As we enter Round 8 of the 2013 Currie Cup, the Sharks and Western Province are setting the pace at the top of the Log, with 24 Log points each. The Griquas find themselves in last place with only 10 Log points.

With only 2 rounds remaining after this weekend the Sharks and Western Province have probably already booked their places in the semi-finals. The Blue Bulls find themselves in  a must win scenario this weekend as a loss this weekend could see them end last on the Log and totally miss out in the race for a semi final place, they now already find themselves 5 Log points behind the 4th placed Free State Cheetahs.

Here’s a Preview of the weekend’s matches:

 Match 1

Free State Cheetahs vs Western Province

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein

27 Sept 2013

k/o – 17:05

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Riaan Smit, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Piet Lindeque, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Johannes Prinsloo (Captain), 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Pieter Labuschagné, 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Freddie Ngoza, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Hercu Liebenberg, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Francois Uys, 19 Davon Raubenheimer, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Rayno Benjamin, 22 Willie du Plessis.

DHL Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Michael van der Spuy, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Deon Fourie (Captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Tazz Fuzani, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Michael Willemse, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Gerbrandt Grobler, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Josh Katzen, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Demetri Catrakilis.

From 2010 to prior the 2013 season, these sides have met 6 times and Western Province has won 4 of the last 6 clashes. The Free State Cheetahs need a win more than Western Province does. Western Province could move back into 1st place on the Log and Free State Cheetahs would like to cement their semi-final spot, with the Blue Bulls still nipping at their heels. A few weekends ago Western Province only managed a 1- point victory over the Free State Cheetahs, however under current circumstances Western Province still seems to be the likely pick as a winner. Since 2010 a scoreline of 28-21 in favour of Western Province was maintained and could be a safe pick for this game.

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 Match 2

Golden Lions vs Sharks

Ellis Park, Johannesburg

27 Sept 2013

k/o – 19:10

Golden Lions: 15 Marnitz Boshoff, 14 Andries Coetzee, 13 Deon Helberg, 12 Dylan Des Fountain, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Derick Minnie (Captain), 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 CJ van der Linde.
Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Willie Britz, 19 Warwick Tecklenberg, 20 Guy Cronjé, 21 Grant Janke, 22 Ruhan Nel.

The Sharks: 15 SP Marais, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Tim Whitehead, 12 Heimar Williams, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel (Captain), 7 Tera Mtembu, 6 Justin Downey, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Peet Marais, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Edwin Hewitt, 19 Brynard Stander, 20 Cobus Reinach, 21 Butch James, 22 Jaco van Tonder.

These teams have met 7 times since 2010 including a cup final match in 2011. The Golden Lions edge the Sharks by 4 games to 3. The Sharks have beaten the Golden Lions in their earlier encounter in the 2013 Currie Cup season with a score of 33-25. Both teams are currently enjoying good form, so this should be a cracker of a match. The Sharks seem to be struggling at Ellis Park and have not managed to beat the Golden Lions at this venue in 4 years, still it would seem most likely that the Sharks will take this game and a score line close to 30-25 in favour of the Sharks should be a safe bet.

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 Match 3

Griquas vs Blue Bulls

GWK Park, Kimberley

28 Sept 2013

k/o – 14:00

Griquas:15 Gouws Prinsloo , 14 Richard Lawson, 13 JP Nel, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Richard Lawson, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Leon Karemaker, 7 Burger Schoeman, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Jaco Nepgen, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 Ryno Barnes (Captain), 1 Steph Roberts
Replacements: 16 Matthew Dobson, 17 Brendan Pitzer, 18 Patrick O’Brien, 19 RJ Liebenberg, 20 Jacques Coetzee, 21 Du Randt Gerber, 22 Jean Stemmet 

Vodacom Blue Bulls: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Sampie Mastriet, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Akona Ndungane, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Jono Ross (Captain), 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Wiaan Liebenberg, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Marcel van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Frik Kirsten / Dean Greyling, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Jacques Engelbrecht, 20 Lohan Jacobs, 21 Ulrich Beyers, 22 Clayton Blommetjies.

These 2 sides have played each other 6 time since 2010. The Blue Bulls have won 4 of these encounters and the Griquas only 2. The Blue Bulls beat the Griquas earlier in this year’s competition, in a terribly dull match, by 15-9. The Blue Bulls need a win here if they want to keep their hopes alive for a semi-final spot. Both sides are at the bottom of the Log. A safe bet will still be to pick the Blue Bulls for a win and a scoreline close to 41-35 seems probable.