 14:30)
A clash of styles is on the cards when the Sharks host the Blue Bulls at Kings Park on Saturday. The Sharks led the way in terms of kicking and defence across the league stage, and won 10 of their 12 matches. Meanwhile, the Bulls’ high-risk/high-reward attacking game saw them winning five from 12.
Playoff games are typically won by the teams that embrace a pragmatic approach. With this in mind, the Sharks have every reason to feel confident ahead of the semi-final against the Bulls.
The Sharks have played an abrasive brand of rugby this season. Their scrum has been solid, while their lineout has been one of the best on show. They should look to target the Bulls at the set pieces and breakdowns on Saturday.
The Bulls will struggle to generate quick ball if their forwards are losing the set pieces and collisions. They will play into the Sharks’ hands if they endeavour to run from deep.
Coach John Mitchell said earlier this week that the Bulls will continue to back their attacking strategy. The Sharks coaches have noted that the Bulls – under Mitchell – are favouring a style similar to that of the New Zealand Super Rugby teams.
The Bulls will look to run the Sharks off their feet this Saturday. They may feel that they have an edge over the Sharks if the game is still in the balance after 60 minutes. As we’ve seen in the Super Rugby tournament, the New Zealand sides tend to up the tempo and target a tiring defence in the final quarter.
That said, the Sharks have the means to hurt the Bulls in the early stages of the contest and build a significant lead. They have a reliable goal-kicker in Curwin Bosch, who showed last week that he is also a drop-goal threat.
The Sharks fired, then faded in last week’s clash against WP. With the likes of Jean-Luc du Preez back in the mix, and with everything at stake, we can expect a more consistent performance from the men in black and white this Saturday.
Sharks – 15 Garth April, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Sbu Nkosi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Subs: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Juan Schoeman,18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Jean Droste, 20 Jacques Vermeulen, 21 Michael Claassens, 22 Tristan Blewett, 23 Odwa Ndungane.
Blue Bulls –15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Burger Odendaal (c), 12 JT Jackson, 11 Johnny Kotze, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Nic de Jager, 7 Tim Agaba, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Aston Fortuin/Jannes Kirsten, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Subs: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Jano Venter, 19 Jannes Kirsten/Eli Snyman, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Tony Jantjies, 22 Duncan Matthews, 23 Jon-Roy Jenkinson.
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WESTERN PROVINCE vs GOLDEN LIONS (Saturday, 17:15)
Province will take a lot of heart from their recent win over the Sharks. Thanks to that result, they will host this playoff at Newlands instead of travelling to the highveld.
The league records of both teams don’t make for particularly impressive reading, though. WP won seven games and the Lions six.
The Lions certainly had their problems on attack and defence. Swys de Bruin’s side is the only team to progress to the playoffs this season with a negative points difference (-49).
The influence of Springbok legend Victor Matfield, however, has certainly been patent in the Lions’ lineout performances. No team has stolen more lineouts in this year’s Currie Cup competition (17). This Saturday, they will come up against a WP side that has won the most lineouts (on their own ball) in the tournament.
De Bruin has backed Bok front-rankers Malcolm Marx and Ruan Dreyer to start. Those selections will boost the visitors’ scrum. WP aren’t short of power in this department either, with veteran JC Janse van Rensburg starting alongside Boks Bongi Mbonambi and Wilco Louw.
The Lions boast some big names in their backline, with Boks Andries Coetzee, Courtnall Skosan, Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Ross Cronjé included in the starting lineup. They have a dangerous runner in Blitzboks veteran Kwagga Smith at No 8. The Lions’ attacking success will hinge, however, on the forwards’ ability to force the WP heavies on to the back foot.
Playing at home, WP should be favourites to win. With a host of Boks in tow, however, the Lions will feel that they stand a good chance of forcing an upset.
Western Province – 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Ruhan Nel, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (c), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Subs: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Frans van Wyk, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Jano Vermaak, 21 Werner Kok, 22 Damian Willemse.
Golden Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 13 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Len Massyn, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen (c).
Subs: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Dylan Smith,18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Rhyno Herbst, 20 Robert Kruger, 21 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 22 Ashlon Davids, 23 Sylvian Mahuza.
Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
