Round 2 is upon us and unlike last week, we at least have a little form to guide us in our predictions.
In the first of two simultaneous games on Friday (ha ha – spot the mistake) the Lions host the Pumas at Ellis Park. This game is an early contender for match of the round, I’d say, given how good the Pumas were on home soil in downing the Sharks. The Lions, of course, must be among the early favourites to lift the golden cup and certainly demonstrated then when they dismantled the Kings, away from home, in round 1. The major question to be asked of the Pumas, as always, is whether they can replicate their home form on the road and while Johannesburg certainly isn’t the furthest they’ll have to travel this season, you’d fancy it will definitely be one of their trickier away fixtures.
There’s no reason to suspect that the Lions won’t end up on top after 80 minutes, I’m backing them to win by around 8 points, but the Pumas should be competitive throughout.
Lions: 15 Ruan Combrinck, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Harold Vorster, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Sampie Mastriet/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.
Pumas: 15 JW Bell, 14 Bernado Botha, 13 Jerome Pretorius, 12 Stefan Watermeyer (captain), 11 Rosco Spekman, 10 Juan-Claude Roos, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Lambert Groenewald, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 3 De-Jay Terblanché, 2 Frank Herne, 1 Khwezi Mona.
Replacements: 16 Francois du Toit, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jason-Colin Fraser, 19 Jaco Bouwer, 20 Reynier van Rooyen, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Hoffmann Maritz.
The Bulls are at home to Griquas this week and were perhaps the surprise package of the round, scoring a frankly massive win over Free State in a game they were widely tipped to lose. Nollis Marais has kept faith in the same side and they have to start as overwhelming favourites in their first home game. Griquas were surprisingly poor against Western Province and unfortunately aren’t likely to seriously threaten a form team away from home, based on that display.
The Blue Bulls will take this by 20 or more.
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 Pieter 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 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Rudolph Snyman, 19 Roelof Smit, 20 Ivan van Zyl, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Dries Swanepoel.
Griquas: 15 Gouws Prinsloo,14 Ruhan Nel, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Michael Van Der Spuy, 11 Ntabeni Dukisa, 10 Riaan Viljoen, 9 Tian Meyer(captain), 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Hilton Lobberts, 6 RJ Liebenberg, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Jonathan Adendorf, 3 Stephan Kotze, 2 Abraham Le Roux,1 Danie Mienie
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Ewald Van Der Westhuizen, 18 Jaco Nepgen, 19 Leon Karemaker, 20 Rudi Van Rooyen, 21 Clinton Swart, 22 Jacquin Jansen
Province are at home to the Cheetahs, kicking off at 3pm on Saturday and the same sort of logic applies in this match as it did at Loftus; the home side hit form and won an away game by a big margin last week. What’s to stop them running riot against a Cheetahs team that came badly unstuck in round 1? The trend in this round is for the winning teams to remain unchanged, with Province joining the Lions, Pumas and Bulls in naming a largely unchanged starting XV. Free State’s Franco Smith has opted to shuffle his troops a little, picking Fred Zeilinga for a baptism of fire in his first start at flyhalf.
Expect Province to win comfortably, probably by 10-15.
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 (vice-captain), 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 Jan de Klerk, 19 Chris Cloete, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Kobus van Wyk
Free State Cheetahs: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Clayton Blommetjies, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Johannes Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Caylib Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Nicolaas van Dyk, 18 Hugo Reniel, 19 Gerhard Olivier, 20 Zee Mkhabela, 21 Tertius Kruger, 22 Sias Ebersohn.
In the final game, the Sharks are at home to the Kings. Both sides lost last week and will be desperate for some points, but while the Kings appeared outclassed throughout against the Lions, the Sharks did at least recover in Nelspruit after a nightmare first half and showed some glimpses of hope in their second period display. Should they be able to adapt quickly to a raft of injury-enforced changes, expect the home side to have too much for the Kings. That’s assuming they pitch for the game, which hopefully shouldn’t be a problem after last week’s loss.
Sharks will take this by around 9 points, I fancy.
Sharks: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Wandile Mjekevu, 12 Heimar Williams, 11 Andre Esterhuizen, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Daniel du Preez, 6 Jean Deysel, 5 Marco Wentzel (captain), 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Monde Hadebe, 1 Juan Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Gerhard Engelbrecht, 18 David McDuling, 19 Francois Kleinhans, 20 Michael Claassens, 21 Paul Jordaan, 22 SP Marais.
Eastern Province Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Luther Obi, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Luke Watson (captain), 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Paul Schoeman, 20 Jacques Engelbrecht, 21 Kevin Luiters, 22 Karlo Aspeling.
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Haha…”first of simultaneous”…
Pretty much my picks too. My biggest headache is who to make the captain of my fantasy league team!
Hoping for a Cheetahs upset against Province. That would be lovely 🙂
@vanmartin (Comment 3) : Seconded…
@pastorshark (Comment 4) : Not likely but needed. Sharks already under pressure and cant get too far behind on log. Need to be in touch with leaders else it will be a hard scrap for 4th
@Kabouter (Comment 5) : Jeepers, that’s depressing…hard scrap for fourth… 😯
Lions will convincingly beat the Pumas (they’re the Pumas chaps, let’s not get carried away by a woeful Sharks team losing to them).
Bulls
Province
Sharks and Kings is too close to call. Sharks are utter shyte. I expect nothing from a team coached by Sub par Gold.
@pastorshark (Comment 6) : I truely hope that it wont be the case but the boys will have to lift execution levels and intensity considerably and be consistent. Unfortunately no real signs of such progress this year, yet.
Kings should not and I dont expect to really be a challenge but the following games will be the real tests. I hope last week was just a blip
Cold and wet here in CT…..leveller ….
Boks only just released Scarra so we without him…..why they could not have released him earlier only that wonderful Boks Admin knows…..
Province game is at 3 Robbie
The Tseetahs are fond of having a decent game at Newlands but WP should still come out on tops, stoked to see Kobus van Wyk back in the the match day squad
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 11) : Yes….what do you know about Chris Cloete?
@grant10 (Comment 12) : I know plenty about him
@robdylan (Comment 13) : enlighten me?
@robdylan (Comment 13) : Fetcher??Decent potential??
@grant10 (Comment 15) : yes, but a little loskop at times.
Flip…is that ex-shark Riaan Viljoen playing at 10 for Griquas ???
@robdylan (Comment 16) : thanks…we desperate for a quality openside down here…will watch him closely tomorrow.
@grant10 (Comment 15) : The poor man’s Heinrich Brussouw basically. Still a good player…id take him
@SheldonK (Comment 19) : Thanks….hope Smal is making a move for Brussow
@SharkED (Comment 17) : Yeeep
@grant10 (Comment 20) : I wouldnt too be honest. There are much more dynamic guys coming through the ranks at WP at the moment. When last did Brussouw carry the ball effectively? Also teams are trying to limit the number of rucks so having a guy there that only offers a possible ruck turnover is more a luxury than a neccessity i believe going forward
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 21) : Ok, cool, thanks….i didnt even know he was back in the country, let alone playing CC lol
@SharkED (Comment 17) : Yup…
@grant10 (Comment 12) : @robdylan (Comment 13) : Where does he originate from?
@pastorshark (Comment 25) : If I remember correctly, he was with us in the junior teams but originally from the Eastern Cape.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 26) : Aha…thanks. I never got to hear of him…
Almost kickoff time for tonight! Two Currie Cup games…plus two other sports that use a round ball going on. The channel hopping is going to be tricky!
Johann Ackermann is just great…humble, friendly, talented…
@pastorshark (Comment 28) : other two sports: ping-pong and squash? 🙂
By the way, in the one round-balled Sport our South Africans are playing like their oval-balled counterparts…again in Durban…again kak! Dropped catches, poor bowling, generally rubbish…ai!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 30) : Absolutely…definitely worth channel hopping for those!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 30) : @pastorshark (Comment 32) : And I hate it when our ping-pong players drop catches!!
The Bulls are looking good in the first few minutes…
Meanwhile…the Lions with a great attacking start…but good defence by the Pumas…they ultimately earn a penalty but miss the shot at goal…
The Bulls earn a kickable penalty…
And so do the Pumas…
Schoeman kicks his…3-0 Bulls after 6 mins…
Roos misses a sitter…against the uprights…0 from 2 for the Pumas kicker will disappoint him and can’t be afforded…0-0 after 7 mins…
Pumas look good…but the Lions turn it over…and Boshof nails a HUGE drop goal…3-0 Lions after 8 mins…
The Bulls steal the lineout…swing it wide…and it is intercepted by Ruan Nel…and he scores for Griquas!
The Pumas have knocked the ball close to the line and the Lions have a defensive scrum…
Griquas lead 3-5 after the conversion is missed…
Wow…Vorster runs so nicely…he’s a 13 to keep an eye on…
Pumas defensive kick charged down but it goes touch in goal…
Bulls chuck an attacking opportunity after pushing before the ball was put in…
Bulls with an attacking lineout now…
Bulls stuff up the move from the lineout and the Griquas get the breakdown penalty…
Boshof has made quite a few mistakes so far…penalty to the Pumas. Can they kick this one over…
Wow…Pumas kick for the corner…someone said…”Ag v*k dit…kom ons score manne!”
TMO to check whether Marnus Schoeman scored…
Try time I think…
Absolutely…try awarded! Pumas lead…
The toughest kick of the night is nailed and the Pumas lead 3-7 after 20 mins…
The Bulls score…but TMO will check for forward pass…
Boshof nails a penalty and it is 6-7 in Johannesburg…
The Bulls try is disallowed…forward pass from Hougaard to Ulengo…
The Lions right on attack…but lose it…then regain it…and Harold Voster is in…
He is just an impressive young player…
So the Lions go back into the lead while the Griquas still lead 3-5 after 25 mins as the Bulls knock again…
Lions lead 13-7…
Good counterruck by the Pumas and they win a penalty…
Bulls attack again…so far Griquas have defended well, but are now penalised…
Lions tap and go with a penalty and almost score. Pumas converted the penalty and made it 13-10…
Go Pumas and go Griquas!
Lions over but held up…penalty Lions…
Schoeman misses a penalty for the Bulls and it remains 3-5…
Lions choose the scrum…why not the lineout?
Penalty try Lions as they crunch the Pumas scrum…that will make it 10-20…
@pastorshark (Comment 67) : Does it still look like he bleaches his hair?
Griquas now attack hard!
And Griquas win a penalty…they take a quick tap…wow!
And finally…after plenty of phases…Griquas score!!! That makes it 3-10 with the kick to come…
The Lions attack very hard again…but lose it and Pumas clear…
Prinsloo nails the conversion from out wide and it is 3-12 for Griquas after 36 mins…wow!
The Lions maul it up but are penalised…
The Bulls pick up the urgency but still the Griquas defence holds…
The Bulls win a penalty…
Mastriet knocks the high ball for the Lions…
Schoeman nails the penalty for the Bulls and it is 6-12 after 39 mins…
@Ben (Comment 70) : Absolutely…he looks like the bleach king…
Small-Smith off injured…
The Lions scrum is starting to dominate! They make life uncomfortable for the Pumas!
That is half time in Joburg…Lions lead 20-10…
Gouws Prinsloo misses a penalty for Griquas after the hooter…that means it is 6-12 for the Griquas at halftime…
In the round-balled ping-pong game the South Africans are chasing 152…
@pastorshark (Comment 81) : Tappet! 🙄
Both games underway again…
Hougaard knocks a high ball…
Great try Pumas!!! 17-20…
The Pumas stuff up the kick off collect and the Lions pounce…Skosaan is in!
Boshoff nails the kick and the lead is 10 again…27-17…
The bulls front row is crunched…haha! Prinsloo with a shot at goal…
Wow…he comfortably misses his third kick of the night…that may be costly!
Still 6-12 Griquas after 45 mins…
Pumas with a pretty poor kick…marked by Combrinck…
Pumas attack hard and win the penalty…
Now the Bulls win a penalty and will take a shot!
Schoeman nails it and it is 9-12 after 47 minutes…
Pumas nail their penalty and it is 27-20 in Joburg…
Better exit from the kickoff by the Pumas…
The Bulls attack but Griquas win a breakdown penalty!
The Lions are also penalised at the breakdown and Pumas will take another shot…
Roos has missed three kicks too…they just can’t afford that! It remains 27-20…
Pumas attack again…they are playing very well!
Pumas inches short!! How did they not score there?! Wow…
Pumas miss a drop kick…but Berry goes all the way back and asks the TMO to check for a Pumas try…
I think that is a try…
Or is it a double movement?
Wow…tough call…
Well there we are…try to the Pumas!
This could level the scores…
The conversion is good and it is 27-27 after 55 mins…
The Bulls are still down 9-12…
The Pumas give away a silly penalty from the kickoff…and the Lions will take a shot…
That will be 10 silly points given away the Pumas from kickoffs just after they have scored…
Boshoff nails it and makes it 30-27…
Meanwhile the Bulls win a kickable penalty…
Wow…the Lions get another penalty try and the Pumas a yellow for an intentional knock down 30m out…but a fair call…
The Lions have a 10 point lead again…
The Bulls make it 12-12…and then score their first try!
A great try by their pacy prop and a missed conversion make it 17-12 Bulls after 60 minutes…
The Pumas have played some good rugby, made some silly mistakes and the Lions have scored at vital times…
The Bulls make a hash of some fancy move and now the Griquas attack…
The Bulls turn it over on defence and clear…
Schoeman scores for the Bulls with a very good try…great break!
Meanwhile the Pumas just won’t go away in Joburg…they attack hard with 14 men…
They earn a penalty 5m out…
The Bulls now lead 24-12…
Now Hougaard scores for the Bulls…that game is over now…
The Lions are penalised again…
Schoeman nails the conversion and it is 31-12 at Loftus…
The pumas finally knock it after minutes of close quarters attack…
Now the Lions get a free kick at the scrum. The Pumas have been totally in this game, but just a few silly mistakes have cost them…
In Joburg it is 37-27 after 67 minutes…
The Pumas are into the Lions 22 again…
The Lions win the penalty though…
The Pumas have had 63% possession in the second half!
But that helps nothing as the Lions score again…well, the TMO will check for a forward pass…
Stuart Berries really irritating tonight
Wow…look…another one of those comfortably forward passes which is not called because it is “not clear and obvious” that the pass was forward…ai!
That makes it 44-27 after 72 mins…
The Pumas are going to lose comfortably…but they have been better than the scoreline suggests…
The Bulls score the bonus point try as Ulenga goes in…
The Lions are penalised and yellow carded…
The Pumas attack hard…
The TMO checks for a Pumas try…
The other TMO checks for a Griquas try…
The Griquas try is not awarded…
So where is the penalty try for the Pumas then?????
And the Pumas try is not awarded…
But the Lions are carded for a professional foul…
Light ns down to 13…
Oops…Lions…
Now the Pumas penalised on their own scrum 5m out…disappointing…
Bulls game over…
Eish Stuart…
Bulls win 36-12…
Lions win 44-27…
And in the round-ball ping-pong game South Africa are about to win comfortably…
So in the end the Lions and the Bulls will be happy with 5 points…but they certainly didn’t have it all their own way!
Rugby must be the only game that defies natural laws…
For the Lions I think the difference was just experience…they kept calm and took their chances, while the Pumas made some silly mistakes despite generally playing well…
The Bulls were really tested and didn’t play well for 60 minutes, but were just too strong in the last quarter…
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 162) : What do you mean?
And SA wins at ping-pong despite the first quarter of the match being poor. They came back to win comfortably…well done…
So the Bulls and the Lions sit at the top of the log…probably to be joined by Province tomorrow…and the Sharks can move into fourth with a good win…please?
Lions win by a comfortable margin, as predicted. Sharks were useless last weekend. GOLD OUT!
@Orlok Tsubodai (Comment 168) : Let’s see what happens today…but I am getting the distinct feeling that Gold hasn’t a clue as to how he needs to fix the mess we’re in.
@Orlok Tsubodai (Comment 168) : You didn’t watch the game, did you? These Pumas are going to beat many a side this year…
@Orlok Tsubodai (Comment 168) : @FireTheLooser (Comment 169) : Look…the Sharks were poor and disappointing last weekend…they have a lot to prove…but the Pumas showed last night and last week and pretty much in the last 18 months that they are a good unit and deserve some respect…
@pastorshark (Comment 170) : no I didn’t watch the Lions and Pumas but the scoreline tells me all I need to know and is exactly as predicted. I highly doubt the likes of the Bulls and WP will fall to the Pumas – why should the Sharks set their sights any lower?
Forget the Pumas for a minute. It is obvious now that Gold has no idea. The longer we stick with him the more pain there will be. Watch…
Wow. Look at the All Blacks avenge last week’s loss to the same foes. 41-6 in the 2nd half and still going. The All Blacks are ruthless and proud. I expected a huge backlash to that rare loss, a huge mental shift, and we are seeing it.
Can the Springboks do the same? I doubt it. I think we are going to lose in Argentina. South Africa are nowhere near New Zealand in the mental stakes or ability.
@Orlok Tsubodai (Comment 172) : Well…that comment shows that you didn’t watch the game. The Lions will concede that they got a bit lucky…there is something like the scoreline not being a true reflection…
@pastorshark (Comment 175) : that comment tells you I didn’t watch the game…
But hey, 44 -27 to the Lions is hardly a “tight contest” in the end. All that matters is the win.
The Sharks still lost. The Sharks were still kak…
@Orlok Tsubodai (Comment 176) : I didn’t say the Sharks weren’t kak…I didn’t say they didn’t need to improve substantially…in fact, I specifically said they were kak and need to improve. I am merely pointing out that you should watch the Pumas more closely and offer them a modicum of respect. That is all…and I predict they will continue to show us that for most of the season, all things being equal. Watch…
@pastorshark (Comment 177) : ja the Pumas was good but then again the Sharks was really kak in the first 40min of the game!!!!!
@JD (Comment 178) : No arguments there…
@pastorshark (Comment 179) : really hope they start better today against the Kings. Don’t think my wife can take another 40min of me screaming at the TV. ;-P
@JD (Comment 180) :
My wife agrees…
@JD (Comment 178) : Ja the pumas also handed the Lions many needless opportunity on which they duly capitalised. Had it been the sharks we would have not only failed to capitalize but somehow found a way to turn it over in their favour. To me that is the difference between these two games. Pumas play hard but also make a ton of stupid mistakes and the defense is easy enough to breach provided you can hold onto a ball and run a line pass properly etc. You know the basics, which sadly is once again eluding us
So it is raining in Cape Town…
@pastorshark (Comment 183) : That should level things up a bit…
Hugh Bladen: “there is a swirling misty type rain…” Ah, there’s the Blades we know and love…
Spotlights on at 3pm…
The Cheetahs run onto the field…
And here comes the Province side…
And Fred gets us underway…
Senatla catches and slips…but keeps it.m.
Great run by the Cheetahs fullback, but ultimately Province ripped at away a few phases later and then get a breakdown penalty…
Good lineout Province…but they are penalised in that maul…
Fred finds touch and the Cheetahs will have a lineout…
Nice maul by the Cheetahs but Province rips it away again and counter well…
Province run it nicely despite the conditions…
Cheetahs are pinged again at the breakdown…
Catrikilis will take a shot…
Notshe bumped Blommetjies off something horrid in that move…
Catrikilis misses from in front…not a good kick…
See van heerden has his province goggles on again. Is there a worse ref in South Africa currently?
Still 0-0 after 6 mins…
Nice maul again by the Cheetahs…about 20m…
Unfortunately Fred kicks it out on the full…
Stormers knock it off their lineout move…
@jdolivier (Comment 200) : His English hasn’t improved though…”much more closer”…haha!
Cheetahs get a free kick at the scrum, tap quickly…nice pass Fred…but Rhule is tackled into touch…
Cheetahs steal the lineout but can’t make the most of it…
Scrum province…
Crunching scrum by Province!
Oh boy…Kolbe was away…but a poor pass by de Jongh goes into touch!
SA schools are 0-3 down against England…
Nice attacking chip by Province but well defended by Coertzen…
Nice lineout variation by the Cheetahs…they make yards but are then bundled into touch…
0-0 after 15 mins…
Province have played more but don’t have much to show for it…
Lazy work by Senatla…Jordaan almost scores…Cheetahs get a penalty…
Fred takes a shot and nails it…0-3 after 17 mins…
Cheetahs make a hash of the kick receipt and Province attack…
Notshe knocks the inside ball…
Great game between Selbourne and Grey High on…halftime Selbourne led 22-3…now 22-18 with 5 mins to go…Grey have missed all their kicks…costly?
Lovely kick pass by Catrikilis puts Province on the attack…
Good defence so far by the Cheetahs…
Finally Province get a penalty out wide…
Selbourne hold on for the win…Grey will kick themselves…kicking practice this week!
Province turn down the chance for a shot at goal and kick for the corner…
Province hard on attack through plenty of phases…
TMO to check whether Louw has scored…any reason not to award the try…
Double movement?
No try…Shimange the commentator not happy…
Another good Cheetahs maul gets them a penalty…
0-3 after 25 mins…
Good recovery by the Cheetahs after a poor pass by the scrumhalf…
Kolbe with a good tactical kick…
SA Schools now lead 10-3 against England…
Another rubbish pass to no one by the Cheetahs scrummie…
A wet Newlands is not making for a great spectacle…
@pastorshark (Comment 234) : SA Schools number 8 – that guy runs beautiful lines. Reminds me of Kankowski in his prime.
Province scrum again dominates…
Kolbe again passes into touch…but it was advantage and Province get a penalty…
Province again turn down a shot at goal and kick to the corner…
Good defence Cheetahs, Province lose the ball and Fred clears well…
0-3 after 31 minutes…
Province attack through numerous phases again…but after 8 phases they lose it forward…
Cheetahs defence is really good and the conditions are helping them…
The Cheetahs are absolutely demolished by Province in that scrum and get a penalty 5m out…wow!!!
Hugh Bladen…ai!
TMO to check on foul play after some handbags…
Ach jeepers…TMO says kicking by 12…but at least just says caution…
Oh my word! Van Heerden has sent him to the bin. Pathetic! Not only is he kak…he also can’t understand what his TMO is saying. Caution doesn’t mean yellow!!!
More great defence by the Cheetahs and they get a breakdown penalty…
That card was super crap reffing! Van Heerden doesn’t understand English…
Province try and run it from halfway…
Finally they knock it…after a lovely kick pass can’t be gathered…
0-3 after 37 minutes…
TMO checks for foul play again…Cheetahs penalised…at least no yellow…although van Heerden said, “Only a yellow…ach…only a penalty…”
Province don’t go for poles again…kick for the corner…good Cheetahs defence again and Province knock again…
@pastorshark (Comment 255) : Yellow fever is a real disease 🙂
Cheetahs need a better scrum now…but don’t get it! They clean up well though…good pick up and clearance by Fred…
Last lineout of the half for Province as the siren goes…
More good defence by the Cheetahs as they tackle Province out…and that is halftime…
That is 0-3 at halftime…
The Province scrum has been great, they have shown enterprise but have no points!
The tactic of turning down FOUR kicks at goal in these conditions is a bit mind-boggling…
The Cheetahs have defended heroically…but have not done much else…
Fred has been very solid in the conditions…
Watching a bit of SA Schools now…our boys are dominating England in the scrum…that is good to see!
The score is not on screen which is pretty irritating…
England knock it…good defence SA…
SA with a big scrum but are penalised?
More good SA defence…but after holding out so well England do find a way through and score…
Great offload by one of the poms…
Ah, there’s the score…that makes it 10-11 to England…
Same conditions in the Cape for this game means it is also not much to look at…
Beautiful try for SA Schools!
What a try to SA schools!
A wonderful blindside break by the scrummie and a beautiful floated pass to the number 8. Great stuff!
Good kick by Bosch makes it 17-11…
Back to Currie Cup action…Province lineout on the 22…
And another knock after more good Cheetahs defence…
Boom is down…
…and back up…
Cheetahs under pressure at scrum time!
Now the Cheetahs get a penalty…
Good clearance by Fred…
Nice play by the Cheetahs through plenty of phases…until finally they pull a Province and knock it!
0-3 after 45 mins…
Another dominant scrum, great step by Kolbe…but he loses it in the tackle…
Cheetahs have the scrum put in…
Scrum reset…
Moving the scrum about 10m to find some better ground to scrum on…
Now the Cheetahs concede a free kick. To be fair van Heerden is cocking up the scrums…
He just takes way to long to call the scrums…
Juan de Jongh down…looks like a knee and it doesn’t look good. He is off…
0-3 after 49 mins…
After 2 penalties SA Schools have stretched their lead to 23-11…
Aaaanother scrum rest…another move to more solid ground…
Province attack off that scrum as the rain starts falling again…
More good defence Cheetahs!
Province making all the play…
Good cross kick but great take and mark by Rhule…
There was advantage and Province have a penalty…and this time they will kick at goal…
Catrikilis nails it and it is 3-3…
Fred kicks the kick off over the dead ball line and Province have a scrum on halfway…
Province now get a scrum penalty that is tapped quickly…
I don’t know whether Province’s tactics are right in these conditions? Quick taos and all…
Anyway, they now have another scrum…
3-3,after 55 mins…
Taute slips but the Cheetahs are penalised…
Province will have another shot at goal and can take th lead here…
Catrikilis nails it and it is 6-3…Province lead for the first time…
Province have another advantage…getting on top now…
3-3 in the 50th something minute?? Sounds an exhilarating game.
Thanks for the updates PShark.
Cheetahs are punished with a penalty and a yellow…
@Orlok Tsubodai (Comment 312) : No problem…now 9-3 after 60 mins…ja not great…conditions!
Cheetahs now attack for the first time in ages…
Cheetahs finally knock it…and Province counter…and have a great chance…but Kolbe passes to soon and Rhule defends well…
Ebersohn on for the fullback…
SA schools won 23-16…
Cheetahs with a defensive scrum and get a penalty…
Cheetahs penalised after a shrill blast of the whistle…TMO to check for foul play…
Yellow card to a Cheetah…
Cheetahs down to 13…
Another penalty Province…and now they kick to the corner…8 forwards to 6…
The Cheetahs have defended very bravely and do so again!
The Cheetahs have a 22 drop out…
I’m not convinced that Jaco Taute is a centre.
Fred drops the ball in his 22…clear knock but the ref doesn’t blow it and the Cheetahs get a penalty…
Province attack again…
Jeepers…Province in from the side…also not blown…
Van Heerden is having a great game…
10 minutes to go…no tries yet…
Huge scrum Province…tighthead…
The Province scrum has been utterly dominant!
More work for the TMO to check for foul play…
Poke in the eye?
Can’t see anything on camera and the Province man gets away with it…
Ag Jaco van Heerden…you are pathetic…why did that have to be blown and reset…the ball was out…
@pastorshark I’m not convinced he actually belongs at provincial level. Not a good tackler, never passes and does not have the booming boot everyone has been going on about. Referring to Taute
8 minutes to go…
Province rumble it up…
Still good Cheetahs defence…
Rhule has to run it out…lineout 5m out…
More brave defence and the Cheetahs turn it over…
Cheetahs now maul it up…they have to run it 70m to win this game…
Lots of sideways movement but not much forward…
Ohhhh…Cheetahs clean through…but then inexplicably kick it and Kolbe can clear! What a chance!!!
Cheetahs just going through the motions. No spark. Province also quite bland. Weather considered too.
Close but no cigar Benjamin.
Benjamin must score!!! Ohhh…as he slides over he loses it!! That was the winning of the game…ohhhhh nooooo!!!
He had it!!! Oh wow…can you believe it?!
Penalty try?
If he held on the wet grass would have helped him over.
Final scrum as the siren goes…
Cheetahs put great pressure on…Province carry it over…but the final whistle goes!
Cheetahs had a little more control this week.
Oh my word! The Cheetahs actually had that. An ankle tap by Kurt Coleman saved the day! How did Benjamin not score there. The Cheetahs will be gutted!!
Let’s hope sharkie get it together. The pastoor has been asking very nicely this whole week.
@coolfusion (Comment 352) : Absolutely…
@coolfusion (Comment 357) : Aaaaall week!! In between sighs!
Province win 9-3…
@pastorshark (Comment 359) : Don’t worry PS, have a good feeling. But that might just be the meds. ..
Not a great game…the conditions contributed big time to that. But in the end Province was the better team…
@coolfusion (Comment 361) : Mine are giving me a horrid feeling!!
I think ebesohn will get better some guys are just better suited to cheetahs game. I’ll be watching him.
@pastorshark (Comment 363) : Did you check the expiration date?
@pastorshark (Comment 363) : You checked expiration date
@coolfusion (Comment 365) :
@vanmartin (Comment 326) : @jdolivier (Comment 338) : Agreed…