Tonight sees the kick off of the 2014 edition of the ABSA Currie Cup, and more importantly, the start of a new SuperBru campaign.

Just a week ago the pool for the Super Rugby ended, and it turned out to be quite a dog fight at the top of the table between Blue Bird, Sharks_Forever, Charo and Winston Champ, with Blue Bird hanging on to take the bragging rights.

For those of us who were fighting it out down at the bottom of the log, don’t despair, today we all start with a clean slate.

Good luck with those picks, and if you are still deliberating, have a look at what some of the pundits and so-called experts have decided.

First up, the predictions and comprehensive previews from Rugby365

The opening round of the Currie Cup welcomes an extended roster of teams with the Eastern Province Kings, the Pumas and Griquas rounding off the eight unions in the competition.

There has already been some controversy in this year’s edition of the Currie Cup, even before the first kick-off with SARU stating it does not want contracted Springboks taking part.

However, this has been cleared up with SARU CEO Jurrie Roux stating that there is ‘no blanket ban’ on the Boks, but they would like their use to be in the interest of the players.

This has a big effect on Western Province who welcome back Springboks Frans Malherbe and Eben Etzebeth as they make their way back from injury through the Currie Cup.

The opening round sees some mouth-watering clashes between the Big Five unions as well as some of the minor ones.

The Kings open up the campaign in Port Elizabeth with a big crowd expected at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium when they take on a WP team that looks exceptionally strong on paper.

The Griquas then host the Sharks in Kimberley where they will hope to continue their run of being the Costal boys bogey team.

There is then the small matter of the Juskei derby when the Lions and Bulls revive their Super Rugby rivalry.

We round off in Nelspruit where Jimmy Stonehouse’s Pumas will want to take advantage of a Cheetahs team that is riddled with injuries in key positions.

Darryn Pollock looks at all the opening round action!

 

Friday 8 August:

Eastern Province Kings vs DHL Western Province

(Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth – Kick-off: 19:10 SA Time, 17:10 GMT)

The Kings are back! It has only been 12 years since we last saw the men from Port Elizabeth in the Currie Cup – in 2002 every union was represented and still, the Kings (Eastern Province) came stone-last in their pool.

New coach, the great All Black playmaker Carlos Spencer, will be hoping for something a little more impressive than their last showing – especially with all the fuss that has been made about the team’s deserved spot in Super Rugby.

Controversial Springbok Luke Watson returns to captain the team with a reader commenting that the timeous departure of the Springboks to international duty and the sudden reemergence of Luke Watson seems almost too perfectly planned…

Western Province has put up a team that looks incredibly impressive on paper, even without the hulking figure of Eben Etzebeth frothing at the mouth to smash any would-be challengers.

Captained by Juan de Jongh and boasting exciting backline options such as Cheslin Kolbe and Seabelo Senatla, fans will be hoping that the ball reaches these runners and by-passes Allister Coetzee’s kicking machine, Demetri Catrakilis.

Coetzee knows he will be heading into the lions-den when he arrives in PE with the crowds there renowned for their pride and passion.

“It is going to be a hostile crowd down in Port Elizabeth, we are going to a region which is facing a lot of positivity,” WP coach Allister Coetzee said.

“They were good at Craven Week, they have done well in Super Rugby previously – there is a great vibe.”

“Grey PE just beat Grey Bloemfontein recently, so there is a lot of positivity.”

Recent results:

You can’t really call 12 years ago ‘recent’ – None

Prediction: There is no recent results, it is the first match in the competition, so there is not much form to talk about – looking at the team sheets then – there seems only one logical winner. The Province starting team all benefit from some form of Super Rugby experience while the match day 22 contains seven internationals with a Sevens Bok for good measure. On the other side, the Kings have an international or two – from Italy in the form of Tobias Botha – but you just feel that the experience of Allister Coetzee’s men will be able to weather a fierce start from the Carlos Spencer inspired Kings to see them away by 10 points.

Teams:

Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh (Captain), 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Alistair Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Jean Kleyn, 19 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Robert du Preez, 22 Pat Howard.

EP Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Ronnie Cooke, 13 Tim Whitehead, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Tobie Botes, 8 Luke Watson (Captain), 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Thembelani Bholi, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Steven Cummins, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Lizo Gqoboka / BG Uys
Replacements: 16 Albe de Swardt, 17 CJ vd Linde, 18 Darron Nell, 19 Aidon Davis, 20 Kevin Luiters, 21 George Whitehead, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa.

Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees: Christie du Preez, Jaco Pretorius
TMO: Deon van Blommestein

 

Saturday 9 August:

GWK Griquas vs Cell C Sharks

(GWK Park, Kimberley – Kick-off: 15:00 SA Time, 13:00 GMT)

The Griquas are back! well, they never left, but it was a SARU’s brain child that saw the men from Kimberley back in the expanded Currie Cup competition after pipping the Leopards in the qualifying campaign.

The Pumas, as the winners of the first division played a two-legged promotion-relegation match against the Griquas, as the bottom placed team from last years Currie Cup, with Mpumalanga coming out tops.

When the decision was made to make the competition an eight team beast in January this year to accommodate the precious Kings, a free ride was not so forth-coming for the eighth team.

In the qualifying competition, the Griquas quickly climbed to the top of the table and squatted there until its culmination, this ended a bitter and painful six month relegation period.

These brave souls, who had to endure a waste of a qualifying campaign, are now back to trip-up the Sharks – like they do best.

The Sharks do boast some incredible experience with the likes of Odwa Ndungane, Marco Wentzel and the epitome of valiant servitude, Jacques Botes, all included to help the youngsters along – and don’t forget about Matt Stevens who will bring… something I guess?.

Talking of youngsters, there is talent abundant in Tomas du Toit, Kyle Cooper, Stephan Lewies, Etienne Oosthuizen, Lubabalo Mtembu, Fred Zeilinga, Paul Jordaan and SP Marais who all sound like house-hold names – but they are mere boys!

The Griquas team on the other hand looks like it is born out of the rock-hard soils of Kimberley, indicating very little chance for a push-over here.

Added to that is the game plan that former Cheetahs assistant coach Hawies Fourie seems to want to enact.

“There won’t be willy-nilly running – we won’t be attempting any funny stuff,” Fourie said in an obvious nod towards some good old-fashioned forward rumble.

“There are certain basic things in the game that works better than other stuff and we will work hard on doing that well.”

The men from Kimberley will want to turn GWK Park into a fortress very quickly; with thecostal boys used to lush fields and humid conditions – expect a few roasties for the Sharks, perhaps even a bruised ego or two.

At least the Sharks are well aware of their poor record to the diamond-miners.

“The Sharks certainly haven’t traveled well to Kimberley over the last few years and that is something we want to rectify,” Sharks assistant coach Sean Everett said when explaining the blindingly obvious.

“Last year when we went to Kimberley we were fortunate to escape with a win after they beat us in the first-round match in Durban.”

“If we can get the upper hand up front, or at least get parity, we will do well against them – we know what Griquas did to us at Kings Park last year when they got on top in the forward exchanges.”

Recent results:

2013 Sharks won 25-24, Kimberley
2013 Griquas won 32-30, Durban
2012 Sharks won 42-3, Durban
2012 Griquas won 22-15, Kimberley
2011 Griquas won 43-22, Kimberley
2011 Sharks won 29-18, Durban
2010 Griquas won 40-34, Kimberley
2010 Sharks won 48-30, Durban

Prediction: If there is one thing the Sharks Super Rugby team is good at doing it is dominating physically; if there is one thing the Currie Cup Sharks are good at doing it is losing to the Griquas. Looking at the last eight results, it is evenly split at four a piece so you may be questioning the previous statement – but that is just it – it is evenly split! The Sharks are Super Rugby semifinalists with classy players, structures and management tripping over themselves to impart ‘vital’ knowledge, while the Griquas have what seems to be a tight budget on the field’s irrigation system. In saying that, the Griquas have one thing in abundance and that is heart – expect them to pip the Sharks again by a smattering of points.

Teams:

Cell C Sharks: 15 SP Marais, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Sibusiso Sithole, 12 Paul Jordaan, 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Lubabalo Mtembu (Captain), 7 Etienne Oosthuizen, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Marco Wentzel, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 JC Astle, 20 Francois Kleinhans, 21 Hanco Venter, 22 Lionel Cronjé.

GWK Griquas: 15 Nico Scheepers, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Wayne Stevens (Captain), 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Hilton Lobberts, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Jaco Nepgen, 4 Willem Serfontein, 3 Nicolaas van Dyk, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Steph Roberts
Replacements: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Ewald Van Der Westhuizen, 18 Hugo Kloppers, 19 RJ Liebenberg, 20 Abrie Griesel, 21 Marais Schmidt, 22 Edries Arendse.

Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant Referees: Lourens van der Merwe, Francois de Bruin
TMO: JJ Wagner

 

Xerox Golden Lions vs Vodacom Blue Bulls

(Ellis Park, Johannesburg – kick-off: 17:05 SA Time, 15:05 GMT)

The Lions are in trouble! In terms of personnel that is. The Lions never had to many stars during their Super Rugby campaign, choosing rather to make their own, new goliaths of the game.

However, when the new stars are also out of commission where do you turn? Alwyn Hollenbach (shoulder), Deon van Rensburg (rib fracture), Anthony Volmink (shoulder injury) and Courtnall Skosan (fractured cheekbone) are all missing for coach Johan Ackermann.

Chrysander Botha has gone to Ireland, while Coenie Van Wyk and JW Jonker returned to the Pumas at the completion of the Super Rugby season.

Alright, a quick look at the forwards makes for different reading with a mighty impressive and balanced loose trio in No.8 Warren Whiteley (captain), No.7 Derick Minnie, No.6 Jaco Kriel.

And of course, if there are points that need a kicking – Marnitz Boshoff is as good as any.

When listening to coach Ackermann however, he seems to fill you with idealistic hopes of a return to the old Lions style of ‘run-it-from-anywhere.’

“We have one major goal and that is to play an exciting brand,” he said.

“If we can get the balance right [between attack and defense] it will go well – we got that right in the latter stages of the Super Rugby season.”

“We certainly won’t go an reinvent the wheel – certain things will remain in place, but we have identified certain aspects that we must improve on and make some changes.”

Despite the injuries plaguing the Lions, if they have shown anything over the last six months it is that this team comes together under adversity – and they may just have to pull together pretty sharpish against the Bulls on Saturday.

Fans of the Super Rugby competition and the Bulls will be glad to know there is nothing better than consistency with Burger Odendaal at No.12(on Currie Cup debut) and Sampie Mastriet the only shocks to the system to overcome.

But never fear Bulls fans, Mastriet will surely find his way back to the bench where he belongs when Bjorn Basson returns to terrorize opposition wings on the high ball in a few weeks time.

The Bulls also welcome back a real flesh and blood fetcher in Deon Stegman – Frans Ludeke could barely contain his excitement.

“We know what worked for us in the past to be successful and we will have to execute that to the best of our ability,” said Ludeke

“Stegmann is also keen to get stuck in.”

Additionally, Jono Ross makes a smooth transition to the blindside of the scrum – thankfully.

Speaking of the bench, there is some young excitement itching to get on in the likes of Under-20 stars Jesse Kriel and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg.

There is however a decided lack of William Small-Smith who played in the warm-up match against the Pumas last weekend and is assumed injured.

Recent results:

2013 Blue Bulls won 54-26, Johannesburg
2013 Lions won 35-26, Johannesburg
2013 Lions won 62-23, Pretoria
2012 Blue Bulls won 50-29, Johannesburg
2012 Lions won 23-32, Pretoria
2011 Blue Bulls won 21-18, Johannesburg
2011 Lions won 36-27, Pretoria
2010 Blue Bulls won 24-21, Pretoria

Prediction: One of the tougher ones to call. The Lions are the scrappers and everyone can appreciate the work they have done through the Super Rugby campaign, they finished off well but it remains to be seen of they can take that form forward – especially with a substantially different team. The Bulls on the other hand are the same team as from Super Rugby – so I take that back, Bulls by 10. The men from Pretoria may have to traverse the Juskei but its barely an arduous tour and with Ludeke indicating that they are going back to what worked for them previously expect the Lions to be kicked out of the game and bullied up front in some awe-inspiringly boring play. The Bulls have been figured out at Super Rugby level, but in the Currie Cup – what ain’t broke don’t need fixing.

Teams:

Xerox Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Nicolaas Hanekom, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Ruan Combrinck, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (Captain), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Willie Britz, 19 Warwick Tecklenburg, 20 Ricky Schroeder, 21 Jaco van der Walt, 22 Howard Mnisi.

Vodacom Blue Bulls: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Sampie Mastriet, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Jono Ross, 6 Deon Stegmann (Captain), 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Marcel van der Merwe, 18 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19 Wiaan Liebenberg, 20 Rudy Paige, 21 Tony Jantjies, 22 Jesse Kriel.

Referee: Jaco van Heerden
Assistant Referees: Stuart Berry, Ben Crouse
TMO: Johan Greeff

 

Steval Pumas vs Toyota Free State Cheetahs

(Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit – Kick-off: 19:10 SA Time, 17:10 GMT)

The Pumas are back! The team that worked their way back into the Currie Cup the traditional way will not want to leave the traditional way either then they face a Cheetahs side that – for once in a long time – has been ravaged by Springbok selection.

The Pumas (in a Cheetahs-Griquas style agreement) would have been ever so excited to throw in the likes of newly unearthed star scrumhalf Faf de Klerk and the versatile Coenie van Wyk.

But injuries are a cruel and ironic mistress with both of these players looking set to face a lengthy lay off, coach Jimmy Stonehouse needs to look elsewhere – Also, Rudi Mathee has a broken arm, so that doesn’t help.

The Cheetahs also have some injury concerns of their own – there won’t be any Oosthuizens on the field this week with Springbok Coenie working hard on keeping his neck concerns at the forefront of his game.

On the plus side, there is some new faces in the coaches boxes with Franco Smith taking over the backs and former Cheetahs player Rory Duncan taking over at the helm.

Unfortunately, this means that it will be very hard to blame Naka Drotske this time around should the Cheetahs fight to get back to familiar territory at the foot of a tournament table.

Even with a few stars missing to the Boks or injury, the Cheetahs still have a few gems spread out in the team. Rayno Benjamin, who was a surprisingly good inside centre, is back on the wing with Raymond Rhule on the other,

Nippy little Sarel Pretorius will give the Pumas’ heavies nightmares around the fringes when they pretend to be defending while troughing down lung-fulls of air.

Then there is old and new captains Boom Prinsloo and Torsten van Jaarsveld respectively who will add some mobility to the pack at No.8 and No.2 respectively.

Van Jaarsveld, who played under Duncan in this year’s Vodacom Cup competition (and before that with the Pumas) replaces Adriaan Strauss due to Springbok duties during the Rugby Championship.

He said he was looking forward to the challenge but that he would also fall back on the support of senior players in the squad.

“It is a new challenge and one that I am looking forward to a lot,” the captain in the all time biggest cliche’.

“I know it will be tough, but there are many senior players in the squad who will play supporting roles,”

Recent results:

2011 Cheetahs won 29-23, Nelspruit
2011 Cheetahs won 80-16, Bloemfontein
2010 Cheetahs won 59-24, Bloemfontein
2010 Cheetahs won 45-30, Nelspruit

Prediction: Credit where credit is due, the Pumas made their way into the competition beating the last place team from the previous year’s log, but this is a very different test. The Cheetahs, despite what many say, are a a championship team – they have proved that in Super Rugby… not this time, but you know, before. The Pumas will have the home-ground advantage which will play a big role, but not enough to stop them going down by 14 points.

Teams:

Toyota Free State Cheetahs: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Willie du Plessis, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Boom Prinsloo, 7 Neil Claassen, 6 Tienie Burger, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (Captain), 1 Kevin Stevens
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Bees Roux, 18 Waltie Vermeulen, 19 Henco Venter, 20 Renier Botha, 21 Elgar Watts, 22 JP du Plessis.

Steval Pumas: 15 JW Bell, 14 Ruwellyn Isbell, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Rosco Spekman, 10 Justin van Staden, 9 Reynier van Rooyen, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corné Steenkamp (Captain), 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Frikkie Spies, 3 Dejay Terblanche, 2 Francois du Toit, 1 Vincent Koch
Replacments: 16 Frankie Herne, 17 Corné Fourie, 18 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 19 Uzair Cassiem, 20 Sinoyuvo Nyoka, 21 JC Roos, 22 Jerome Pretorius.

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Referees: Gerrie de Bruin, Stefan Breytenbach
TMO: Willie Vos

 

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Next up, the thoughts from The Rugby Blog

The oldest club rugby competition in the world gets underway again tomorrow night, as provinces from across South Africa battle it out to be crowned national champions. Check out our predictions below, and if you think you know better, why not join our free prediction league on SuperBru and prove it?

Game of the round: Xerox Golden Lions vs Vodacom Blue Bulls

Both of these sides have a rich heritage, and this should be a suitably full-blooded encounter. The Lions made the semi-finals last season, and are always tough to beat at their Ellis Park home, as they proved in Super Rugby. They will also benefit this Currie Cup season from not losing too many of their players to the Springbok set-up – unlike rivals Western Province and Natal Sharks – and with internationals not being released for this tournament at all, that could be vital.

And what of the Bulls? They enjoyed unparalleled success when the game became professional, but have teams come to work out their conservative game plan? It certainly seems that way, and last season they finished a hugely disappointing fifth (there were only six teams in the league last year).

Super Rugby teaches us that they are difficult to beat at Loftus Versfeld but far less effective away from their home patch, so this is a tough assignment for them, especially given the players they will be missing to the Springbok cause.

At home, with a far more settled squad and carrying the confidence of a better-than-expected Super Rugby season into their Currie Cup campaign, it’s very difficult to see past the Lions here. They beat the Bulls twice last season, too, so will have the mental edge. A home win. Lions by 10.

Other SuperBru predictions:

Eastern Province Kings vs DHL Western Province: Western Province by 18
GWK Griquas vs Cell C Sharks: Sharks by 12
Steval Pumas vs Toyota Free State Cheetahs: Cheetahs by 15

 

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The team from SARugbymag have a mixed bag for the first round

Before you make your SuperBru picks for this weekend’s Currie Cup matches, take a look at the SA Rugby magazine team’s predictions.

EP KINGS vs DHL WESTERN PROVINCE

Jon Cardinelli: Western Province by 7
Simon Borchardt: Western Province by 8
Brenton Chelin: Western Province by 8
Mark Keohane: Western Province by 10

 

GWK GRIQUAS vs CELL C SHARKS

Jon Cardinelli: Sharks by 5
Simon Borchardt: Sharks by 5
Brenton Chelin: Griquas by 3
Mark Keohane: Griquas by 5

 

XEROX GOLDEN LIONS vs VODACOM BLUE BULLS

Jon Cardinelli: Golden Lions by 6
Simon Borchardt: Golden Lions by 7
Brenton Chelin: Golden Lions by 9
Mark Keohane: Golden Lions by 6

 

STEVAL PUMAS vs TOYOTA FREE STATE CHEETAHS

Jon Cardinelli: Free State Cheetahs by 5
Simon Borchardt: Pumas by 3
Brenton Chelin: Free State Cheetahs by 14
Mark Keohane: Pumas by 3