With only 2 Rounds of action left before the Top 6 teams in Super Rugby start fighting it out for the grand prize, there is still a lot that happen before the final positions on the Log are secured.
What we do know is that the Hurricanes and Highlanders, opponents in Napier this weekend, have already booked their places in the Top 6 and that none of the Melbourne Rebels, Cell C Sharks, Reds, Toyota Cheetahs, Blues or Western Force can make the playoffs anymore.
But the DHL Stormers, Waratahs, Chiefs, Brumbies, Emirates Lions, Crusaders and Vodacom Bulls still have a lot to play for – the final 4 spots in the playoffs.
The Vodacom Bulls still have a mathematical chance of reaching the playoffs, which means their match against the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday is a must-win, preferably with a try-scoring bonus point. It would be their 1st win in Australia in almost 3 years.
The only local derby on the roster this weekend is in Cape Town, where the DHL Stormers can put an end to the Emirates Lions’ hopes of reaching the playoffs, while at the same time securing the South African Conference title for a 3rd time.
The Emirates Lions have never beaten the DHL Stormers at DHL Newlands – in fact, they’ve only won once in 12 encounters against the Capetonians and will have to be at their very best on Saturday afternoon to keep alive their slim chance of making the Top 6 for the 1st time ever.
The other match involving a South African team on SA soil is also on Saturday afternoon, when the Toyota Cheetahs will be playing under new coach Franco Smith for the 1st time, against the Waratahs in Bloemfontein. A 5th win over the New South Welshmen for the team from Central South Africa would have a big impact on the Australian Conference.
The Cell C Sharks have a BYE this weekend.
Melbourne Rebels vs Vodacom Bulls:
- Date: Saturday 5 June at 07:30 SA Time (15:30 AEST, 17:30 NZ Time, 05:30 GMT)
- Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
- Referee: Nick Briant
- Assistant Referees: James Leckie, Michael Hogan
- TMO: Ian Smith
Team news:
- The Vodacom Bulls show 7 changes for the Rebels match – 3 in the backline and 4 in the pack.
- Jesse Kriel (fullback), Travis Ismaiel (wing) and Jacques-Louis Potgieter (flyhalf) all move into the starting line-up from the bench, replacing Jurgen Visser, Bjorn Basson and Handré Pollard respectively.
- Visser and Basson will play off the bench, and will be joined by Tian Schoeman, with Handré Pollard getting a break for this clash.
- Upfront, the injured Deon Stegmann is replaced by Lappies Labuschagne at flank and Victor Matfield will start at lock.
- Jacques du Plessis starts at on the other flank with Arno Botha joining Grant Hattingh on the bench.
- Adriaan Strauss will also be resting, with Callie Visagie earning his 50th cap for the Vodacom Bulls in the No 2 jersey. Jaco Visagie will be on the bench.
Stats:
- In what will be the Vodacom Bulls’ 2nd visit to Melbourne, they will be looking to keep their unbeaten run against the Rebels intact in their 4th clash.
- The last time the Vodacom Bulls played in Victoria, in 2012, they won by 41 / 35 – it was the closest the Rebels ever came to beating the 3-time champions.
- The Vodacom Bulls have never won their last tour match in Australasia. The closest they came was in 2008 and 2009, when the men from Pretoria lost by a point against the Force (15 / 14) and Brumbies (32 / 31) respectively.
Quotes:
Vodacom Bulls head coach Frans Ludeke: “We have not achieved the results we have hoped for this far on tour and we have to win this one to stay in the competition. In fact, we see this as a knock-out match. We cannot afford defeat and will go into this match in play-off mode.”
Teams:
Melbourne Rebels: 15 Mike Harris, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Mitch Inman, 11 Cam Crawford, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Nic Stirzaker, 8 Scott Higginbotham (Captain), 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Pat Leafa, 1 Toby Smith
Replacements: 16 Tom Sexton, 17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18 Tim Metcher, 19 Sam Jeffries, 20 Jordy Reid, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Bryce Hegarty, 23 Tom English.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Travis Ismaiel, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Pierre Spies (Captain), 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Lappies Labuschagne, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Grant Hattingh, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Bjorn Basson, 23 Jurgen Visser.
Head to Head (since 2011):
- Played 3: Vodacom Bulls won 3
- Vodacom Bulls points scored: 128
- Rebels points scored: 52
- Vodacom Bulls tries scored: 16
- Rebels tries scored: 7
- Average score: 43 / 17 to the Vodacom Bulls
Toyota Cheetahs vs Waratahs:
- Date: Saturday 5 June at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT, 23:00 AEST, Sunday 01:00 NZ Time)
- Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
- Referee: Glen Jackson
- Assistant Referees: Jaco van Heerden, Lourens van der Merwe
- TMO: Johan Greeff
Team news:
- Franco Smith has made 8 changes to his team for this match – 5 amongst the backs, 2 in the pack and 1 positional shift. The bulk of GWK Griquas’ players are not available because of ABSA Currie Cup Qualifying commitments.
- Smith has handed debuts to 2 players – Niell Jordaan at No 8 and Neil Marais at flyhalf, which means Henco Venter and Joe Pietersen move to the bench.
- Coenie van Wyk (fullback), Rayno Benjamin (inside centre), Sarel Pretorius (scrumhalf) and BG Uys (loosehead prop) have all been promoted from the bench, with Henco Venter and Joe Pietersen now amongst the replacements.
- Cornal Hendricks will start at left wing, replacing Raymond Rhule (knee injury), while Tienie Burger and Boom Prinsloo will swop jerseys.
- The new faces on the bench are Shaun Venter, Gerhard Olivier, Elandré Huggett and Danie Mienie.
Stats:
- The Toyota Cheetahs’ best record against the 4 Aussie sides in existence since they were formed in 2006, is against the Waratahs (50% win record). Against the Brumbies it’s at 30%, against the Reds 33% and against the Force 44%.
- The team from Central South Africa boast a 63.2% win record against visitors from Australia.
- The Toyota Cheetahs have not lost against the Waratahs for more than 5 years – their last defeat against the Waratahs was on 3 April 2010 when the men in blue won 40 / 17 in Sydney.
- The Waratahs have only won once in Bloemfontein – in 2009 by 18 / 10. They visitors from Sydney have lost 1 in the Free State Stadium (by 35 / 34 in 2012) and 1 at GWK Park in Kimberley (30 / 26 in 2007).
Quotes:
Toyota Cheetahs head coach Franco Smith: “This is a big challenge for me and a massive privilege – I have big shoes to fill. I realise we can’t change everything in a week, but we have to set new goals and the players have to believe in them.
“Our plan for the next 4 and a half years started on Monday, but 1st we have to get the pleasure and enthusiasm back in the game for the players.
“We want to play with intensity and deliver quality rugby for the full 80 minutes, and will use the players on the bench as well as I believe this is a game played by 23 men and not only 15.
“The next 2 weeks against the Waratahs and the Bulls will not be easy though as both still have a lot to play for. Our aim will be to hold on to the ball for longer periods of time, lift our intensity and secure use our 1st phase possession and use it well.
Teams:
Toyota Cheetahs: 15 Coenie van Wyk, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Cornal Hendricks, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Tienie Burger, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (Captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 BG Uys
Replacements: 16 Elandré Huggett, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Gerhard Olivier, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Shaun Venter, 23 Joe Pietersen.
Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Matt Carraro, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Jacques Potgieter, 5 David Dennis (Captain), 4 Mitchell Chapman, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Hugh Roach, 1 Benn Robinson
Replacements (from): 16 David Porecki, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Dean Mum, 20 Stephen Hoiles, 21 Pat McCutcheon, 22 Brendan McKibbin, 23 Peter Betham, 24 Jack Dempsey, 25 Jono Lance.
Head to Head (since 2006):
- Played 8: Toyota Cheetahs won 4, lost 4
- Toyota Cheetahs points scored: 164
- Waratahs points scored: 196
- Toyota Cheetahs tries scored: 20
- Waratahs tries scored: 19
- Average score: 25 / 21 to the Waratahs
DHL Stormers vs Emirates Lions:
- Date: Saturday 5 June at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, Sunday 01:05 AEST, Sunday 03:05 NZ Time)
- Venue: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
- Referee: Stuart Berry
- Assistant Referees: Marius van der Westhuizen, Quinton Immelman
- TMO: Deon van Blommestein
Team news:
- Schalk Burger, Frans Malherbe and Bongi Mbonambi have all been included in the DHL Stormers’ starting line-up, for Nizaam Carr, Vincent Koch and the injured Scarra Ntubeni respectively.
- Carr and Koch shift to the bench, where they are joined by Michael Willemse and Jaco Taute, both of whom played for DHL Western Province in the Vodacom Cup Final last weekend.
- The only changes to the Emirates Lions starting line-up is in the midfield, where Harold Vorster moves from inside to outside centre, with Alwyn Hollenbach coming in. Lionel Mapoe is out injured.
- On the bench, Howard Mnisi replaces Stokkies Hanekom while Dillon Smit, who made his debut last weekend, retains his place as replacement scrumhalf.
Stats:
- In the 12 previous games between these 2 sides, a try-scoring bonus-point has only been scored once – that was in 2009, when the DHL Stormers won 56 / 18 and outscored the Emirates Lions by 8 tries to 2 in Cape Town.
- The 8 tries scored by the DHL Stormers on that occasion is the joint-most they’ve ever scored in a Super Rugby match – they also carded 8 x 5-pointers against the Blues in Auckland in 2004, a match won 51 / 23 by the visitors from Cape Town.
- The Emirates Lions have only beaten the DHL Stormers once – in the 2nd round last year in Johannesburg by 34 / 10.
- The 9 penalty goals kicked by Elton Jantjies in the Emirates Lions’ only victory over the Capetonians last season is a Super Rugby record.
Quotes:
DHL Stormers head coach Allister Coetzee: “The Lions’ results this season speak for themselves – they’re a form team with plenty of self-belief and why not? We know we’re in for a tough game against a team that asks a helluva lot of questions of you, especially in the set-piece.”
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen (Captain), 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Michael Willemse, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Jaco Taute.
Emirates Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Harold Vorster, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (Captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Schalk van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Robert Kruger, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Howard Mnisi.
Head to Head (since 2006):
- Played 12: DHL Stormers won 11, Emirates Lions won 1
- DHL Stormers points scored: 310
- Emirates Lions points scored: 191
- DHL Stormers tries scored: 31
- Emirates Lions tries scored: 13
- Average score: 26 / 16 to the DHL Stormers
Other Fixtures:
Friday 5 June:
- Hurricanes vs Highlanders – Napier: (09:35 SA Time, 19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 GMT)
- Western Force vs Brumbies – Perth: (13:00 SA Time, 19:00 AWST, 21:00 AEST, 23:00 NZ Time, 11:00 GMT)
Saturday 6 June:
- Blues vs Crusaders – Auckland: (09:35 SA Time, 19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 GMT)
- Reds vs Chiefs – Brisbane: (11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT)
Bye:
- Cell C Sharks