The final Round, Round 10, of league fixtures in the ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division takes place this weekend and all eyes will be on the Free State Rugby Stadium in Bloemfontein, where the Toyota Free State Cheetahs and the Cell C Sharks will battle it out for the remaining Semifinal spot.

Unbeaten Log leaders, the Xerox Golden Lions, are already assured of a home Semifinal, while the Vodacom Blue Bulls and DHL Western Province are also through to the Semifinals.

However, with only 2 points separating the Free State Cheetahs and Cell C Sharks on the Log standings, the 2 teams have everything to play for in what is effectively a Quarterfinal in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.

The Free State Cheetahs currently have 21 points and the Cell C Sharks 19, and both teams know that a victory will book a meeting with the competition’s in-form and most prolific team this season, the Golden Lions, in Johannesburg. The losing team, meanwhile, will crash out of the competition.

DHL Western Province and the Vodacom Blue Bulls also have a lot to play for. Both teams are in action on Friday and their respective matches in Cape Town and Nelspruit kick off at the same time at 18:00 SA Time.

The Blue Bulls, 2nd on the Log with 34 points, face the Steval Pumas at the Mbombela Stadium and the Pretoria side knows that a win, even without a bonus point, will be enough to guarantee them a home Semifinal in the capital. Steval Pumas stalwart Marius Coetzer will deservedly earn his 100th cap when he takes to the field from the bench, while skipper Stefan Watermeyer will earn his 50th cap.

Western Province, in turn, face an injury-hit EP Kings side at DHL Newlands and the Capetonians will run out knowing that a bonus-point win is a must if they want to keep alive their slim hope of hosting a playoff match. However, for that to happen they must hope for a Blue Bulls defeat in Nelspruit.

Meanwhile, the free-scoring Golden Lions will round off their league commitments with a home clash against the bottom-of-the-log ORC Griquas in a 16:00 SA Time kick-off at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg.

Interestingly, the Nel-brothers, Ruhan of ORC Griquas and Jacques of the Golden Lions, will line up opposite each other, with both playing in the No 13 jersey for their respective teams. Ruhan, a Springbok Sevens international, plays outside centre for Griquas after playing on the wing against the Cell C Sharks last weekend. The brothers played together for the Golden Lions in the Vodacom Cup, but this will be the 1st time they will play against each other.

A brief summary of the team news:

Toyota Free State Cheetahs:

Fit-again loose forward Boom Prinsloo replaces Gerhard Olivier in the No 6 jersey, with Olivier moving down to the bench in place of Ruan van Rensburg. Neill Jordaan comes in for De Wet Kruger at No 8, while Armandt Koster is in for Reniel Hugo who replaces Willem Serfontein on the bench. Jacques du Toit returns at hooker, with Neil Rautenbach on the bench in place of Chase Morison. BG Uys and Teunis Nieuwoudt switch places at loosehead prop, with Uys elevated to starting line-up.

Cell C Sharks:

Director of Coaching, Gary Gold, kept changes to a minimum when he confirmed his team. Among the backs, Garth April starts at fullback, with Odwa Ndungane moving to right wing. Wandile Mjekevu, who started at fullback against Griquas, is sidelined with an ankle injury. As a result, Odwa Ndundane moves from fullback to right wing.

DHL Western Province:

Fullback Dillyn Leyds has recovered from a groin injury and will wear the No 15 jersey, although coach john Dobson still had a number of injury concerns. Flank Chris Cloete, lock Ruan Botha and fullback Cheslin Kolbe were all not available for selection this week, while hooker Scarra Ntubeni (calf), scrumhalf Jano Vermaak (groin) and utility forward Rynhardt Elstadt (quadraceps) remain on the injured list and are also unavailable.

Wing Seabelo Senatla and wing / centre Johnny Kotze are nursing slight niggles and have been rested this week. Exciting Junior Springbok and WP Under 21 player Leolin Zass gets a 1st start on the wing, while Justin Benn and Jaco Taute will feature off the bench. Juan de Jongh will again captain the side in the No 12 jersey.

Steval Pumas:

There are 4 changes to their side for their match against the Vodacom Blue Bulls in Nelspruit on Saturday. 3 Of those are in the pack with hooker Francois du Toit replacing Frank Herne who shifts to the bench. Rudi Mathee receives a starting berth at the cost of Marius Coetzer, while flanker Marnus Schoeman comes in for the injured Jaco Bouwer.

With fullback JW Bell out injured, Hoffmann Marnitz moves from centre to No 15, with Jerome Pretorius now at centre and Bernado Botha filling the gap on wing.

Vodacom Blue Bulls:

Flanker Deon Stegmann returns to the starting line-up after he was a late withdrawal from the team that beat the EP Kings at Loftus Versfeld last weekend. That prompted the call-up of Clyde Davids to the bench and Jacques du Plessis to the flank, but with Stegmann fit again, it is back to the regular starting pack for the match in Nelspruit.

Du Plessis and Marvin Orie will start at lock, with RG Snyman dropping back to the bench in place of Davids.

Eastern Province Kings:

Injuries to senior players Tim Whitehead and Steven Sykes will see centre Ronnie Cooke take over the captaincy. Cooke also replaces Whitehead at centre, although he will operate from the outside centre position, with JP du Plessis moving to inside centre.

Furthermore, there are injury concerns over Stefan Willemse, who replaces Sykes at lock, and wing Luther Obi, but Kings coach Brent Janse van Rensburg said they were fairly confident the pair would be ready for the Friday encounter.

Xerox Golden Lions:

Coach Johan Ackermann has opted to rest his regular stars, while the Van der Walt brothers, Jaco and Gerdus, will run out together. Jaco will don the No 10 jersey while Gerdus is at inside centre, partnering with Jacques Nel in midfield. No 8 Warren Whiteley is captain. Up front, Robbie Coetzee returns after a 2 week lay-off and is joined by Pieter Scholtz at tighthead.

The locks are MB Lusaseni and Bobby de Wee, while Kwagga Smith, Ruaan Lerm and Warren Whiteley form the loose-trio. Former Springbok Sevens internationals Mark Richards and Sampie Mastriet are on the wings and Vainon Willis the fullback.

(The team differs from the team announced earlier in the week due to the fact that there had to be quite a shuffle in the pack after Martin Muller, who limped off injured at Thursday training, failed a Friday fitness test and was found unavailable to play – see the regular team article on Rugby-Talk.com).

ORC Griquas:

There are 4 changes in the backline, 2 switches in the forwards and various movements on the bench. Gouws Prinsloo comes back at fullback in place of Ntabeni Dukisa who is now playing left wing. Sandile Ngcobo moves from the replacements bench into the No 14 jersey, replacing Danie Dames. Ruhan Nel is moved from wing to outside centre, sending Jonathan Francke to the bench.

Sidney Tobias is now playing hooker, dislodging Martin Bezuidenhout. Prop Danie Minnie and Steph Roberts (bench) exchange places, while Riaan Viljoen comes back onto the bench as back utility.

Fixtures – Round 10:

Friday 9 October 2015:

DHL Western Province vs Eastern Province Kings:

• Venue: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
• Kick-Off: 18:00 SA Time
• TV: SuperSport 2

Steval Pumas vs Vodacom Blue Bulls:

• Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
• Kick-Off: 18:00 SA Time
• TV: SuperSport 1 (Friday featured Currie Cup match on Rugby-Talk.com)

Saturday 10 October 2015:

Toyota Free State Cheetahs vs Cell C Sharks:

• Venue: Free State Rugby Stadium, Bloemfontein
• Kick-Off: 14:00 SA Time
• TV: SuperSport 2 (Saturday featured Currie Cup match on Rugby-Talk.com)

Xerox Golden Lions vs ORC Griquas:

• Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
• Kick-Off: 16:00 SA Time
• TV: SuperSport 2