2 Of the tournament’s pace-setters are going head-to-head on Saturday. But it is no ordinary match. It is the BIG north-south derby – the Vodacom Blue Bulls hosting DHL Western Province in the feature match of the weekend, when they meet in Pretoria on Saturday.
They are 2 of only 3 remaining unbeaten sides.
However, before we get there we have 2 Friday games – which will feature 3 teams still seeking their 1st win.
The winless Eastern Province Kings host an ambitious Steval Pumas team in Port Elizabeth, while the central unions partners (and rivals) ORC Griquas and Toyota Free State Cheetahs will meet in Kimberley.
Griquas and Cheetahs are also both still winless.
The Cell C Sharks, fresh from their 1st win of the season, host the high-flying Xerox Golden Lions in Saturday’s early match before we get to the BIG derby at Loftus Versfeld.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls are currently sitting at Top of the standings – as a result of their greater points difference over their Gauteng neighbours, the Xerox Golden Lions – with both on a full-house 10 Log points.
DHL Western Province are 1 Log point further back (9) in 3rd place.
The Cell C Sharks (5 points), Steval Pumas (4), Toyota Free State Cheetahs (1), EP Kings (1) and ORC Griquas (1) trail behind the pace-setters.
We look at all the Round 3 matches!
Friday 21 August:
ORC Griquas vs Toyota Free State Cheetahs:
(GWK Park, Kimberley – Kick-Off: 19:10 SA Time, 17:10 GMT)
Both teams were shocking in their opening Round matches and subsequently suffered big defeats.
There were marked improvements for both outfits last week, despite both teams losing again.
Griquas coach Hawies Fourie showed faith in the team that gave the Blue Bulls a big fight last week – leading at halftime and only falling off the pace in the final quarter.
Not surprising his team talk this week included the need to maintain the intensity they displayed in the 1st half against the Blue Bulls for a full 80 minutes.
“We played good rugby for 60 minutes against the Bulls,” Fourie said in Kimberley.
“That was the type and quality of game we want to play.
“Now we need to maintain that for a full 80 minutes,” he added.
Free State Cheetahs coach Franco Smith was forced into a number of changes – Sergeal Petersen comes in on the wing and Clayton Blommetjies moves to fullback in place of the injured Adriaan Coertzen (ankle). The other forced change is Gerhard Olivier coming in at openside flank for the injured Boom Prinsloo (broken jaw).
Smith said his team is growing with every outing and while they may have a long way to go yet, he is “excited” about the potential of his team.
“Last week in difficult conditions in Cape Town the backs did really well,” the Cheetahs coach said.
“I think we created the opportunities we would ask in a game like that and hopefully playing in drier conditions they’ll be even more effective.”
The most improved aspect of their game was defence – from coughing up 6 tries against the Blue Bulls to none against WP a week later.
He felt the hard work is beginning to pay dividends and they will soon start reaping rewards.
Recent results:
- 2014: Free State Cheetahs won 34 / 27, Bloemfontein
- 2014: Free State Cheetahs won 36 / 25, Kimberley
- 2013: Free State Cheetahs won 40 / 20, Bloemfontein
- 2013: Free State Cheetahs won 52 / 21, Kimberley
- 2012: Free State Cheetahs won 35 / 20, Bloemfontein
- 2012: Free State Cheetahs won 29 / 16, Kimberley
Teams:
ORC Griquas: 15 Gouws Prinsloo, 14 Ruhan Nel, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Ntabeni Dukisa, 10 Riaan Viljoen, 9 Tian Meyer (Captain), 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Hilton Lobberts, 6 RJ Liebenberg, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Jonathan Adendorf, 3 Stephan Kotze, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Danie Mienie
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 18 Jaco Nepgen, 19 Leon Karemaker, 20 Rudi van Rooyen, 21 Clinton Swart, 22 Jacquin Jansen.
Toyota Free State Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 Francois Uys (Captain), 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Caylib Oosthuizen
Replacements: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Maks van Dyk, 18 Reniel Hugo, 19 Tienie Burger, 20 Freddy Ngoza, 21 Ruan van Rensburg, 22 Sias Ebersohn.
Referee: Lesego Legoete
Assistant Referees: Renier Vermeulen, Pieter Janse van Vuuren
TMO: Johan Greeff
Eastern Province Kings vs Steval Pumas:
(Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth – Kick-Off: 19:10 SA Time, 17:10 GMT)
Injuries are already beginning to take a severe toll on the EP Kings, depleting their already stretched resources to near breaking point.
Not only have they lost Tim and George Whitehead to injury, but captain Luke Watson was a late withdrawal, after having been named in the initial squad. Karlo Aspeling takes over the flyhalf duties – with Elgar Watts and Gary van Aswegen both still injured.
EP Kings coach Brent Janse van Rensburg admitted his team is facing a “big challenge” against a “tough, abrasive” Steval Pumas side.
“We know we had a chance to put away the Sharks last Saturday, but did not take our opportunities and we made it hard for ourselves,” the coach said.
“But there has been improvement and lessons have been learnt, and it is up to us to keep working hard and to keep looking for consistent improvement each week.”
The Steval Pumas will be determined to bounce back from last week’s loss to the Xerox Golden Lions, but coach MJ Mentz admitted it will not be an easy task.
“The Kings in PE is never easy and last year’s match didn’t go well for us, we won’t underestimate them and they have shown their character against the Sharks,” Mentz said.
The Steval Pumas have an ability to hold onto the ball and build pressure.
However, Mentz made it clear they will look to play a more expansive game that will bring their backs into the equation.
“It is a must win for us and we want to get our season back on track following last Friday’s defeat to the Lions,” the coach said.
“One of our strengths is our set pieces and we will look to apply pressure on them there and work our way into scoring positions.”
Recent result:
- 2014: EP Kings won 26 / 25, Port Elizabeth
Teams:
EP Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 JP du Plessis, 11 Luther Obi, 10 Karlo Aspeling, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Vleis Engelbrecht, 6 Thembelani Bholi , 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Steven Sykes (Captain), 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Lizo Gqoboka, 17 Edgar Marutlulle, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Cameron Lindsay, 20 Paul Schoeman , 21 Kevin Luiters, 22 Hansie Graaff.
Steval Pumas: 15 JW Bell, 14 Bernado Botha, 13 Jerome Pretorius, 12 Stefan Watermeyer (Captain), 11 Rosco Spekman, 10 JC Roos, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jason-Colin Fraser, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Rudi Matthee, 3 Khwezi Mona, 2 Frank Herne, 1 Corné Fourie
Replacements: 16 Francois du Toit, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 19 Jaco Bouwer, 20 Reynier van Rooyen, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Hoffmann Maritz.
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant Referees: Jason Jaftha, Ruhan Meiring
Saturday 22 August:
Cell C Sharks vs Xerox Golden Lions:
(Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban – Kick-Off: 17:00 SA Time, 15:00 GMT)
The Cell C Sharks are aware that they have been well off the pace this season, despite beating the EP Kings last week.
Director of Rugby Gary Gold is backing a group of youngsters in the absence of a host of Springboks – some on national duty and others out injured.
The loss this week of seasoned prop and recent Springbok, Lourens Adriaanse (shoulder injury), as well as Jean Deysel (tricep muscle strain) means the player resources are stretched even further.
While the young players will eventually come good, there may be a few painful lessons along the way.
Xerox Golden Lions coach Johan Ackermann was also forced into changes – most notably the loss of hard-running centre Harold Vorster (out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee).
However, they have enough resources – with the style and quality of their game is of a bigger concern to the Cell C Sharks than the individuals on the pitch.
“Attacking rugby is in the Lions’ DNA and we have to improve our defence,” Gold said.
“The talk this week has been about an immense improvement for this weekend against the Lions and we know we are going to have to pitch up physically against the Lions.”
Gold knows that a win over the Golden Lions will do wonders for a union struggling to lure fans back to Growthpoint Kings Park after a disastrous Super Rugby season.
“A really good performance and hopefully a victory out of that would definitely give us a lot of confidence going forward,” the Sharks boss said.
“It will give us some confidence to know we can compete with what I believe are the bookies’ favourites in this competition – and quite rightly should be.
“They had a fantastic Super Rugby competition, they’re a very settled squad and they’re playing great rugby.”
Recent results:
- 2014: Golden Lions won 50 / 20, Johannesburg
- 2014: Sharks won 26 / 23, Durban
- 2013: Sharks won 31 / 25, Johannesburg
- 2013: Sharks won 33 / 25, Durban
- 2012: Sharks won 30 / 14, Durban
- 2012: Golden Lions won 28 / 22, Johannesburg
Teams:
Cell C Sharks: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Paul Jordaan , 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 S’bura Sithole, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Dan du Preez, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Marco Wentzel (Captain), 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Monde Hadebe, 1 Dale Chadwick
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Gerhard Engelbrecht, 18 David McDuling, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Stefan Ungerer, 21 Wandile Mjekevu, 22 SP Marais.
Xerox Golden Lions: 15 Jaco van der Walt, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Stokkies Hanekom, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Jaco Kriel (Captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 MB Lusaseni, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Ruan Dreyer
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Steph de Wit, 20 Ricky Schroeder, 21 Alwyn Hollenbach, 22 Anthony Volmink.
Referee: Quinton Immelman
Assistant Referees: Lourens van der Merwe, Jaco Kotze
TMO: Marius Jonker
Vodacom Blue Bulls vs DHL Western Province:
(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria – Kick-Off: 19:10 SA Time, 17:10 GMT)
It is fitting that we finish the weekend’s action with the BIG north-south derby – traditionally the biggest game on the domestic scene.
Both teams have lost key players to injury this week.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls will be without William Small-Smith and Deon Stegmann. DHL Western Province will be missing captain Juan de Jongh.
However, both teams still have enough quality players to ensure this encounter will live up to the traditional rivalry between the sides.
Despite having a host of seasoned players – like Cheslin Kolbe, Jaco Taute, Demetri Catrakilis, Nizaam Carr (Captain), Rynhardt Elstadt and Bongi Mbonambi – in the starting line-up, WP coach John Dobson is looking at his bench for the biggest impact.
He spoke of loose forward Chris Cloete as a “freak of nature” and the fittest player in the team.
Dobson said he was looking to unleash the flank on a tiring Blue Bulls team in the final quarter.
Not that the Blue Bulls don’t have their own game-breakers!
Western Province scrumhalf Nic Groom pointed to his direct opponent, Springbok Francois Hougaard as one of the big threats.
“He is one of those players that is a real threat with ball in hand,” Groom said of Hougaard – who is on a mission to prove his value to Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer, after being axed from the national squad.
“We will have to be sharp, because he will take you on.”
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Nollis Marais felt the key to victory can be captured into 2 brief sentences – “who will be most accurate” and “who will use their opportunities”.
He said his team, who have switched from a static, almost robotic structured game to a more free-flowing and expansive approach, still have a long way to go.
“However, we are on the right track,” he said of his grand plan to make the Blue Bulls one of the most entertaining teams in South Africa.
With more than half of the WP team having played Super Rugby, the visitors are the more settled outfit.
That is why the Blue Bulls are determined not to concede early points – as they did in the opening Rounds.
“We need a better start than the last 2 weeks, because once Province gets ahead of you they are tough to catch up to,” he added.
Recent results:
- 2014: Western Province won 23 / 18, Pretoria
- 2013: Western Province won 29 / 18, Pretoria
- 2013: Western Province and Blue Bulls drew 24 / 24, Cape Town
- 2012: Blue Bulls won 26 / 13, Pretoria
- 2012: Western Province won 42 / 6, Cape Town
Teams:
Vodacom Blue Bulls: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Roelof Smit, 6 Lappies Labuschagne (Captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Dean Greyling
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 RG Snyman, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Ivan van Zyl, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 Dan Kriel.
DHL Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Jaco Taute, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr (Captain), 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Oliver Kebble
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 Chris van Zyl, 19 Chris Cloete, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Huw Jones.
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant Referees: Jaco Pretorius, Ricus van der Hoven
TMO: Vos Willie
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