Who is not amped up for the Currie Cup Final? Even supporters from non-participating teams cannot wait for the epic battle due to follow on Saturday 30 October 2009.

What a wonderful competition!

What a joy to be a rugby supporter!

The battle for the sought after cup is going to be huge, players are going to give their all. Heroes are going to rise to the occasion.

It is very difficult to predict a winner for the final… do you choose the Bulls team full of stars and Springboks or do you choose the gutsy Cheetahs who boast a powerful front row, a fetcher par excelance and with backs who have speed to burn?

Let’s look at the chances and strong and weak points in both teams:

Blue Bulls:

The Bulls have game breakers who have served the Bulls and SA with distinction. Where in the world could you find better than Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez, Morne Steyn and Bryan Habana… the answer is simple.. nowhere !! In addition There’s Pierre Spies, Danie Rossouw, Dewalt Potgieter, Wynand Olivier and the gutsy little Francois Hougaard.

On paper this Bulls team is settled and virually without weak points…. except in the front row, where they will surely play second fiddle to the might of the Cheetahs front row. Another aspect which worries me and most Bulls supporters is Pierre Spies’s “bad hands” behind the scrums.

In the line-outs the Bulls should reign supreme, in the kicking department Fourie du Preez and Morne Steyn should dictate play. There is possibly not another team in the world with such quality tactical kickers and such a dead-eye dick who kicks for posts.

In midfield Wynand Olivier breaks most team’s lines almost at will, at wings the Bulls have the Habananana and Francois Hougaard. At full back there is the solid Zane Kirchner.

Chasing ground ball and grinding in the rucks and mauls there is the quality of Deon Stegmann, Dewald Potgieter and Pierre Spies!

Will the weakness in the front row and complacency be the Bulls worst enemies?

Free State Cheetahs:

The Cheetahs had an abysmal Super 14 and an equally abysmal start to the Currie Cup this year, but then swung into gear and started demolishing everything in their path!

They boast arguably the best front row combination in SA and is sure to get the upperhand in the scrum battle.

In addition they have fetcher supreme, Heinrich Brussow who will cause untold damage to the Bulls in the ground-ball-battle.

At No 8 they have the up-and-coming Ashley Johnson who has been underrated by most for far too long. I rate this man as a future Springbok, he is abrasive, strong, has good hands, breaks tackles, runs good lines and tackles like a demon.

In JP Joubert, the so called journeyman at scrum half, they have a crisp passer of the ball, a man who mostly takes the correct options, but he is slow and by that I mean he does not seem to run fast with those “horrelbene” of his.

At fly half the Cheetahs have the 2nd most dangerous fly half in SA, a man who punts the ball for miles, who attacks space, who defends well and who easily takes the points when on offer. He sometimes blows hot or cold though… but he’s been in very good shape lately. It will be his last game for the Cheetahs before re-joining the Bulls for next year.

In midfield the Cheetahs are vulnerable…

On the wings the Cheetahs have two speed merchants, with Lionel Mapoe the find of the season on wing and Danwell Demas, arguably one of the fastest but worst wingers to play at this level.

At full back there is the solid and heavily underrated Hennie Danniler, a rock and a pillar in the last vestage.

Prediction:

This is putting me on the spot here, I frankly am very hesitant to make a prediction, but I’ll chance one here… the Bulls should win but it should be a nail-biter to the end.

This week saw cartoons being mailed about and I thought I would share a couple received this morning… Go Bulls!!

Teams:

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Pedrie Wannenburg, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Gerhard van den Heever.

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Corné Uys, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Danwel Demas, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 JP Joubert, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Frans Viljoen, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 David de Villiers, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Izak van der Westhuizen, 19 Lukas Floors, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Louis Strydom, 22 Fabian Juries.

Date: Saturday, October 31
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Predicted weather: Early showers and morning clouds, otherwise mild. High of 25°C and a low of 13°C. The win will be at about 15km/h NE and there’s about a 50 percent chance of precipitation.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Assistant referees: Pro Legoete, Cobus Wessels
TMO: Shaun Veldsman