The 6 teams occupying positions 2 to 7 on the South Section log clash in 3 encounters this weekend, which will have a major impact on the eventual standings in the Vodacom Cup.
First up on Friday evening, the SWD Eagles (4th) host the Cell C Sharks XV (6th) at scenic Outeniqua Park in George, where both teams will be looking for their 2nd win of the season.
On Saturday, 2nd-placed GWK Griquas – 1 of only 3 unbeaten teams left in the competition – travel to Velddrif to take on the Boland Cavaliers (7th), before the Toyota Free State XV (3rd) host the 5th-placed EP Kings in Bloemfontein.
The other South Section clash is in Cape Town between the table-topping DHL Western Province, also unbeaten in 2015, and the Border Bulldogs, who are still looking for their 1st log points after 3 Rounds.
With the top side in the North Section, the Xerox Golden Lions, having a BYE this weekend, the big match is on Friday afternoon between the Leopards XV and the Steval Pumas in Potchefstroom.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls will have an opportunity to move to the Top of the Northern Section log when they host the Down Touch Griffons in Pretoria on Friday afternoon, while the FNB Welwitschias and Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls take each other on in a bottom-of-the-table clash in Windhoek.
This week we feature 2 very impressive backs who both made the Varsity Cup Dream Team and are making their mark in the Vodacom Cup, Dan Kriel of the Vodacom Blue Bulls and Innocent Radebe of the Cell C Sharks XV.
Rising Star #11 – Dan Kriel (Vodacom Blue Bulls):
At 1.93m tall and weighing in at around 100kg, Vodacom Blue Bulls midfielder Dan Kriel is very similar in build to Springbok captain Jean de Villiers.
That’s not where the similarities end though. Like the Springbok captain, Kriel also played a fair bit of rugby at wing, has a lot of pace, great hands and superb vision.
And just like De Villiers, who played for the SA Under 19 side with his brother Andre-Louis in 1999, Dan and his twin brother Jesse represented the Junior Springboks together in 2014.
But unlike the De Villiers brothers or Jesse, the 21-year-old former Maritzburg College pupil, who moved to Pretoria from the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands in 2013, never represented his province in the Coca-Cola Craven Week at any level.
In 2012, Dan missed out on Craven Week selection because of injury in his final year at school. The next season he started to blossom at the Blue Bulls though and he scored 6 tries as the team from Pretoria clinched the ABSA Under 19 Provincial title.
It wasn’t surprising when both Kriel brothers were selected to play for the Junior Springboks last year. Dan and Jesse started in the Final against England, which the Junior Springboks lost by a solitary point. Dan played 4 matches at the Junior World Champs, in the midfield and on the wing.
Later in 2014 Kriel, who made his senior debut in Vodacom Cup debut last weekend, played mostly off the bench in the ABSA Under 21 series, but still scored 4 tries during the season.
In 2015, Kriel settled at inside centre for UP-Tuks and was duly named in the Varsity Cup XV following a superb season where he scored 5 tries, including 1 where he outsprinted the defence for 90m in the semi-final against eventual runners-up NWU-Pukke.
Rising Star #12 – Innocent Radebe (Cell C Sharks XV):
Not a lot of players make Test sides from B-division teams, yet that is exactly what Cell C Sharks XV flyhalf Innocent Radebe accomplished this year.
The 20-year-old Radebe has been selected to play for the Varsity Cup Dream Team against the Junior Springboks next week, after a number of sublime performances for the UKZN-Impi in the FNB Varsity Shield.
A former pupil of St Stithians College in Johannesburg, Radebe came through the ranks at the Golden Lions and represented the union at Under 13, Under 16 and Under 18 levels before moving to Durban.
At 1.76m and 83kg he isn’t the biggest flyhalf around, but Radebe makes up for his lack of size with a complete range of skills, which includes great distribution, solid defence and a great kicking boot.
Last year, he scored 122 points (4 tries, 24 conversions, 17 penalty goals and 1 drop goal) for the Cell C Sharks Under 19’s that were knocked out of the ABSA Under 19 Provincial Competition by eventual runners-up, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, which placed him 3rd on the list of top points’ scorers for the season.
He didn’t stop there though and this season, Radebe scored 4 more tries and contributed 44 points to the Impi’s campaign. The season started with a bang for UKZN when they won the FNB Varsity Shield, with Radebe contributing a try and 2 conversions in the final against Wits in Johannesburg.
Whilst still at school in 2013, Radebe played 1 match from the bench for the Sharks Under 19’s before joining the union at the start of the 2014 season. He is in the current Junior Springbok training squad and will have a great opportunity to showcase his talent when the Varsity Cup Dream Team face the SA Under 20’s in Stellenbosch on Tuesday.
Round 6 Fixtures:
Friday 17 April:
Vodacom Blue Bulls vs Down Touch Griffons:
- Kick-Off: 15:30 SA Time
- Venue: Loftus B-field, Pretoria
- Referee: Francois Pretorius
Leopards XV vs Steval Pumas:
- Kick-Off: 16:30 SA Time
- Venue: Profert Olen Park, Potchefstroom
- Referee: Jaco Kotze
SWD Eagles vs Cell C Sharks XV:
- Kick-Off: 19:00 SA Time
- Venue: Outeniqua Park, George
- Referee: Pro Legoete
Saturday 18 April:
FNB Welwitschias vs Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls:
- Kick-Off: 15:00 SA Time
- Venue: Hage Geingob Stadium, Windhoek
- Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
DHL Western Province vs Border Bulldogs:
- Kick-Off: 15:00 SA Time
- Venue: City Park Stadium, Cape Town
- Referee: Oregopotse Rametsi
Boland Cavaliers vs GWK Griquas:
- Kick-Off: 16:00 SA Time
- Venue: Smuts Ground, Velddrif
- Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
Toyota Free State XV vs EP Kings:
- Kick-Off: 16:30 SA Time
- Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
- Referee: Quinton Immelman
Byes:
Xerox Golden Lions, Hino Valke