Round 4 previews and predictions

Round 4 of the ABSA Currie Cup is upon us and it’s time to gaze into the crystal ball a little and predict what we think will happen.

There’s a lot riding on this one. Getting the result right can help you make serious progress in our Last Man Standing competition, as well as making your way up the log over at SuperBru. For those of you who prefer to take a more direct financial stake in things, perhaps using an online sports betting site, such as Marshalls World of Sport to place a bet on the results will be more your thing. Knowing who’s playing (and who isn’t) is also pretty important for Fantasy League managers.

Game 1: Leopards v Griquas

The round gets off to what will probably be a pretty uninspiring start up in the North West. The Leopards have endured a nightmare start to the season, conceding bonus point victories to all three of their opponents thus far. They have shown the ability to score tires, though, which may prove to be their saving grace. That said, Griquas have now claimed a second Big 5 scalp at home in beating the Lions last week and are well-placed on the log. Their away form in round 2 admittedly wasn’t great, but I simply can’t see them losing to the Leopards on Friday. Griquas to take this by 8-10 points.

Leopards: 15 Danie Dames; 14 Deon Scholtz, 13 Jovan Bowles, 12 Walter Venter, 11 Dumisani Matyeshana; 10 Neill Jacobs, 9 Michael Bondesio; 8 Riaan Swanepoel, 7 Palm Koch (capt), 6 Danie Crous, 5 Draad Linde, 4 Anthonie Gronum, 3 Os van der Walt, 2 Gavin Williamson, 1 Divan Kotze.

Replacements: 16 Pellow van der Westhuizen, 17 Aranos Coetzee, 18 Brad Mockford, 19 Christo van Niekerk, 20 Theo van Wyk, 21 Clayton Durand/Cecil Dumont, 22 Bom Samaai.

Griquas: 15. Riaan Viljoen, 14. Richard Lawson, 13. Wilmaure Louw, 12. Barry Geel, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Naas Olivier (Captain), 9. Sarel Pretorius, 8. Davon Raubenheimer, 7. Wesley Wilkins, 6. Rohan Kitshoff, 5. Cecil-John Kemp, 4. Frederik Albertus Spies, 3. Jacobus Petrus Adriaanse, 2. Ryno Barnes, 1. Steph Roberts

Replacements: 16. Simon Westraadt, 17. Jean Botha, 18. Michael John Richard Passaportis, 19. Petrus Gerhardus (Gerhard) Human, 20. Marnus Hugo, 21. Matthew Rosslee, 22. Rocco Reginald Jansen

Game 2: Western Province v Pumas

A simple game to call, but then again, we said the same thing about the Sharks-Pumas game last week and were very nearly left blushing. The Pumas are a halfway decent outfit this year and have given both the Sharks and the Bulls a reasonable run for their money. At the end of the day, though, they haven’t managed to beat either of the big-name sides they’ve faced and I don’t see them toppling Province this weekend either, although my days of predicting runaway victories over the Pumas are behind me! Province to win by around 15 points.

Western Province: 15. Conrad Jantjes, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Paul Bosch, 11. Frikkie Welsh, 10. Willem de Waal, 9. Conrad Hoffmann, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Rynhardt Elstadt, 6. Pieter Louw, 5. Anton van Zyl (Captain), 4. Adriaan Fondse, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. JD Moller

Replacements: 16. Hanyani Shimange, 17. JC Kritzinger, 18. Martin Muller, 19. Pieter Myburgh, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Lionel Cronje, 22. JJ Engelbrecht

Pumas: 15. Carl Bezuidenhout, 14. Ashwin Scott, 13. Tiaan Marx, 12. Siviwe Wilmot Magaba, 11. Allistair Kettledas, 10. Elgar Watts, 9. Jacques (Pumas) Coetzee, 8. Christo le Roux, 7. Alwyn Bester, 6. Corne Steenkamp, 5. Marius Coetzer, 4. Andries Kruger, 3. Ashley Buys, 2. Hannes Franklin (Captain), 1. Dawie Steyn

Replacements: 16. Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17. De-Jay Terblanche, 18. Brett Nel, 19. Willem Jacob Serfontein, 20. Tian Carel Meyer, 21. Ricardo Croy, 22. Shaun Venter

Game 3: Cheetahs v Sharks

Game 3 is a very tricky one to call, even if you do have both lineups available. At the time of writing, the Sharks had yet to release their team sheet, although we expect it to include some surprises. There will be a return for some big names up front, which is good for the Durbanites, because one feels the Cheetahs would have too much for them in Bloemfontein up front otherwise. I have a feeling that John Plumtree isn’t going to reveal his full hand here anyway, meaning some late changes to the squad and it remains to be seen whether gambling with continuity and team cohesion is going to pay off for him. The head says that the Cheetahs should have enough at home to handle the Sharks, but I’m going with the heart and giving this one to the visitors by 5 points.

Cheetahs: 15. Hennie Daniller, 14. Philip Snyman, 13. Robert Ebersohn, 12. Corné Uys, 11. Jongi Nokwe, 10. Louis Strydom, 9. Tewis de Bruyn, 8. Ashley Johnson, 7. Juan Smith (Captain), 6. Hendro Scholtz, 5. Barend Pieterse, 4. Izak van der Westhuizen, 3. Willem Petrus (WP) Nel, 2. Adriaan Strauss, 1. Coenie Oosthuizen

Replacements: 16. Skipper Badenhorst, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Waltie Vermeulen, 19. Kabamba Floors, 20. Tertius Carse, 21. Sias Ebersohn, 22. Meyer Bosman

Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Stefan Terblanche (capt), 12 Patrick Lambie, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Steve Meyer, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Keegan Daniel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Pat Cilliers

Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Eugene van Staden, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Jean Deysel, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Andries Strauss

Game 4: Lions v Blue Bulls

Ah yes, the Northern derby always throws up unexpected results. Both of these teams are in pretty desperate territory here, having lost two of their opening three games. The Bulls have been boosted by the return of a number of Springboks, though, while the Lions, um, haven’t. That’s cos they don’t have any , see… because they lost every game in the Super 14. So anyway, not to put too fine a point on it, I reckon the Lions are kak and are going to get stuffed. Not because this is a great Bulls team, but rather because the Lions are kak. See where I’m going with this? Bulls by 7.

Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjes, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Warren Whitely, 7 Trevor Hall, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco van der Merwe (capt), 4 George Earle, 3 JC Janse van REnsburg, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Kevin Buys

Replacements: 16 Edgar Maratlulle, 17 Ross Geldenhuys, 18 David Bullbring, 19 Jaco Kriel, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Carlos Spencer, 22 Marius Delport.

Blue Bulls: 15 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Stephan Dippenaar, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Derick Kuün, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha (capt), 1 Jaco Engels.

Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Bees Roux, 18 Fudge Mabeta, 19 CJ Stander, 20 Ruan Snyman, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Hayden Groepes.