Okay, so after all the chest beating and Yo-Mama insults, let’s get down to business and look who is set to play in the final of this year’s Currie Cup.
You got to love this stage of the competition! All the niceties and politeness between fans we see for most of the year go out the window and is replaced with cleverly disguised insults and chest beating! Of course most of this is a defense mechanism but this is also why I love South African rugby and specifically the Currie Cup, provincial rivalry is very much what gives our game its soul.
I have probably seen every approach or angle imaginable in the last 3 days why the one team will beat the other – some of which are valid, and some of which are wishful thinking at best!
Four teams, 160 minutes of rugby between four white lines is what will define a season for all 4 teams, and their supporters.
For me, these two games will be contested between the desperate, and the confident, and I am backing the confident.
You have one team that has not contested a final since 2001, almost a decade of no joy and given their captain’s comments through the week where he/they are tired of losing semi-finals, you can have no doubt that it will be a very desperate team running out in front of a packed, and expectant Newlands crowd on Saturday.
In the other semi-final there is also a team who has the important task of getting rid of the now much famed, chokers tag. So often have they promised so much, reaching finals game after finals game, only to exit or fall at the last hurdle with only 2008 being the exception.
Another sign of the desperate versus the confident, is by simply looking at the team sheets of the last couple of games – on the one hand you have unchanged starting 15’s being named (the confident), and on the other hand you have multiple changes on the team sheets in a desperate move to get that perfect combination at the business end of the competition…
You have teams that has played in the last 9 and 7 semi-finals respectively, converting them into 5 and 7 finals appearances (the confident), against teams that only appeared in 1 and 2 finals respectively since 2001 (the desperate).
So what does that mean?
Simple, the teams that win finals matches are the teams that do not get desperate, do not get flustered and make the least amount of mistakes (structured), the teams with the utmost confidence in their ability as individuals, and as a team.
And from the top 4 contesting in the semi-finals which of those teams do you believe fits into that category?
So forget about the big names you see in each team, or how many Springboks the one has and the other not, it is quite easy to work out for yourself which teams will be confident, and which teams will be desperate, in the meantime, I am making plans to go visit some friends in Bloemfontein on the weekend of the 30th of October I have not seen in ages!
I am desperately confident that the bulls are gonna win by 3
🙂
trips @ 1
lol
Mmmm, Morné…. wish I could share your unqualified optimism regarding the outcomes…
The Blue Bulls also have a bit of desperation in this year’s semi…. they have not been too flush as a team in the running up to this game, with only ONE full and somewhat mixed error-ridden run last week with this squad, so while they have been there and done that they are possibly a bit underdone.
Hope to see the Bulls come through and if they should, I hope to see Stegmann get a decent run and doing well with an eye on the Final and possible inclusion in the End Of Year Tour.
WP on the other hand is described by you as desperate (in terms of semi’s) but they should be very confident if last week’s consumate performance is taken into account. In addition they have been through 1 semi successfully this year already, the Super 14 semi…. and that did not prove to be an insurmountable hurdle then.
My predictions are for 2 home team wins…. although I’d love to be wrong about the Durban clash!
@ Tripples:
1 – Tripps… 😀 If you desperate you can’t be confident 😉 …. hehehehehehe.
Actually think Bulls winning so often the big ones these days, they wont be nervous but more confident. Hope my Sharks are ready.
Vibe in Durbs should be awesome by now with all the Bulls supporters in town.
Go Sharks 😀 😀
This article looks like desperate try to have a vacation in a confident freestate town.
Snoek,
I know Verkeerdevlei is a Free State town. Whether it is confident is of course another story…. 😉
Morne, I think WP have a massive opportunity to go to the final and simply cannot fail at Newlands for their own good.
Sharks and Bulls will be very close and seeing as it will be decided up front I think Beast and Bismarck have a chance to put big pressure on Werner and Chilli both of whom are not world beaters.
This could be the first angle of attack for the Sharks and get them onto the front foot.
My prediction is Sharks by 6 and WP by 11.
BLUE BULLS:
When a BLUE BULL does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up; he’s pushing the Earth down.
When a BLUE BULL goes swimming he doesn’t get wet, the water gets BULLIED.
When the Tokoloshe goes to sleep every night, he checks under his bed for a BLUE BULL.
The BULLS invented BLUE. The Stormers invented pink.
Morne Steyn gave Mona Lisa that smile.
Bakkies Botha can slam a revolving door shut.
Fourie de Preez can speak Braille.
Superman owns a pair of Victor Matfield pyjamas.
The BULLS sleeps with night lights on. Not because they are afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of the BULLS .
Once a cobra bit a BLUE BULL’s leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died.
When the Bulls exercise, the machines get stronger.
A BLUE BULL doesn’t use pickup lines, he simply says, “Now!”.
Pierre Spies can kill two birds with one stone.
The only time when Bakkies Botha was wrong, was when he thought he had made a mistake.
@ superBul:
Very good superBul!! 😆
I have joined yours and EEE’s EYOT pool….you will have a chance to beat me here, I am hopeless at predicting the EYOT games.
Today I have gone for Bulls by 5 and WP by 9……This will make or break my top 10 position…Now a bit nervous!! 😯
Good grief….you were up late last night!!
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