There will be no hiding place at Emirates Airline Park when the high-flying Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls clash in a tough Vodacom Super Rugby derby on Saturday afternoon.
The Jukskei Derby is the final match of Round 8, featuring all 5 South African franchises.
The DHL Stormers have a massive task at hand when they take on the unbeaten Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday morning.
On Saturday morning, the Toyota Cheetahs face the Brumbies in their penultimate tour match in Canberra, a replay of their 2013 Qualifier in the Australian capital.
The Cell C Sharks and the 7-time champions from Canterbury, the Crusaders, cross swords in Durban on Saturday afternoon before the 2 sides from Gauteng, both of whom started the season slowly, take each other on.
The Emirates Lions had just returned from their most-successful Vodacom Super Rugby tour yet and the Vodacom Bulls are aiming for their 5th successive victory after losing their 1st 2 matches of the season.
Interestingly, 2 players who made their Springbok debuts together, Siya Kolisi and Piet van Zyl, will be earning their 50th Vodacom Super Rugby caps this weekend.
Both played off the bench in the Boks’ 30 / 17 victory over Scotland in Nelspruit in 2013. Kolisi has played all his rugby for the DHL Stormers, while Van Zyl made 32 appearances for the Toyota Cheetahs and 17 for the Vodacom Bulls.
Hurricanes vs DHL Stormers:
Date: Friday 3 April, 08:35 SA Time
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Kane McBride (New Zealand), Mike Lash (New Zealand)
TMO: Chris Wratt (New Zealand)
Team news:
- SA Rugby Player of the Year for 2014, Duane Vermeulen, is back at No 8 and will resume the captaincy after taking a break last weekend.
- As a result, Nizaam Carr drops out of the match-23 completely, along with Jean Kleyn.
- Kleyn’s place in the second row goes to Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth, with Ruan Botha selected on the bench.
- Siya Kolisi starts at flank in what will be his 50th Vodacom Super Rugby appearance.
- Hurricanes midfielder Ma’a Nonu will join an elite club of 4 when he runs out for his 150th Vodacom Super Rugby game, joining Keven Mealamu, Corey Flynn and Nathan Sharpe in the 150-club.
Stats:
- The DHL Stormers’ best record against any Kiwi side is against the Hurricanes – they’ve won 10 from 16 (62.5%) of which 4 came from 7 visits to New Zealand.
- The Capetonians’ record against the Chiefs is 52.9% (overall) and 4 from 9 (in NZ); against the Blues it’s 47.1% (overall) and 4 from 9 (in NZ); against the Highlanders it’s 44.4% (overall) and 2 from 8 (in NZ) and against the Crusaders it’s 21.1% (overall) and 0 from 9 (in NZ).
- The last time the Hurricanes beat the DHL Stormers, was in 2009 when they won 34 / 11 in Wellington – since then the Capetonians have won 4 on the trot against the ‘Canes.
- The last 2 matches between the sides have each seen less than 40 points scored in total and they have been settled by 2 and 1-point margins respectively.
- The DHL Stormers have lost their last 4 games in New Zealand. They have not lost 5 consecutive away games against New Zealand sides since 1998.
Quotes:
DHL Stormers head coach Allister Coetzee: “The Hurricanes are a quality side, they’re the best in the competition as their 6 / 0 record suggests. (But) they’re also a confident team and happy playing at home … we need to pitch up and execute our plans if we are to have a chance of beating them.”
Teams:
Hurricanes: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith (Captain), 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Callum Gibbins, 6 Brad Shields, 5 James Broadhurst, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Reggie Goodes
Replacements: 16 Brayden Mitchell, 17 Ben May, 18 Chris Eves, 19 Mark Abbott, 20 Adam Hill, 21 Chris Smylie, 22 Rey Lee-Lo, 23 James Marshall.
DHL Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen (Captain), 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Oliver Kebble, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Ruan Botha, 20 Michael Rhodes, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Huw Jones.
Hurricanes vs DHL Stormers (since 1998):
- Played 16; DHL Stormers won 10, Hurricanes won 6
- Points scored: 404
- Points conceded: 347
- Tries scored: 40
- Tries conceded: 39
- Average score: 25 / 22 to the DHL Stormers
Brumbies vs Toyota Cheetahs:
Date: Saturday 4 April, 10:40 SA Time
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO: Peter Marshall (Australia)
Team news:
- Springboks Willie le Roux and Coenie Oosthuizen are back for the Toyota Cheetahs after resting last week. They take over from Clayton Blommetjies and Maks van Dyk respectively.
- In the front row, Oosthuizen will be joined by Torsten van Jaarsveld and Danie Mienie. Stephan Coetzee and BG Uys are on the bench.
- There is a positional shift in the loose trio, with Willie Britz, a late inclusion last week, moving to No 8 and Boom Prinsloo packing down at flank. At lock, Carl Wegner comes in for Steven Sykes.
- Francois Venter and Johann Sadie, another late withdrawal last week, pair up in the midfield, with Rayno Benjamin moving back to the bench. Tian Meyer takes over from Shaun Venter at scrumhalf.
- Sarel Pretorius, who missed the 1st 2 tour matches because of the birth of his 2nd child, is back on the bench, next to Benjamin and Meyer.
- Jean Cook has been ruled out of the rest of the tour and has been replaced by Carel Greeff.
Stats:
- The Toyota Cheetahs are looking for their 1st-ever win in Canberra, a venue South African teams have won only 5 from 44 previous encounters for an 11.4% win record since 1996.
- The last 3 matches between these sides – which includes the Qualifier in 2013 – have been settled by 6 points or less.
- The Brumbies and Toyota Cheetahs have not been the best defensive teams in 2015 – the South Africans’ tackling success rate is 83.9% and they have averaged the most misses per match (22.3) so far, while the men from ACT are the 2nd-worst side when it comes to misses per game, at an average of 21 while their tackling success rate sits at 85.1%.
Teams:
Brumbies: 15 Robbie Coleman, 14 James Dargaville, 13 Henry Speight, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Joseph Tomane, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Blake Enever, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore (Captain), 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Jordan Smiler, 20 Ita Vaea, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Nigel Ah Wong, 23 Lausii Taliauli.
Toyota Cheetahs: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Raymond Rhule, 11 Joe Pietersen, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Boom Prinsloo, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Francois Uys (Captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Danie Mienie
Replacements: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 BG Uys, 18 Maks van Dyk, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Tienie Burger, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Willie du Plessis, 23 Rayno Benjamin.
Brumbies vs Toyota Cheetahs (since 2006):
- Played 9; Toyota Cheetahs won 3; Brumbies won 6
- Points scored: 233
- Points conceded: 299
- Tries scored: 24
- Tries conceded: 26
- Average score: 33 / 26 to the Brumbies
Cell C Sharks vs Crusaders:
- Date: Saturday 4 April, 15:00 SA Time
- Venue: Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban
- Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
- Assistant Referees: Ben Crouse (South Africa), Rodney Boneparte (South Africa)
- TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Team news:
- The Springbok trio of Marcell Coetzee, Cobus Reinach and Patrick Lambie, who will take over the captaincy, have all been included in the Cell C Sharks starting team after resting last weekend.
- Last week’s Man of the Match, Renaldo Bothma, and Conrad Hoffmann shift to the bench.
- Joining Bothma and Hoffmann on the bench are hooker Franco Marais and prop Matt Stevens.
Stats:
- The Cell C Sharks’ heaviest defeat ever, in terms of losing margin and points conceded, was against the Crusaders when they lost 77 / 34 in 2005.
- However, the Durbanites won the corresponding fixture by 58 / 26 way back in 1996, which to this day is still the most points ever conceded by the Crusaders in 1 match.
- The Cell C Sharks don’t have a great record against the Crusaders – their win record against the Cantabrians sits at 4 from 19, or 21%, which is slightly lower than the average for all South African teams of 26.6%.
Quotes:
Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby, Gary Gold: “The Crusaders are a fantastic team, loaded with All Blacks. They have not won this competition as many times as they have by accident. They can never be taken lightly and we all know what a dangerous side they are when they hit their straps.
“It’s fantastic to play against a team of this quality; every team wants to be measured against the best. We are confident with our group of players and are excited about the match-up this weekend.”
Teams:
Cell C Sharks: 15 SP Marais, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie (Captain), 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Renaldo Bothma, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Waylon Murray.
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 David Havili, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (Captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Ben Funnell, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Owen Franks, 19 Jimmy Tupou, 20 Richie McCaw, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Tom Taylor, 23 Nafi Tuitavake.
Cell C Sharks vs Crusaders (since 1998):
- Played 19; Cell C Sharks won 4, Crusaders won 15
- Points scored: 410
- Points conceded: 604
- Tries scored: 47
- Tries scored: 67
- Average score: 32 / 22 to the Crusaders
Emirates Lions vs Vodacom Bulls:
- Date: Saturday 4 April, 17:05 SA Time
- Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
- Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
- Assistant Referees: Jason Jaftha (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
- TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Team news:
- The Emirates Lions starting team shows only 3 changes from last week – Anthony Volmink (wing), Andries Ferreira (lock) and Jacques van Rooyen (prop) will start in the place of Sampie Mastriet, Robert Kruger and Schalk van der Merwe.
- Kruger is on the bench with Corné Fourie, who didn’t play against the Reds in Brisbane last weekend, while Volmink will get his 1st start of the season for the Emirates Lions.
- There are only 3 changes to the Vodacom Bulls team – 2 up front, with Grant Hattingh and Dean Greyling starting on Saturday – and 1 at the back, with Jacques-Louis Potgieter replacing the injured Handré Pollard.
- Victor Matfield and Jan Serfontein are rested this week, meaning a 2nd start for Burger Odendaal in midfield after he was a late replacement against the Crusaders.
- Apart from Morné Mellett, who started last weekend, the other new faces on the bench are Callie Visagie and Roelof Smit, while Piet van Zyl will make his 50th Vodacom Super Rugby appearance if he gets a run.
Stats:
- Prior to their last meeting, which the Emirates Lions won, the Vodacom Bulls had won their previous 11 encounters against their neighbours across the Jukskei River.
- That 10-match losing streak was the Emirates Lions’ joint-longest without a victory against a single opponent and was also the Vodacom Bulls’ joint-best against 1 side – they also won 11 in a row against the Toyota Cheetahs.
- The Vodacom Bulls are aiming for 5 straight wins for the 1st time since 2013, when they went 9 in a row.
- The 3-time champions from Pretoria have averaged the most points this season (28), while only the Reds (9.3) have turned in less per game than the Emirates Lions (13.7).
Quotes:
Emirates Lions coach Johan Ackermann: “We’ve lost games this season we should’ve won, but then we also came back and won tight games from a losing position. We’ve limited the damage from a poor start to the competition, but we can’t let that slip away now and being back at home, with the weather due to be good, we’ll be looking to play attacking rugby.”
Vodacom Bulls head coach Frans Ludeke: “The Lions just came back from their best tour ever, so will be keen to keep that momentum and will be boosted by their home crowd. We are also keen to keep progressing as a team and as it is our traditional derby, we are expecting a cracker of a game.”
Vodacom Bulls captain Pierre Spies: “We learned it the hard way during the opening 2 weeks. You cannot be off the pace during the 80 minutes, as other teams punish you. We played great rugby last weekend, but that will mean nothing to the Lions, who will come out all guns blazing on their home turf. We lost there last year, so have a lot to prove this time around.”
Teams:
Emirates Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (Captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Jacques van Rooyen
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Robert Kruger, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Howard Mnisi.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Pierre Spies (Captain), 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Dean Greyling
Replacements: 16 Callie Visagie, 17 Morné Mellett, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 20 Roelof Smit, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Tian Schoeman, 23 Jurgen Visser.
Emirates Lions vs Vodacom Bulls (since 2006):
- Played 11; Emirates Lions Won 1, Vodacom Bulls won 10
- Emirates Lions points scored: 191
- Vodacom Bulls points scored: 344
- Emirates Lions tries scored: 20
- Vodacom Bulls tries scored: 37
- Average score: 31 / 17 to the Vodacom Bulls
Other fixtures:
Friday 3 April:
- 10:40 SA Time – Melbourne Rebels vs Reds – Melbourne
Saturday 28 March:
- 08:35 SA Time – Chiefs vs Blues – Hamilton
Byes: Highlanders, Waratahs, Western Force