Lewis Moody
Saturday sees the 2 Currie Cup Premier Division semi-finals, one between the Sharks vs Blue Bulls in Durban, the other between WP and the Free state Cheetahs at Newlands in Cape Town.
Here are the team sheets for the 2 clashes:
Okay, so after all the chest beating and Yo-Mama insults, let’s get down to business and look who is set to play in the final of this year’s Currie Cup. Continue reading
The Blue Bulls have given their departing hooker – Springbok Bandise Maku – the blessing to leave for the Lions at the end of the season.
A lot was said already and a lot more will be said in the psychological war of words this week. No one wants to be the favorite this week. It is quite funny how every team digs up stats to show that their opponent is the favorite.
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke named an unchanged side for Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup semi-final clash against the Sharks in Durban.
From the Official Blue Buls site. Spies and Stegmann declared fit.
Top South African referees Marius Jonker and Mark Lawrence have been handed this weekend’s crucial Absa Currie Cup semifinals.
Vodacom Blue Bulls loose forwards Deon Stegmann and Pierre Spies will know on Tuesday whether they will be given the green light to play in Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup semifinal against the Sharks in Durban.
Griquas (15) 36 / Blue Bulls (22) 48 (Final Score)
The GWK Griquas hosted the Blue Bulls at GWK Park, Kimberley at 15:00 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Blue Bulls started slowly as a spirited Griquas took the early initiative but the Blue Bulls ran in 7 tries against the 5 tries from Griquas, which included 2 pearlers by Bjorn Basson, the man who now holds the all time Currie Cup record for tries in a season with 21 tries.
Here are the Teams as anoounced.
Vodacom Blue Bulls hooker Gary Botha has been ruled out of the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury.
Botha underwent a procedure in Pretoria on Thursday and although there was no need for an operation to repair ligaments as expected, the player will be out of action for the next two months.
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke had no hesitation in naming all his available Springboks in the starting line up of the Blue Bulls team to play Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday in the final pool game of Absa’s Currie Cup competition.
The fact that Victor Matfield and his fellow Bulls Boks phoned from Cape Town at lunch time on Tuesday to enquire whether they could still make it to the Blue Bulls training session on time shows how eager the team’s five Springboks are to have the Barberton Daisy on their chests again and run out against Griquas on Saturday.
He has played in more than 100 Super rugby games and over 50 tests, and on Saturday Springbok Danie Rossouw will play his 99th Currie Cup match – as an eighthman.
Loftus Versfeld stadium manager Hugo Kemp reaffirmed on Sunday what the Blue Bulls Company had warned earlier in the week when he commented on AfriForum’s alleged attempt to use the venue as a platform to promote their smear campaign against Currie Cup sponsors Absa.
Pretoria – Vodacom Blue Bulls No 8, Pierre Spies, has been ruled out of Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup rugby match against Griquas in Kimberley. Continue reading
The Blue bulls kept their hopes of securing a home semi-final alive by crawling home to a 36-32 victory over arch rivals Western Province at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Blue Bulls 36 / WP 32 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Blue Bulls host the Vodacom WP at Lotus, Pretoria at 15:00 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match is broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & HD & M-Net in SA.
Regular Vodacom Blue Bulls no 8, Gerrit-Jan van Velze, has been ruled out of the remainder of the Absa Currie Cup competition due to a thumb injury.
“Intense, close, physical”.
Western Province captain Anton van Zyl could hardly produce a more apt description of the challenge awaiting his side in Saturday’s Currie Cup match against the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
Van Zyl and Co won a titanic battle in the trenches against the Bulls 15-12 at Newlands in the first round, but the challenge in Pretoria will no doubt be tougher.
World Cup winning Springbok prop Gurthrö Steenkamp will make a first start for the Vodacom Blue Bulls in the Absa Currie Cup competition when they take on Western Province at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls were dealt a double blow after hearing they will not have the services of utility forward Juandré Kruger and flanker Deon Stegmann until at least the semi-finals of the Absa Currie Cup.
The Blue Bulls grabbed five valuable Currie Cup points in Potchefstroom on Saturday, but struggled to beat a game Leopards side 39-26.
Leopards (13) 26 / Blue Bulls (24) 39 (Final Score)
The Platinum Leopards hosted the Vodacom Blue Bulls at 15:00 SA Time totay. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & HD and on M-Net.
The Bulls scored 6 tries to 2 by the Leopards, but the Leopards put up a brave fight against an off-colour Blue Bulls side.
Not good enough Blue Bulls, you face the WP next….
The Blue Bulls Rugby Union believe the growing storm surrounding their signing of Springbok winger Bjorn Basson is an “internal matter” in the Cheetahs franchise and has nothing to do with them.
Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu requested the use of rogue winger Lionel Mapoe for the upcoming Commonwealth Sevens tournament, but was refused by the Free State Rugby Union.
Gary Botha is back as captain and hooker for the Vodacom Blue Bulls in their Absa Currie Cup clash against the Leopards in Potchefstroom on Saturday.
The ink has not yet dried on the Blue Bulls contract of Griquas and Springbok wing Bjorn Basson and already there have been major consequences for the Griqualand West Rugby Union (GWRU).
The Vodacom Blue Bulls have made a massive coup by signing Griquas and Springbok winger Bjorn Basson to join them from November 1.
Western Province are comfortable with the knowledge that Griquas are coming to Cape Town on Friday in a desperate mood for if there is one thing they really want right now, it is to have their game subjected to a thorough examination.
Six teams are still jostling for semi-final places in the 2010 Absa Currie Cup as the Premier Division competition enters its final three weeks of league fixtures.
Blue Bulls (6) 24 / Lions (6) 21 (Final Score)
The Blue Bulls hosted the Lions at Loftus, Pretoria at 17:05 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, M-Net and SuperSport HD in SA.
The Bulls squeeked a win by 3 points whilst Jacques-Louis Potgieter was off with a yellow and the Lions coming back strongly.
This weekend we see the following 4 matches:
| 17 | GWK Griquas | v | Platinum Leopards | GWK Park, Kimberley | 19:00 |
| 17 | Pumas | v | Vodacom Western Province | Puma Stadium, Witbank | 19:10 |
| 18 | Sharks | v | Vodacom Free State Cheetahs | The Absa Stadium Durban | 15:00 |
| 18 | Vodacom Blue Bulls | v | Xerox Lions | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | 17:05 |
The two most interesting clashes both take place on Saturday 18 September, those between the Sharks and Cheetahs and the Blue Bulls against the Lions.
Xerox Lions coach John Mitchell came out in support of Springbok assistant coach Dick Muir attributing the recent successes of his team to Muir’s planning. Continue reading
The Vodacom Bulls and Vodacom Blue Bulls have secured the services of their world class number eight, Pierre Spies, till October 2012.