All eyes will be on Diamantveld High School in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon when the only 2 unbeaten teams left in the South Section of the Vodacom Cup clash in a replay of the 2012 final.
GWK Griquas, the defending champions, host DHL Western Province in a highly-anticipated clash at Diamantveld.
Both these sides are unbeaten after 4 matches and their performances have been very similar thus far, with a points’ difference of 69 for the visitors from Cape Town and 70 for the home team. DHL Western Province top the South Section log on 19 points though, with GWK Griquas 2nd on 18.
The high-flying SWD Eagles will be looking for their 1st away win of the season after already beating the Cell C Sharks XV and Toyota Free State XV in George, when they travel up the N2 to take on the EP Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, the Cell C Sharks XV, at home in Empangeni to the Boland Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon, will be looking to reverse a 3-match losing streak when they travel north up the coast.
In the North Section, the Xerox Golden Lions will retake the lead at the top of the standings if they can beat the Leopards XV at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon.
Current log leaders, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, have a BYE and can slip back to 3rd position if the Steval Pumas record a convincing victory over the Hino Valke at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Friday evening.
This week, we’re looking at former SA Under 20 speedster Sergeal Petersen, who is now with the Toyota Free State XV, after making his mark for the EP Kings. We also look at Xerox Golden Lions loose forward Ruaan Lerm.
Rising Star #13 – Sergeal Petersen (Toyota Free State XV):
To call Sergeal Petersen a try-scoring machine would not be amiss as this young flyer from the Free State continues to rack up the 5-pointers since swapping Port Elizabeth for Bloemfontein.
Considering that he is not yet 21, it’s amazing to think that Petersen has been on the lips of rugby supporters in South Africa for a 3 seasons already.
He 1st shot to prominence when he scored 2 tries in the 1st-ever Vodacom Super Rugby match for the Southern Kings, way back in 2013 as an 18-year-old, fresh from completing high-school less than 3 months earlier.
Petersen ended up with 4 tries in 8 Vodacom Super Rugby matches before he even turned 19 and was one of the Kings’ heroes in 2013.
At 1.71m tall and weighing in at around 84kg, Petersen makes up for his lack in size with lightning quick feet and speed to burn. He also knows his way to the try-line as he showed for the Junior Springboks last year, when he scored 3 tries in the Junior World Championships in New Zealand.
Due to untimely injuries, he’s had limited time at ABSA Currie Cup level, but last year he was back to his best and in the ABSA Under 21 Provincial Competition and amassed 7 tries for EP.
At the end of last season, Petersen made a move to the Free State after he had represented Eastern Province at every level from Under 13 up. He also played SA Schools in 2012, his final year at Grey High School in Port Elizabeth, where he scored 3 tries in as many games in the Green and Gold.
Petersen made his Vodacom Cup debut for the Toyota Free State XV 2 Rounds ago when they beat the Cell C Sharks XV in Kokstad and last weekend, in his 2nd match for his new province, the speedster showed his new home crowd in Bloemfontein what he is capable of when he scored twice against his former team-mates from the Bay.
Rising Star #14 – Ruaan Lerm (Xerox Golden Lions):
The 23-year old, Xerox Golden Lions loose forward Ruaan Lerm is somewhat of a veteran in Vodacom Cup terms, having amassed 21 caps for the Xerox Golden Lions in the last 4 seasons.
He made his senior debut in 2012, less than 2 years after finishing school at EG Jansen in Boksburg, from where he represented the Valke at Under 16 and Under 18 levels.
Lerm is a solid and mobile loose forward – he stands 1.90m tall and weighs in at 103kg – who can shift around in the back row between Openside flank and No 8.
This year, Lerm started with a bang and scored 3 tries in the opening Round for the unbeaten Xerox Golden Lions. He’s played in 4 of their 5 matches, either at Openside flank or No 8, and has a total of 4 tries this season.
Last year, Lerm’s 5 Vodacom Cup tries were the most for the team from Johannesburg as they went all the way to the final, missing out on only 1 match during the season.
With an abundance of loose forwards in Johannesburg, Lerm went to GWK Griquas on loan last year, where he made 8 appearances in the ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division – his 1st taste of rugby at that level after being part of the Golden Lions’ Under 19 and Under 21 squads between 2011 and 2013.
He has since had a brief introduction to Vodacom Super Rugby, making his debut off the bench earlier this season when the Emirates Lions travelled to Durban to take on the Cell C Sharks, but the impressive Lerm is sure to get another opportunity at this level sooner rather than later.
Round 7 fixtures:
Friday 24 April:
Steval Pumas vs Hino Valke:
- Kick-Off: 19:00 SA Time
- Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
- Referee: Archie Sehlako
Border Bulldogs vs Toyota Free State XV:
- Kick-off: 19:00 SA Time
- Venue: BCM Stadium, East London
- Referee: Rodney Boneparte
Saturday 25 April:
Xerox Golden Lions vs Leopards XV:
- Kick-Off: 14:30 SA Time
- Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
- Referee: Jaco Pretorius
Down Touch Griffons vs Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls:
- Kick-Off: 15:00 SA Time
- Venue: HT Pelatona Projects Stadium, Welkom
- Referee: Ricus van der Hoven
GWK Griquas vs DHL Western Province:
- Kick-Off: 15:00 SA Time
- Venue: Diamantveld High School, Kimberley
- Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
EP Kings vs SWD Eagles:
- Kick-Off: 15:00 SA Time
- Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
- Referee: Tahla Ntshakaza
Cell C Sharks XV vs Boland Cavaliers:
- Kick-Off: 15:30 SA Time
- Venue: Emgangeni
- Referee: Lourens van der Merwe
Byes:
Vodacom Blue Bulls & FNB Welwitschias