It may be tempting to some to surmise that the big Absa Currie Cup meeting between Western Province and the Blue Bulls at Newlands on Saturday amounts to a virtual re-run of the Vodacom Super 14 encounter there earlier in the year.

Then, the Bulls opted to rest virtually their entire senior troops because they were already assured of top-placed finish while the Stormers fielded their ‘A’ side as they were still gunning for a key home semi-final.

They clinched it, of course, courtesy of a 38-10 and four-tries-to-one “cruise” against the Bulls second-stringers, and the sides went on to meet in the final back on even terms, with the defending champions retaining their hold on the trophy in the Soweto showpiece.

Still, the Newlands match-up had been a rare and fascinating exercise – still witnessed by a near-capacity crowd, as is expected again – and there will be certain similarities in this Currie Cup clash.

That situation has been brought about because of Springbok absences as the national squad prepares for the Tri-Nations game against the All Blacks a week later.

In recent times the Bulls have tended to surrender more of their big-name players (especially from the engine room) to the Bok fold, and this occasion is hardly different – although the release of Zane Kirchner and Dewald Potgieter to play for their province helps restore the balance a bit.

But Saturday’s meeting won’t be a carbon copy of the “Stormers v Bulls B” one, by any means: even the Province XV will boast less than half of the players who turned out in the Super 14 derby at Newlands.

The seven survivors (it will go down to six if the provisionally-selected Francois Louw is not released by the Boks) will include all but one of their tight five, which is obviously an advantage for the unbeaten log-leaders, who will go in as favourites.

The only odd man out in that department is Bok lock Andries Bekker – presently injured anyway – and his place is handily taken by the WP captain in the Currie Cup, Anton van Zyl.

But the Province backline for Saturday, by contrast, is hugely altered from the regular Stormers one, partly because of Bok call-ups but also due to Joe Pietersen and Peter Grant (the latter more temporarily) having been released from contractual obligations in the meantime.

Only scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage, of the backs, retains his place from the Newlands Super 14 encounter.

The Bulls starting combo undeniably still has a more noticeable “B team” look about it, although it is interesting to note that only three of the relative rookies who suffered the big defeat that day are in Saturday’s run-on mix: flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter and loose forwards Derick Kuun and Gerrit-Jan van Velze.

In some respects this Bulls Currie Cup side is stronger, with Kirchner, right wing flyer Gerhard van den Heever and the seasoned Jaco Pretorius in midfield giving it a slightly more street-wise look in the backline than in the 28-point hiding.

But the tight five is probably weaker: in the Super 14 game, for instance, the second row comprised Bakkies Botha (as acting captain, who also got yellow-carded) and Flip van der Merwe – here there is a little less “grunt” in the form of Juandre Kruger and Wilhelm Steenkamp.

Teams for Saturday’s Newlands Currie Cup match:

WP:

15. Conrad Jantjes, 14. Fabian Juries, 13. Tim Whitehead, 12. Paul Bosch, 11. Frikkie Welsh, 10. Willem de Waal, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage  8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Francois Louw/Nick Koster, 6. Pieter Louw, 5. Anton van Zyl (captain), 4. Adriaan Fondse, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. Wicus Blaauw
Replacements: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. JD Moller, 18. Buhle Mxunyelwa, 19. De Kock Steenkamp, 20. Nick Koster/Pieter Myburgh, 21. Conrad Hoffmann 22. Lionel Cronje

Blue Bulls:

15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 12. Stefan Watermeyer, 11. John Mametsa, 10. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9. Ruan Snyman, 8. Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Derick Kuün, 5. Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4. Juandré Kruger, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Gary Botha (captain), 1. Dean Greyling
Replacements: 16. Bandise Maku, 17. Jaco Engels, 18. Bees Roux, 19. Mthunzi Mabeta, 20. CJ Stander, 21. Dustin Jinka, 22. Jaco van der Westhuyzen

And for interest’s sake, these were the starting line-ups in the Newlands Super 14 match:

Stormers

15 Joe Pietersen 14 Gio Aplon 13 Jaque Fourie 12 Juan de Jongh 11 Bryan Habana 10 Peter Grant 9 Dewaldt Duvenage 8 Duane Vermeulen 7 Francois Louw 6 Schalk Burger (captain) 5 Andries Bekker 4 Adriaan Fondse 3 Brok Harris 2 Tiaan Liebenberg 1 Wicus Blaauw.

Bulls

15 Tiger Mangweni 14 Jaco van der Westhuyzen 13 Stephan Dippenaar 12 De Wet Barry 11 Deon Helberg 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter 9 Heini Adams 8 Pedrie Wannenburg 7 Gerrit-Jan van Velze 6 Derick Kuun 5 Flip van der Merwe 4 Bakkies Botha (captain) 3 Bees Roux 2 Bandise Maku 1 Jaco Engels.

Courtesy of sport24