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Preview: Currie Cup, Round Six

Thursday 24th July 2008

Extra firepower: Schalk Brits is back for Western Province

The availability of nine Springboks released for provincial duty has added to fuel to the Currie Cup fire in Round Six - not least of all for the Sharks who welcome back four internationals as they host the resurgent Lions in Durban.

Likewise, Western Province have been bolstered by a quartet of returning Boks for their potentially hazardous Western Cape derby with Boland at Newlands.

The weekend's action kicks off on Friday in Bloemfontein, where the Falcons will try to run the champions ragged. The East Randers will be up against it though as the Cheetahs also have some heavyweight front row reinforcement and a home record second to none.

Competition leaders the Blue Bulls have the weekend off, as do the Griquas.

Fixtures:

Friday July 25

Free State Cheetahs v Falcons

Saturday July 26

Western Province v Boland Kavaliers
The Sharks v Lions

Table after Round 5

1 Blue Bulls 18
2 Lions 16
3 Cheetahs 14
4 Sharks 14
5 Western Province 12
6 Falcons 11
7 Griquas 9
8 Boland Kavaliers 7

Previews:

Free State Cheetahs v Falcons
Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein

The Falcons will head to fortress Vodacom Park buoyed by their impressive victory of Western Province last weekend. It seemed just a matter of time before the men in red caused an upset and they were well worth their five tries.

Their task this week however is a lot tougher as they face the defending champions who will equally have a spring in their step after they gave their 2008 title campaign a kick-start by giving the Sharks their annual Bloemfontein kicking.

The visitors will no doubt be full of running, as they have been all year, but one can't help but feel the Cheetahs will dominate the fight for possession and deny the Falcons any chance of claiming another big scalp.

Free State Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské has made three changes to the team that rocked the Sharks. Amongst the changes are the return to the starting line-up of one-time Springbok Kabamba Floors and recently capped Springbok hooker Adriaan Strauss.

Not long ago Floors, who will make his 50th appearance for the Free Staters, was on the hunt for a new contract after a falling out with Drotské, when he reportedly failed to turn up for practice sessions during the Super 14.

The SA Sevens star and his coach seemed to have patched things up and he win play blindside flank in place of injured Cheetahs captain Hendro Scholtz who suffered neck and shoulder injuries against the Sharks.

Lock Barend Pieterse will lead the side in Scholtz's absence.

Strauss replaces Jaco du Toit, who has probably pulled the Cheetahs number two jersey on for the last time before heading for France.

The final change to the run-on team come at scrum-half where Tewis de Bruyn replaces Neil Powell. Flank Duanne Vermeulen has returned from injury and should get a run from the bench where he is joined by young utility back Wilton Pietersen.

For the visitors, playmaker 'True Blue' Smit replaces suspended winger Johan Swartz, who was banned for a spear tackle against WP.

Smit, who started then season at fly-half before injuring his heel will start at full-back with speed merchant Nicky Kritzinger moving to the left wing. Smit scored a hat-trick the last time he visited Bloemfontein (with the Pumas in the Vodacom Cup ) and will be looking for a repeat performance.

Up front coach Rudy Joubert has recalled Gavin Whittingham who will ad some strength to the front-row in the only change to the pack.

On the bench Johan Jackson has chosen to pull on a Falcons jersey rather than join the SA Students side scheduled to face Namibia in Windhoek on Saturday.

Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 Eddie Fredericks, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Chris Rossouw, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Schalk van der Merwe, 7 Kabamba Floors, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Barend Pieterse (captain), 4 David de Villiers, 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Phillip Lemmer, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Duanne Vermeulen, 20 Neil Powell, 21 Wilton Pietersen, 22 Fabian Juries.

Falcons: 15 Riaan Smit, 14 Dewald Pretorius, 13 Rouan Cloete, 12 Hanno Coetzee (captain), 11 Nicky Kritzinger, 10 Len Olivier, 9 Gerrie Odendaal, 8 Sean Plaatjies, 7 Warren Perkins, 6 Reg Muller, 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Wouter Moore, 3 Nico Pretorius, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Gavin Whittingham.
Replacements: 16 Jody Jeneker, 17 Frik Venter, 18 Reggie Perkins, 19 Emile Verster, 20 Freddie van Zyl, 21 Johan Jackson, 22 Jeff Perkins.

Kick-off: 19:10 (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Gareth Lloyd-Jones
Touch judges: Theuns Jonker, Peter de Bruin
Television match official: Willie Roos

Western Province v Boland Kavaliers
Newlands Rugby Stadium, Cape Town

Western Province have included all four of their returning Springboks in their matchday 22 as they try to make amends for their shock defeats to the Griquas and Falcons on successive weekends.

WP Coach Allister Coetzee has admitted that the Cape Town side are under enormous pressure and has named scrum-half Bolla Conradie, hooker Schalk Brits and prop Brian Mujati in his staring XV while Peter Grant has been bracketed alongside Willem de Waal at fly-half.

Coetzee's decision as to who his pivot will be will only be made know on matchday, as Grant's participation will depend on how he recovers from a small injury niggle, as well as the weather conditions on Saturday.

WP trained under a shroud of secrecy on Wednesday as Saturday's hosts were forced to rework some of their moves which are familier to Boland, their Super 14 partners.

"Boland is part of our Stormers franchise, so they are familiar with many of our calls," said Coetzee.

"We've had to change a few things and I just want it to be kept secret at this stage."

The last time the teams met in the Currie Cup (in Wellington in June 2007), Boland caused and upset and won 15-10. Isma-eel Dollie, on loan from Western province, was Boland's fly-half in that game. Dollie has once again been loaned to Boland, but has not made visitors' team for the clash at Newlands.

Boland coach Deon Davids has opted instead to stick with Elgar Watts at number ten meaning that Dollie wil have to play club rugby this weekend, a far cry from being called up to the Springbok training squad and winning the Nations Cup in Romania with the Emerging Boks.

It appears the Boland selectors did not even include Dollie among the substitutes because they feared he might be exposed to unnecessary pressure. Neil Papier and Stefan Basson can come off the bench and play at fly-half if needed.

Meanwhile Davids made three changes to his team for the trip to Cape Town.

Currie Cup try-scoring record holder John Daniels returns to the starting XV on the right wing ahead of Stefan Basson, while Kobus Meintjies replaces Dewey Swartbooi at inside centre and Zolani Mofu starts as the openside flank ahead of Whalied Heyns.

Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Joe Pietersen, 13 Dylan Des Fountain, 12 Gcobani Bobo (c), 11 Wylie Human, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Bolla Conradie, 8 Justin Melck, 7 AJ Venter, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Nick Koster, 20 Dewald Duvenhage, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Morgan Newman.

Boland: 15 Justin Peach, 14 John Daniels, 13 Deon Scholtz, 12 Kobus Meintjies, 11 Renfred Dazel, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Dries van Schalkwyk, 7 Henley du Plessis (captain), 6 Zolani Mofu, 5 Bradley Mockford, 4 Frikkie Spies, 3 WP Nel, 2 Pieter Wium, 1 Jean Botha.

Replacements: 16 Clement Lewis, 17 Janro van Niekerk, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Whalied Heyns, 20 Frankie Horne, 21 Neil Papier, 22 Stefan Basson.

Kick-off: 15:00 (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Pro Legoete
Touch judges: Sindile Mayende, Roderick Barry
Television match official: Michael Cupido
Assessor: Eugene Daniels

The Sharks v Lions
The Absa Stadium, Durban

The Lions have quietly made their way to the top end of the Currie Cup standings after an indifferent start to the season. After losing to the Blue Bulls and the Cheetahs, Eugene Eloff's side now find themselves in second place on the table after successive wins over the Falcons, the Boland Kavaliers and the Griquas.

As the halfway mark in the competition approaches, a victory for the Lions over the Sharks - with the Blue Bulls not in action this weekend - would see the Men from Johannesburg move into first place on the log.

Eloff has called on his time to pull of an 80 minutes performance after a dip in concentration allowed the Griquas to come desperately close to an upset last Saturday.

Sharks coach John Plumtree has thrown in five of his six returning players to the home side's starting line-up as they try to avoid of a repeat of last year's semi-final loss to the Lions in Durban.

There was no resisting the urge to slowly integrate the players, especially as there is no guarantee on how long they will be in the Sharks camp before possibly returning back the Springboks.

Bradley Barritt, the midfield general, makes a welcome return from injury, as does flank Jean Deysel, while Frederic Michalak, having taken a bump to the hip against the Cheetahs, has been pencilled in alongside Ruan Pienaar at fly-half, pending a late fitness call.

If Michalak is withdrawn, Pienaar will wear the number ten jersey, and should the Frenchman start, Pienaar will play at scrum-half. This means that Scott Mathie could potentially play at nine or be included on the bench, with Charl McLeod on standby.

Odwa Ndungane will start on the wing for Henno Mentz while Ryan Kankowski gets a start at number eight. The final returning Springbok, Beast Mtawarira, will add depth to a bench full of firepower.

Compared to a week ago when injuries created all sorts of havoc, the squad has certainly been bolstered by returning players along with the inclusion of the four Springboks, and while this will certainly add to the side's confidence, coach John Plumtree warns that it would be unfair and foolhardy to expect them to win the game on their own and that a solid foundation is need to give them any hope of victory.

"I think we have to work very hard," he told the Sharks website.

"Names are fine but it's the performance we are after and we haven't played with a lot of confidence all year. Even though we have a Jean Deysel back, a Ryan Kankowski and a Beast, guys that can do some real damage in terms of attack, we still have to scrum well, our line-outs have to function."

The Lions however have a number of injury concerns in their camp. The good news for the visitors to the Sharks tank is that captain Cobus Grobbelaar has been passed fit to start.

The same cannot be said for Springbok centre Jaque Fourie who has been ruled out of the match with a groin injury. Jaco Pretorius will now take over from Fourie at outside centre with Heinie Gordon coming in on the wing.

Late changes have further disrupted matters, with Earl Rose shifting to fly-half the injured Louis Strydom, Louis Ludik taking over at full-back and Ryno Benjamin starting on the wing after initially being named on the bench.

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Chris Jordaan,13 Waylon Murray, 12 Bradley Barritt, 11 Odwa Ndungane, 10 Frederic Michalak/Ruan Pienaar, 9 Scott Mathie/Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski,7 Jean Deysel,6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller(c), 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Skipper Badenhorst, 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira,18 Steven Sykes, 19 Keegan Daniel,20 Charl McLeod/Scott Mathie, 21 Riaan Swanepoel, 22 Andries Strauss.

Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Heini Gordon, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Rayno Benjamin, 10 Earl Rose, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Franco van der Merwe, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Gerhard Mostert, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Gert Muller, 18 Anton van Zyl, 19 Justin Wheeler, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Michael Killian, 22 Dusty Noble.

Kick-off: 17:05 (15:05 GMT)
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Touch judges: François Veldsman, Reuben Rossouw
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen
Assessor: Banks Yantolo