Currie Cup Predictions – Round 9

It’s high-stakes rugby in the penultimate round of the Currie Cup regular season this weekend, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

It doesn’t come much bigger than Friday’s Jukskei derby as it’ll effectively determine who’ll top the log.

The unbeaten Bulls are on 36 points and the Lions on 33, with the Sharks XV a distant third on 26 followed by the Cheetahs and Pumas, both on 24. Western Province and Griquas are all but out of the playoff race on 14, while the winless Griffons have only managed three log points.  

The top-of-the-table clash at Midstream College will be preceded by the Central derby in Kimberley, while the other two ties will see the Sharks XV host the Griffons at Kings Park on Saturday and Western Province play the Pumas at Danie Craven Stadium on Sunday as smaller communities get a rare opportunity to experience live Currie Cup action.

Griquas v Cheetahs

Friday, 30 August – 15:00

Griquas showed a lot in their 47-24 loss at Loftus Versfeld last Friday.

They enjoyed a perfect opening quarter in which they were clinical and opportunistic and shut out the Bulls on the hosts’ first three entries into their 22 to lead 14-0.

However, they then fell off until the very end of the half when they clicked again and showed patience to score after 24 phases but had lost the ascendency by then.

They never went away, though, and caused the Bulls plenty of problems on attack. Things could’ve gotten interesting had they not had two tries disallowed for marginal forward passes, so they’ll take confidence from the opportunities they created. That said, they still need a lot of refinement as they made far too many handling mistakes and unforced errors.

The Cheetahs’ title defence has gone off track over the last two rounds and they’ll be desperate to course-correct following back-to-back home losses to the Sharks and Lions.

Once again, they made life hard for themselves by starting poorly last weekend, trailing 26-7 at the break after conceding four tries and two yellow cards against the Johannesburg side. They showed character in the second half but still fell well short, going down 38-21.

For the Free Staters, it’s all about being better out of the starting blocks and not having to play catch-up rugby. With the Pumas breathing down their neck, the Cheetahs should be switched on from the word go and get back on track.

Bulls v Lions

Friday, 30 August – 17:15

The 23-point triumph over Griquas showed that even when they’re not at their best, the Bulls still know how to win.

After a sluggish start in which they made unforced errors and conceded two soft tries, they dug themselves out of a hole with top-class transition play and interplay between forwards and backs to turn a 14-point deficit into a 26-19 halftime lead, which they built on in the second half.

However, for a side with such high standards, they were far too generous on defence. Their main focus this week would probably have been on shoring up their D, both from an individual and structural basis. Another work-on is their lineout. Attack-wise, they’re lethal, and when they turn to their driving maul, it produces tries as well.

The Lions are beaming with confidence and will back themselves to hand their neighbours their first loss after their roaring 17-point win over the Cheetahs last weekend.

Completely dominant in the first half, they slowed down a bit in the second but were never in trouble. As lethal as they are on attack, it’s their defence that’s been their point of difference. Yes, they slipped more tackles than usual against the Cheetahs, however, they still conceded just three tries and have leaked the fewest five-pointers this season (25).

Their lineout and driving maul are on point but they’ll be targeted in the scrum after conceding four penalties in the set piece last weekend. They called on some big guns from the United Rugby Championship squad off the bench last weekend and have loaded up on them for this all-important fixture.

With that and their form in mind, I’m tipping the Lions to pip it.

Sharks XV v Griffons

Saturday, 31 August – 13:30

The Sharks will be determined to keep the good times going. After a slow start, the Durbanites have done the hard yards and strung together a five-match unbeaten streak, and they’ll not want to squander that momentum by taking the Griffons lightly.

Fresh off a 31-23 win over Western Province, it’ll be important for them to earn the right to go wide while they also have to be more disciplined, having coughed up 14 penalties last weekend.

They’ll want to improve at scrum time, where they conceded three penalties against Province, and be more mindful of the small things such as when to offload and when it’s better to recycle after getting it wrong on a few costly occasions in Cape Town.

The Griffons did go down 45-26 to the Pumas last Sunday but it was nevertheless one of their better performances of the season. They started particularly well, leading 12-0, and might have run the visitors close had they not conceded three yellow cards. 

A short turnaround for the minnows coupled with the fact that the Sharks will unleash their URC stars point to one-way traffic.

Western Province v Pumas

Sunday, 1 September – 15:00

With their injury curse continuing and forcing them into a number of late changes last weekend, Western Province slumped to an eight-point home defeat to the Sharks, their third loss in a row. 

They’ve been lacking ingenuity and punch with ball in hand, have struggled to get out of their half and their lineout has been dreadful. The one positive has been their scrum.

The Pumas got the job done in Welkom last Sunday but were well off their best. In fact, they were downright dreadful in the first quarter and relied on their experience to pull clear as the Griffons repeatedly shot themselves in the foot.

Their set pieces were good, which will stand them in good stead in this matchup, and if they were facing the youthful Province side we’ve seen till now, they’d be in with a real shout.

However, with the hosts set to be bolstered by URC big hitters, it’ll be Province who’ll prevail.