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Preview: Currie Cup, Round Nine, Part Two

Friday 29th August 2008

Rory Kockott: Back for the Sharks

If Western Province are to have any hope of slipping into the semi-finals they need to come up with something special this weekend. Easier said than done as they head for the Highveld and Loftus Versfeld.

It's the classic North-South battle, one of the most anticipated match-ups in South African domestic rugby, and it falls on the 70th anniversary of the birth of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. The Blue Bulls will start clear favourites but after sneaking to an upset win at Newlands earlier this year, WP will be looking for a repeat performance.

Like the Blue Bulls, the Sharks will be eyeing the top of the table as they face the tricky task of travelling to Boland Stadium in Wellington. With the field set to be wet and muddy, the Dubanites will have to be careful not get stuck.

With the semi-finalists all but decided (bar a miracle revival from WP) the remaining intrigue is about who will host the play-offs, and who will finish bottom.

Boland share the basement with Falcons at the moment, but judging by their performance against the Cheetahs in Wellington recently, the Sharks will have their work cut out.

Fixtures:

Friday August 29

Boland Kavaliers v The Sharks
Blue Bulls v Western Province

Currie Cup Table

1 Free State Cheetahs 32
2 Blue Bulls 29
3 The Sharks 28
4 Lions 26
5 Western Province 17
6 Griquas 14
7 Boland Kavaliers 13
8 Falcons 13

Previews:

Boland Kavaliers v The Sharks
Boland Stadium, Wellington

The Sharks will head to the fixture in the Western Cape with a certain amount of caution. With heavy underfoot conditions, running rugby won't be the order of the day. In a similar Boland mudbath not long ago, the Cheetahs struggled to get past their hosts and the Sharks pack will have to bring their A-game.

There are several changes to the Sharks side for their trip, most notably the return of scrum-half Rory Kockott who will sit on the bench.

With Springbok recalls this week for Odwa Ndungane and Jannie du Plessis, injury to Johann Muller, and scrum-half Scott Mathie now in the UK, Sharks coach John Plumtree has been forced into the changes that include the return of Patric Cilliers at loosehead prop after a long-term knee injury.

Scrum-half Charl McLeod makes his run-on debut for the Sharks this weekend after six caps off the bench and is regarded by Plumtree as "an exciting, attacking player" whose tactical acumen will be under close scrutiny.

Kockott, who was outstanding during the Super 14 campaign, has been sorely missed by the Sharks and his return, even though only in the bench, will be welcomed.

Meanwhile Boland Kavaliers rugby coach Deon Davids has dropped captain Piet van Zyl, preffering to pick promising young centre Cornell Hendricks to partner Lionel Cornelius in midfield.

In Hendricks' only match for Boland, against the Cheetahs a month ago, he excelled on defence, but also showed in club games that he has a great eye for a gap.

"I think Cornell gives us more pace and attacking options at outside centre," said Davids.

In another change at the back Neil Papier comes in for Marnus Hugo at scrum-half.

Up front Angelo Brinkhuys will partner Zolani Mofu at flank in the place of Whalied Heyns, while strongman Janro van Niekerk returns to the starting line-up at loosehead.

We thought about the field conditions, because it's going to rain, and decided to pick two fetchers," said Davids.

Frikkie Spies' aggression sees him come in at lock at the expense of Namibian international Nico Esterhuyse and hooker Harry Vermaas displaces Pieter Wium in the last of five changes to the starting XV.

In a surprise move Davids has picked former Blue Bull scrum-half Danie van der Merwe on the bench.

Prediction: No doubts that Sharks are the better team, but Wellington in the wet is never fun so the visitors won't be allowed to run free. It'll be closer than the teams' respective table positions implies. Sharks by six.

Boland: 15 Justin Peach, 14 Danwel Demas, 13 Cornell Hendricks, 12 Lionel Cornelius, 11 Alvin Hugo, 10 Isma eel Dollie, 9 Neil Papier, 8 Dries van Schalkwyk (c), 7 Angelo Brinkhuys, 6 Zolani Mofu, 5 Bradley Mockford, 4 Frikkie Spies, 3 WP Nel, 2 Clemen Lewis, 1 Janro van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Harry Vermaas, 17 Jean Botha, 18 Nico Esterhuyse, 19 Whalied Heyns, 20 Danie van der Merwe, 21 Elgar Watts, 22 Deon Scholtz.

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Chris Jordaan, 13 Riaan Swanepoel, 12 Bradley Barritt (c), 11 Waylon Murray, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 Deon Carstens , 2 Skipper Badenhorst, 1 Patric Cilliers.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Melusi Mthethwa, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Skholiwe Ndlovu, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Andries Strauss.

Venue: Boland Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 16:00 (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Touch judges: Joey Salmans, Linston Manuels
TMO: Shaun Veldsman

Blue Bulls v Western Province
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

The Pretoria faithful will be feeling a little grumpy after losing to their Gauteng neighbours recently, but nothing will make them happier than handing out a good whipping to their traditional enemies from the South.

Both front rows have been in the news. And while the hosts are flush with options, WP are looking a little lean, which is never a good thing when you're talking about numbers one to three.

Aside from the anticipated battle up front, look out too for the match-ups out wide as Springbok wingers Akona Ndungane and Tonderai Chavhanga go head-to-head and centres Wayne Julies and Wynand Olivier - both of whom are World Cup winners - go up against Gcobani Bobo, who is currently ahead of both Bulls players in the national pecking order.

Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has picked Derick Kuün at hooker ahead of Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bandise Maku.

"It was a tough call to make between Derick, Chiliboy and Bandise, but Derick is our first choice hooker and since he has recovered from his hamstring injury he is back in the starting XV with Bandise on the bench," said Ludeke.

"Chiliboy will definitely stay in our system and he will be involved in our next match, but he has identified a few aspects of his game that he would like to work on. We all know that he is not yet at his absolute best after his long lay-off but he is prepared to put in the hard yards in order to maximize his full potential."

Kuün is the only change to the pack who dominated the Griquas. Amongst the backs, Springbok wing Akona Ndungane comes in to replace Rocco Jansen.

Ndungane has recovered from a hip injury and will play in a back three with John Mametsa and Tiger Mangweni. Francois Hougaard is the starting scrum-half with Heini Adams on the bench.

Due to the injury of Francois van Schouwenburg and the unavailability of Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Danie Rossouw, Ludeke has not included a specialist lock on the bench, but he has no doubts that Pedrie Wannenburg can play in the second row if the need arises.

"Pedrie has played at lock in the past and provides adequate back-up for us. We know that we are a bit thin at lock, but it will be a great test for our depth."

Western Province U21 tighthead prop JC Kritzinger will be in for a baptism of fire when he starts for the visitors in the North versus South classic.

In the only change to the WP starting XV, Kritzinger takes over from Brok Harris, who has been ruled out of the game at Loftus due to an ankle injury. He will be packing down against the experienced Springbok Gurthro Steenkamp.

WP coach Allister Coetzee was under no illusions on Wednesday that the Bulls pack would let his inexperienced front row off easily.

"No doubt the Bulls will test us in the scrums," said Coetzee.

"Tighthead is a crucial position in the scrums, but this is a great opportunity for JC [Kritzinger] to show his ability. The Bulls do have a very experienced pack and we are expecting a very physical encounter."

Springbok fly-half Peter Grant has not yet fully recovered from his shoulder operation and spends another week on the sidelines, with Joe Pietersen continuing in the pivot position. Grant is expected to be ready to be considered for next weekend's game against the Cheetahs.

Prediction: Things are going seriously wrong in the Western Province camp and the Blue Bulls are looking like serious title contenders. Expect one big post-game party in Hatfield square. The Blue Bulls by 15.

Blue Bulls: 15 Tiger Mangweni, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Wayne Julies, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard,8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Wikus van Heerden (c), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Juandré Kruger, 3 Rayno Gerber, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Dewald Potgieter, 19 Jacques Burger, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Marius Delport.

Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Wylie Human, 13 PJ Vermeulen, 12 Gcobani Bobo (c), 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Joe Pietersen, 9 Bolla Conradie, 8 Nick Köster, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 JC Kritzinger, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 AJ Venter, 19 Conraad Britz, 20 Dewaldt Duvenhage, 21 Matthew Rosslee, 22 Morgan Newman.

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 19:10 (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Touch judges: Willie Roos, Cobus Wessels
TMO: Johann Meuwesen