Let’s have a look at the Round 1 action in the eagerly-awaited 2015 instalment of the Currie Cup Premier Division.
The first match tomorrow sees Western Province travel to Kimberley to take on Griquas, where the clash kicks off at the rather anti-social time of 3pm. Trying to pick winners and losers with no form to guide you is a mug’s game at the best of times and this sort of game is especially tricky. Province have a new coach and feel a little “new look”, with a number of debutants in their team alongside veterans like Juan de Jongh, Demetri Catrakilis and Rynhardt Elstadt. Griquas, on the other hand, haven’t been quite as formidable against minnow opposition this year – even managing to somehow lose to the Border Bulldogs! A lot will depend on how a relatively youthful Province tight five fronts up against the hard men from Kimberley – and there’s also the ever-present threat of Riaan Viljoen at flyhalf for Griquas who can win a match on his own when he feels in the mood.
It should be rather tight, one feels, but Province have the class to take it and will probably win by around 5 points.
Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Juan de Jongh (captain), 12 Jaco Taute, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Oliver Kebble.
Replacements: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 Chris van Zyl, 19 Chris Cloete, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Johnny Kotze, 23 Charlie van Jaarsveld.
Griquas: 15 Gouws Prinsloo, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Ntabeni Dukisa, 10 Riaan Viljoen, 9 Tian Meyer (captain), 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Nardus van der Walt, 6 RJ Liebenberg, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Jonathan Adendorf, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 Abraham le Roux, 1 Danie Mienie.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Stephan Kotze, 18 Jaco Nepgen, 19 Leon Karemaker, 20 Rudi van Rooyen, 21 Jacquin Jansen, 22 Ngcobo Sandile.
The Sharks are against the Pumas in the second game, kicking off in Nelspruit at 6pm. I’ve already eaten my share of humble pie for predicting it would be cold (in fact, it’s likely to be 20C!) so I’ll make no further silly comments about how the weather will affect the game. Rather, I feel it’s going to come down to how well the Sharks forwards play; some youngsters in the back row will need to show how good they are, but with a strong tight five, they should be able to get on top and provide their backs with something to work with. There is no shortage of fire-power out wide for the Sharks, but the Pumas also have some frighteningly good broken-play runners and will punish any sloppy work on defence.
This will probably be a high-scoring affair, but I reckon the Sharks will take it by 7 or so.
Pumas: 15 JW Bell, 14 Bernado Botha, 13 Jerome Pretorius, 12 Stefan Watermeyer (captain), 11 Rosco Spekman, 10 JC Roos, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Lambert Groenewald, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 4 Rudi Mathee, 3 De-Jay Terblanché, 2 Frank Herne, 1 Khwezi Mona.
Replacements: 16 Francois du Toit, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Marius Coetzer, 19 Jason-Colin Fraser, 20 Reynier van Rooyen, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Hoffmann Maritz.
Sharks: 15 Joe Pietersen , 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Wandile Mjekevu, 12 Heimar Williams, 11 Andre Esterhuizen, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Khaya Majola, 5 Marco Wentzel (Captain), 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Monde Hadebe, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Dave McDuling , 19 Daniel du Preez , 20 Francois Kleinhans, 21 Michael Claassens, 22 SP Marais.
In simultaneous Saturday games (both starting at 14h15) the Lions take on the EP Kings in PE, while the Bulls travel to Bloemfontein to face the Cheetahs. I’ll not say much about the first game (since Pierre will give us his views in due course) but I’d be very surprised if the Lions don’t walk away comfortable, bonus-point winners there. The other one is going to be a very interesting tussle indeed – probably the clash of the round. Both sides have new coaches and a fresh look, the Cheetahs, under Franco Smith, handed the Super Rugby bulls a hiding with a team not too dissimilar to the one that will play on Saturday, though, which must make them strong favourites.
Then again, nobody knows what to expect from the Blue Bulls under Nollis Marais and the former Tukkie has already pulled out a good few shocks in terms of the exciting team he’s selected. Will these Bulls prove to be a new breed, or will it just be more of the same dull bashing, even under a new coach?
The Cheetahs will win, but I’m not giving it to them by more than a few points and I think the Bulls may well surprise a few people watching.
EP Kings: Still to be announced
Lions: 15 Ruan Combrinck, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Harold Vorster, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Martin Muller, 4 Franco Mostert, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 19 Steph de Wit, 20 Lohan Jacobs, 21 Stokkies Hanekom, 22 Jaco van der Walt.
Free State: 15 Coenie van Wyk, 14 Clayton Blommetjies, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Neil Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Gerhard Olivier, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Willem Serfontein, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Neil Rautenbach, 1 Caylib Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Doit, 17 Maks van Dyk, 18 Burrie Uys, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Tiene Burger, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Fred Zeilinga.
Blue Bulls: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Lappies Labuschagne (captain), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Nqoba Mxoli, 18 Rudolph Snyman, 19 Roelof Smit, 20 Ivan van Zyl, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Dries Swanepoel.
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i dont think one can be over confident going to PE . Recon Lions should win but it might be close
@Zibbie (Comment 1) : I think this is probably the only game in which you can safely predict a good outcome for the favorites. Shockingly sharks fans are cautious when talking about their odds against Pumas. How we have fallen… But I am going to stick my neck out I say sharks by 10 points if we let them in 15 plus if we play a sterling game.
@Zibbie (Comment 1) : Lions by 10 comfortably.
Bulls for a close-ish win. 5-7 points.
Griekwas to probably do what they do best. .upset.
Did Zeilinga switch unions because he dreamt of sitting on a different bench? 😈
@vanmartin (Comment 6) : ja. Seems Franco prefers the chubby one at flyahlf
@robdylan (Comment 7) : Chubby one had a blinder vs. the Bulls at Moftus. Newbie Zeilinga, will have to earn his spots lol
Chubby one is strong, yet light on his feet. Difficult to bring down, and will give good momentum on attack. Will see how his D goes.
Whatever happened to Elgar Watts?
@coolfusion (Comment 9) : Gone to the Kings, but Tim Whitehead is the preferred pivot at the moment.
@KingCheetah (Comment 10) : plus Watts is injured.
And it’s George, not Tim
@KingCheetah (Comment 8) : I was impressed with chubby, don’t get me wrong.
Just reminded me a little of Clinton van Rensburg, the size of him!
@robdylan (Comment 11) : Ah! I sit corrected 😆
@robdylan (Comment 12) : Heck, now there is a name from the past!!
@KingCheetah (Comment 14) : he was a proper tank, wasn’t he?
@robdylan (Comment 15) : He played some good rugger. Had a silky pass for such a big guy. Didn’t need to step much, but he did!
@KingCheetah (Comment 16) : yeah, agree with you
@KingCheetah (Comment 16) : @robdylan (Comment 17) :very underrated player!!!! Always liked him but for me he never had a real chance to show what he could do!!!!!
I don’t have a clue how to pick the Bulls-Cheetahs game. For the rest I went the same as you, Rob…
@JD (Comment 18) :
You couldnt play both him and Halstead in the same backline though.
@Big Fish (Comment 20) : Ah yes! Halstead, another player that could have gone places. More skilled than Esterhuizen. Maybe that young man can realise that being big, isn’t enough. Add some skills to his “bash em” mindset, and he might actually make an impression.
@robdylan (Comment 11) : Is he related to Tim?
Tough to call some of the matches
WP should take it but Griquas have a lot of experienced journeymen
Pumas Sharks a toss up with so many new combos at the Sharks
Cheetahs Bulls a toss up with the Cheetahs more experienced but the Bulls loaded with talented youngsters
Bulls:
5 Springboks
2 Blitzbokke
11 Junior Bokke
Excluding any overlaps
Kings Lions – the Lions should take it. Even though they are missing about 14 players from SR, 11 who played in the last match against the Stormers, they’re still fielding 18 players who featured in SR. Ackermann’s player rotation paying off
I cant see Griquas beating that WP side unless WP fail to pitch up..Griquas have lost some key players. Pumas/Sharks could go either way…very settled Pumas lineup with always something to prove. If Sharks forwards can front up then Sharks backs will win it. Cheetahs/Bulls…eish that could def swing either way although you would have to favour that Bulls team if game was played on paper. And Lions to beat a pretty average Kings side. My prediction for top 4: WP, Lions, Bulls, Sharks to edge in just ahead of Pumas
@KingCheetah (Comment 21) :
I was a Halstead fan, but I cant agree that he had more skills than Esterhuizen.
Esterhuizen does look for contact too often and he does often drop the ball simply due to poor handling, but he is still young and green. The fact that he can also kick and played fullback as a junior leads me to hope that he does have the right abilities to develop a more rounded game.
@coolfusion (Comment 22) : no
Wait, Joe Pieterson? The wp guy that I last saw playing for Cheetahs??
When did that happen? 😯
@Original Pierre (Comment 27) : dude, you need to spend less time taking drugs (or whatever) and more time reading the articles 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 28) : Wait till he sees PSDT run out for the Stormers 😉
@Big Fish (Comment 25) : It’s not often one sees the works “skills” and “Trevor Halstead” mentioned in the same sentence… 😉
@robdylan (Comment 28) : Nooooo Don`t know what you think I`m up to, but it has more to do with a certain young long legged beauty.
So chill, everything is on the ” Up and Up ” here in G/Bay !
😎
@Culling Song (Comment 30) :
Might actually be the first time ever, I’d have thought.
@Original Pierre (Comment 27) : Wow dude. ..seriously? OK so where do we start? First off happy new year. ..it’s now 2015… ok next we did not win super rugby. ..I repeat, not ,win super rugby. I’ll let you chew on that first. …hah just kidding.
Wow, the super sport announcers get worse and worse….
Griquas 7 – 17 WP
21 minutes.
7 – 24 now, this is going to be a cricket score.
@Seth101 (Comment 36) :
Dunno what Rob was thinking.
Half that WP backline could be Bok B contenders.
Loosies are fantastic and the tight five have more than a little promise.
Half Time
Griquas 7 – 24 WP
@Ben (Comment 38) : @Seth101 (Comment 36) :
Thanks for the update guys.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 37) : Giving the smaller sides to much credit in this CC me thinks. Over all I think think this Curry Cup will be the same as always. Expect a 3 way tussle between Lions, WP and US.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 39) : I would give commentary but may stream is a bit delayed, so twitter is more up to date 🙄
@Seth101 (Comment 40) :
Agreed.
I’m just looking at that side and youve got the like of de Jongh, Kolbe, Taute and Senatla. Boks and sevens Boks.
Even with minimal ball they’ll be competitive. With adequate ball they’ll run riot.
Then you have the Cat and his 105% kicking record, Carr who should be with the Boks, Klein and Botha who are no slouches and Kebble who is touted as a future Bok. Elstadt, Mbonanmbi and Notshe are no journeymen.
Thats a decent side.
@Seth101 (Comment 41) :
I dont know how to do Twitter im afraid.
Still the same score after 50 minutes.
Griquas 7 – 31 WP
54 minutes.
WP bag a bonus point.
Griquas 12 – 31 WP
58 minutes.
Rynhardt Elstadt yellow carded for repeated infringements.
WP’s second yellow card in the game.
@Ben (Comment 49) :
Eish. I dont like that one bit.
First one was for?
Griquas 19 – 31 WP
66 minutes.
@Ben (Comment 48) : Phew, at least its not for a punch, headbutt, eye gouge etc.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 50) : Jean Kleyn – not retreating 10 meters before tackling a player that took a quick tap and go.
@Ben (Comment 53) : In the first half.
Griquas 19 – 38 WP
72 minutes.
WP turning the corner now.
Griquas 19 – 43 WP
75 minutes.
@Ben (Comment 53) :
On the 5m line im guessing? Bit harsh for a yellow.
FULL TIME
GRIQUAS 19 – 43 WP
@Ben (Comment 59) :
Ta bro.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 58) : In the Griquas 22, believe it or not. The Griquas player tapped, Peyper shouted twice at Jean to leave him but Jean tackled him anyway. Peyper said it’s a professional foul.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 60) : No worries.
@Ben (Comment 61) :
Ah, now you mention Peyper it all makes sense lol.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 63) : You guys have got a sick backline, mate. Sabelo is going to be a forced to be reckoned with in this Currie Cup.
Good game to watch. The listening part not so good on the other hand. Hugh Bladen is a bloody awful commentator.
@Ben (Comment 64) :
Him and Kolbe are gonna be immense together. As my high school coach once said to me – there’s no substitute for pace.
The great thing for WP, is when you have outside backs like that you can still win with 30% ball. Obviously not every time, but there’s always 7-14 points on offer via the counter.
@Ben (Comment 65) :
Is he still around? Crikey.
Dunno how that happens.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 66) : True.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 67) : 🙄