Currie Cup Predictions – Round 6

Teams will be out to up the ante when the second half of the Currie Cup kicks off this weekend, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

At the halfway stage of the competition, it’s the Bulls leading the way on 21 points, followed by the defending champion Cheetahs, Lions and Pumas, all on 18 points. Making up the bottom four are Western Province (13), the Sharks (12), Griquas (8) and the Griffons (2).

There are three matches on Saturday, starting with a catfight between the Lions and the Pumas in Johannesburg. The Bulls play host to the Griffons in Pretoria before Western Province and the Cheetahs collide in Cape Town. The spotlight shifts to Durban on Sunday, where the Sharks XV square off against Griquas.

Lions v Pumas

Saturday, 10 August – 15:00

The Lions are coming off a mature performance in Kimberley, where they dominated territory and possession in their 36-28 win. They fronted up physically and their set pieces have functioned like clockwork.

The Pumas will be looking to put forth an 80-minute performance after dominating the Sharks in the first half and dropping off in the second and ultimately salvaging a 44-all draw with a last-gasp Clinton Swart penalty goal.

Jimmy Stonehouse’s men are lethal on several fronts, mainly due to their symmetry, while they strike a good balance of tactical appreciation – with the left-right foot combination of Danrich Visagie and Swart – and pushing the envelope. 

They have fluidity most of the other teams don’t, as well as variation, plus, they have a good driving maul as an extra try-scoring weapon. However, they need to sustain their work on defence to become a more complete side.

The Lions ripped the Pumas to pieces recently, cantering to a 75-21 win, and while it won’t be as big of a blowout this time around, they should pick up maximum points again.

Bulls v Griffons

Saturday, 10 August – 17:05

After letting the Cheetahs off the hook last Friday, expect the Bulls to be ruthless. Squandering a 21-point lead, the men from Pretoria had a late Boeta Chamberlain penalty goal to thank for their 34-all draw, which kept them at the top of the log and their unbeaten record intact.

As good as they were in transition play and winning collisions in the first 50 minutes, they slipped far too many tackles in the wider channels, lost their discipline and coughed up two maul tries, while they’ll also want to be more clinical in the set pieces.

This match-up will see them tick those boxes and claim the full five log points as the Griffons remain winless and bled 19 penalties in their 39-17 loss to Western Province.

Western Province v Cheetahs

Saturday, 10 August – 19:10

Western Province would have wanted to use last weekend’s game against the Griffons to work out some chinks but would have left frustrated after leaving plenty of points out on the park. Their conversion rate in the 22 was particularly poor and they’ll need a lot more accuracy and punch to trouble the Cheetahs.

The Free Staters showed great character to go from 24-3 down to leading 34-31 before things ended in a 34-all draw against the Bulls last weekend. Aside from the obvious – getting off to a better start, they’ll focus on their conversion rate after failing to make the most of their territorial dominance.

They’ll fancy their chances, though, as they are strong across the board. They know how to play in the right areas, they’re dangerous with ball in hand and chips over the top and they have a powerful pack, all of which should see them do the double over Province, who they beat 37-17 in Bloemfontein in Round Two.

Sharks XV v Griquas

Sunday, 11 August – 15:00

The Sharks will seek to build on their promising last two performances.

After getting everything right against the Lions the previous week to break their duck, the Durbanites reverted to type and looked like the inexperienced team they are against the Pumas in the first half. Their unstructured defence cost them, with 20 missed tackles seeing them trail 27-8 at halftime.

However, their second-half comeback to nearly snatch a win and ultimately come away with a 44-all draw was phenomenal and will buoy the young team, who are fun to watch when they get going but certainly a work in progress. They’re good in the lineout, particularly at disrupting the opposition, but less so at scrum time, while they’ll want to stop making costly unforced errors.

Griquas are tough to break down once their defence is settled, so one can anticipate the Sharks to play a bit more heads-up rugby than usual. That’s potentially a double-edged sword as Griquas are counter-attacking specialists, as they showed against the Lions.

The Peacock Blues are opportunists, even scoring a 100-metre try last Sunday, and they’ve had to be as they’ve had less ball than most teams. That their only win so far came against the Sharks (34-31) will give them confidence that they’ll be able to repeat the feat in the return fixture. However, the Sharks have made enough progress for me to back them at home.