Currie Cup

1 5 6 7 8 9 30

ABSA Currie CupABSA Currie Cup Log leaders, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, travel to Kimberley this weekend where they face a potentially difficult away fixture against the ORC Griquas side, while 2nd placed Xerox Golden Lions make the trip to Nelspruit in Mpumalanga to face the Steval Pumas.

The ORC Griquas are still searching for their 1st win in this year’s tournament, but the Blue Bulls travel to the Diamond City with the full knowledge that a visit to Kimberley is always a testing, bruising affair for any visiting team.

After suffering their 1st loss in 3 matches against the Blue Bulls last Saturday in Pretoria, DHL Western Province on Friday face a stern challenge in Bloemfontein against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs.

In the remaining fixture the Eastern Province Kings will be hoping to continue with their recent improvement when they host the Cell C Sharks at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. The EP Kings lost by 2 points against the Steval Pumas in Round 3, after giving a good account of themselves specially during a spirited 2nd half display.

Xerox Golden Lions head coach, Johan Ackermann, has made several changes to his team for the Steval Pumas clash. There is however major concern regarding the fitness of their captain, Jaco Kriel, who sustained a quadriceps injury in the captain’s run on Thursday morning.

Wing Kobus van Wyk is back in the DHL Western Province starting line-up for Friday’s ABSA Currie Cup clash against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. Kick-off is at 19:10 SA Time. The defending champions will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to the Blue Bulls and Van Wyk’s inclusion is 1 of 3 changes to the starting line-up.

The Toyota Free State Cheetahs, who lost to WP by 6 points in the rain 2 weeks ago, bounced back to form last weekend with a bonus point victory over the ORC Griquas, sending a clear warning to WP that a tough challenge awaits them in Bloemfontein.

The return of lock Giant Mtyanda to the Steval Pumas run-on side is the only change for their clash against the Xerox Golden Lions in Nelspruit on Friday. The Mpumalanga side face a difficult examination against the in-form visitors in this battle which also starts at 19:10 SA Time.

Continue reading

Cell C SharksThe Cell C Sharks will be looking for back-to-back victories when they meet the EP Kings in their 2nd encounter of ABSA Currie Cup matches in Port Elizabeth following their 33 / 25 1st Round win at Growthpoint Kings Park.

They are aware it’s not going to be easy after the EP Kings showed a much-improved performance against the Steval Pumas last weekend and they’re playing at home with its added advantages.

The backline that did duty against the Xerox Golden Lions last weekend has remained in tact following no injury concerns and they have a desire to develop the cohesion further, while amongst the forwards Gerhard Engelbrecht trades places with Thomas du Toit and will gain his 1st start of the campaign after 2 games played off the bench in the only change to the entire starting XV.

On the bench, JC Astle returns from injury while exciting young prospect Garth April is handed his 1st senior jersey in Cell C Sharks colours.

Continue reading

Francois Hougaard

Francois Hougaard

The Vodacom Blue Bulls will be without Francois Hougaard and Hanro Liebenberg this weekend. Livewire Hougaard will miss Saturday’s ABSA Currie Cup clash against ORC Griquas in Kimberley due to personal commitments, as his sister is getting married and he was given permission to miss the clash while Liebenberg is out injured.

Ivan van Zyl will start at scrumhalf in his run-on debut for the Vodacom Blue Bulls, whilst the return of Springbok Arno Botha at No 8 will offset the loss of Liebenberg, who will be out for at least a month.

Botha has just returned from injury and will be part of a new loose trio that will also feature regular captain, Lappies Labuschagne, and new starter, Jannes Kirsten, who debuted for the team last weekend from the bench. Kirsten replaces the injured Roelof Smit in the last of 3 changes to the starting team from last weekend.

Continue reading

Xerox Golden LionsXerox Golden Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has selected his team for Friday evening’s clash against the Steval Pumas in Nelspruit.

Ackermann has made 4 personnel changes to the starting forward group, which downed the Cell C Sharks 31 / 16 last weekend. In the front row, Jacques van Rooyen will start at loosehead prop, with Ruan Dreyer shifting to tighthead.

Additionally, Martin Muller will start at lock while Fabian Booysen returns to the No 8 berth as a result of the injury to Ruaan Lerm.

As a result of a late quadriceps injury that captain Jaco Kriel sustained during this morning’s captain’s run, Stephan de Wit has also been included in the side at flank. The extent of Kriel’s injury is not known at this stage.

A change in the Xerox Golden Lions backline sees Sampie Mastriet start at wing, shifting Ruan Combrinck out to fullback.

Continue reading

BG 'Burrie' Uys

BG ‘Burrie’ Uys

Toyota Free State Free State Cheetahs’ coach Franco Smith has made just 1 change to his team to take on DHL Western Province in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Smith has opted for consistency, sticking with his troops that defeated Griquas 31 / 9 in Kimberly last weekend barring 1 change in the front row.

The change sees BG ‘Burrie’ Uys start at loosehead prop, while Caylib Oosthuizen moves to the bench in place of Maks van Dyk, who has been released to play for the Barbarians against Samoa in London.

Tertius Kruger also slots into the replacements, with the injured Tienie Burger missing out.

Continue reading

Kobus van Wyk

Kobus van Wyk

Wing Kobus van Wyk is back in the DHL Western Province line-up for Friday evening’s ABSA Currie Cup clash against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

DHL WP, the defending ABSA Currie Cup champions, will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to the Vodacom Blue Bulls in Pretoria and Van Wyk’s inclusion is 1 of 3 changes to the starting line-up this time around.

The hard-running Van Wyk comes in for Dillyn Leyds on the right-wing, scrumhalf Godlen Masimla replaces Nic Groom, who is on Barbarians duty in London, and Alistair Vermaak starts at loosehead prop in place of the injured Oli Kebble.

Kebble’s hamstring has not recovered sufficiently from the weekend, whilst exciting talent Masimla will make his 1st ABSA Currie Cup start for DHL Western Province in the absence of both Groom and Jano Vermaak, who injured his finger against the Vodacom Blue Bulls.

Fit-again halfback Louis Schreuder is the new scrumhalf replacement and he will be joined on the bench by ABSA Currie Cup debutant JP Smith – the new prop replacement – and lock Jan de Klerk, who comes in for the injured Chris van Zyl (knee).

Continue reading

Steval PumasSteval Pumas coach MJ Mentz announced an unchanged 22-man line-up for the 4th Currie Cup match of the season.

The men from Nelspruit will host the high-flying Xerox Golden Lions on Friday – the 2nd time the 2 sides will meet this season in the Currie Cup.

The Golden Lions beat the Pumas 44 / 27 in Johannesburg a fortnight ago.

The sides have not met in Nelspruit since the Pumas’ return to the Currie Cup competition in 2014.

However, Pumas coach MJ Mentz is confident about his team’s chances.

Continue reading

Gert Smal

Gert Smal

Springbok stars Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Damian de Allende have all committed their long-term rugby futures to DHL Western Province and the DHL Stormers.

Prop Malherbe, lock Etzebeth, flanker Kolisi and centre De Allende are in contention to represent South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, having all been part of the Springbok squad this season after stellar Vodacom Super Rugby campaigns for the DHL Stormers.

Between them, the quartet have featured in 61 Tests, Etzebeth leading the way with 37 Test appearances since his debut against England in 2012, with Malherbe (6 Tests) and Kolisi (11 Tests) making their debuts in 2013 and De Allende (7 Tests) playing his 1st international in 2014.

“Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Damian de Allende have all been developed here at Western Province, coming through our youth structures and going on to play Test rugby for South Africa as standout DHL Stormers and DHL Western Province players,” said WP Director of Rugby Gert Smal.

Continue reading

EP KingsFollowing their narrow 15 / 13 Currie Cup loss to the Steval Pumas in Port Elizabeth at the weekend, the EP Kings have a few more injury concerns.

Centre Tim Whitehead suffered concussion in the game against the Pumas and his availability for this weekend’s home game against the Sharks is in doubt.

He was cleared of symptoms, but will follow a gradual return to play protocol until Thursday. If he comes through that, then he will be cleared to face his former team.

Flyhalf George Whitehead picked up a knee injury and saw a specialist on Monday to determine the severity of the injury.

Flank Jacques Engelbrecht has a left hip pointer injury and is likely to be sidelined for the next 2 weeks, while prop Basil Short has recovered from a foot injury, but a spider bite has kept him sidelined this week.

Continue reading

Jaco Kriel

Jaco Kriel

The Xerox Golden Lions medical group have released a report ahead of the team’s match against the Steval Pumas in Nelspruit this weekend.

Only 1 new injury was sustained during last weekend’s victory over the Cell C Sharks.

Loose forward Ruaan Lerm has sustained a grade II ankle ligament strain and is expected to be out of action for approximately 4 weeks.

Captain Jaco Kriel, who sustained a concussion during last weekend’s match, is recovering well and has commenced a graded return to play (GRTP) programme on Monday. He is expected to be available for selection for Friday’s match.

Continue reading

Dillyn Leyds

Dillyn Leyds

DHL Western Province coach John Dobson pulled no punches in the wake of his team’s humiliating 29 / 47 loss to the Vodacom Blue Bulls.

The Blue Bulls, having trailed 15 / 16 at halftime and then 15 / 26 early in the 2nd half, went on to score 5 unanswered tries in the last half-hour – culminating in a 2nd-half rout in Pretoria at the weekend.

Dobson, who admitted to being embarrassed by his team’s performance, was particularly incensed at the behaviour of some players after wing Dillyn Leyds scored an intercept try in the 45th minute.

“We scored an intercept try – as the Bulls were about to score themselves – and we celebrated like we had won the game,” an irate Dobson said.

“To me the signs were already on the wall there,” he said of the celebratory dances behind the post, adding: “That was poor behaviour by us.

“If you score a 12-phase try, fair enough. They were about to score.

“That was a 14-point turnaround – it could have been much worse.”

Continue reading

Nollis Marais

Nollis Marais

Loftus Versfeld is slowly filling up on match days again and it is because spectators are getting “value for money”.

The spectators were conspicuous in their absence at the end of yet another failed Super Rugby season, but this past weekend more than 27 000 people turned up to watch the Vodacom Blue Bulls produce a 5-try demolition of arch-rivals DHL Western Province.

Blue Bulls coach Nollis Marais, speaking after his team’s 47 / 29 win over WP, said one of his biggest concerns since he accepted the Currie Cup job, was the empty stadium.

“The main thing is there were 27 000 people and we said we wanted to play for people,” Marais said, adding: “We want to give them value for money and we did that.”

The Blue Bulls have been through a few lean years – failing to make a real impact in both Super Rugby at the Currie Cup competition.

Continue reading

ABSA Currie CupThe Vodacom Blue Bulls turned in a fantastic 2nd-half performance to hand defending ABSA Currie Cup champions, the DHL Western Province, their 1st defeat of the season in a pulsating 47 / 29 win at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The thrilling win was a perfect gift for veteran prop Werner Kruger, who played in his 100th ABSA Currie Cup match for the Blue Bulls.

It was the 1st time since 2012 that the Blue Bulls ran out winners in the traditional North versus South encounter.

Thanks to their outstanding display the Blue Bulls consolidated their Top spot on the Premier Division standings and they now have 15 points from 3 matches, which all were all clinched with convincing bonus-point victories.

The new generation of Blue Bulls were superbly led by 2014 Junior Springbok fullback Warrick Gelant and veteran scrumhalf Francois Hougaard and they were also the only outfit to register a home win this weekend.

Gelant, also a Springbok Sevens international, displayed his wonderful assortment of attacking skills and was deservedly awarded the ABSA Man of the Match award.

The Xerox Golden Lions held off a determined challenge from the Cell C Sharks on their way to a 31 / 16 (halftime 7 / 6) win at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban on Saturday. The Sharks led by a single point after 61 minutes but the Golden Lions ensured that they remain unbeaten by turning in a strong final quarter as they ran in 3 tries to hand the Sharks their 2nd loss in 3 games.

On Friday night in Kimberley, the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, spearheaded by pivot Fred Zeilinga, notched their 1st win of the campaign when they outplayed the ORC Griquas 31 / 9 (halftime 10 / 9).

Flyhalf JC Roos kicked 5 penalties as the Steval Pumas edged the Eastern Province Kings 15 / 13 after leading 6 / 3 in the other Friday evening clash in Port Elizabeth.

Continue reading

ABSA Currie Cup2 Of the tournament’s pace-setters are going head-to-head on Saturday. But it is no ordinary match. It is the BIG north-south derby – the Vodacom Blue Bulls hosting DHL Western Province in the feature match of the weekend, when they meet in Pretoria on Saturday.

They are 2 of only 3 remaining unbeaten sides.

However, before we get there we have 2 Friday games – which will feature 3 teams still seeking their 1st win.

The winless Eastern Province Kings host an ambitious Steval Pumas team in Port Elizabeth, while the central unions partners (and rivals) ORC Griquas and Toyota Free State Cheetahs will meet in Kimberley.

Griquas and Cheetahs are also both still winless.

The Cell C Sharks, fresh from their 1st win of the season, host the high-flying Xerox Golden Lions in Saturday’s early match before we get to the BIG derby at Loftus Versfeld.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls are currently sitting at Top of the standings – as a result of their greater points difference over their Gauteng neighbours, the Xerox Golden Lions – with both on a full-house 10 Log points.

DHL Western Province are 1 Log point further back (9) in 3rd place.

The Cell C Sharks (5 points), Steval Pumas (4), Toyota Free State Cheetahs (1), EP Kings (1) and ORC Griquas (1) trail behind the pace-setters.

We look at all the Round 3 matches!

Continue reading

Werner Kruger

Werner Kruger

Vodacom Blue Bulls prop Werner Kruger will on Saturday become the 1st player at the union to play 100 matches for both the Vodacom Bulls (Vodacom Super Rugby) and Vodacom Blue Bulls (ABSA Currie Cup). Kruger played his 100th match for theVodacom Bulls in April 2014 and will become an ABSA Currie Cup centurion for the Vodacom Blue Bulls when the side take on DHL Western Province this weekend.

Kruger made his Vodacom Blue Bulls debut in 2007 as a replacement against the Golden Lions and has since been one of the most consistent performers the Loftus Versfeld faithful have seen.

Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Nollis Marais named Kruger in the side which shows 3 changes to the one that beat the ORC Griquas a week ago. William Small-Smith and Deon Stegmann have been ruled out due to injury and will be replaced by Dries Swanepoel and Roelof Smit respectively.

Marais also decided to start with Bandise Maku at hooker, with Jaco Visagie swopping roles with the former Springbok and reverting to the bench.

Dan Kriel will move onto the bench in place of Swanepoel.

Continue reading

Johnny Kotze

Johnny Kotze

DHL Western Province backline ace Johnny Kotze has been entrusted with the No 13 jersey for Saturday’s ABSA Currie Cup clash against the Vodacom Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

Kotze, 22, replaces the injured Juan de Jongh at outside centre in the only starting change from last weekend’s hard-fought 9 / 3 win over the Toyota Free State Cheetahs in Cape Town.

Kotze made 8 Vodacom Super Rugby starts for the Stormers earlier this season (on the wing), but this will be his 1st ABSA Currie Cup start – having made his tournament debut off the bench 2 weeks ago against the ORC Griquas.

DHL Western Province coach John Dobson told the www.wprugby.com website: “It was always our intention to get Johnny into the No 13 jersey at some point, but of course, it has now been necessitated by Juan’s injury.

Continue reading

Luke Watson

Luke Watson

Luke Watson and Stefan Willemse have been withdrawn from the line-up due to leg injuries, for Friday night’s clash against the Steval Pumas at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Unfortunately the pair have not responded to treatment as quickly as the team management had hoped. They have been replaced so as to not risk losing them for the remainder of the Currie Cup campaign.

Cameron Lindsay replaces Stefan Willemse on the bench, while Thembelani Bholi has been moved to the starting line-up in place of Luke Watson, with Paul Schoeman taking his place on the bench.

Steven Sykes will captain the team.

Continue reading

Stokkies Hanekom

Stokkies Hanekom

Xerox Golden Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has announced his team to front the Cell C Sharks in Durban on Saturday.

In the forwards, Ackermann has made 4 changes. Ruan Dreyer and Robbie Coetzee move into the starting line-up at loosehead prop and hooker respectively. At lock, MB Lusaseni also moves up into the starting side and Kwagga Smith will start at flank.

In the backline, Stokkies Hanekom will start in the place of injured centre Harold Vorster. Jaco van der Walt starts at fullback, shifting Ruan Combrinck to right wing.

Continue reading

Michael Claassens

Michael Claassens

Head coach Gary Gold has made changes to the Cell C Sharks side to take on the Xerox Golden Lions this Saturday at Growthpoint Kings Park, as he looks to overcome one of the form sides this year.

Unbeaten, with maximum Log points and riding a wave of confidence and continuity, the Golden Lions make a strong argument as possible title contenders, something not lost on Gold who warns that his charges will have it tough this weekend.

Paul Jordaan and André Esterhuizen form a youthful but exciting new centre partnership for this week’s match, while S’bura Sithole is welcomed back into the fray, slotting in on the wing.

The hugely experienced Michael Claassens gets his 1st start of the campaign, as does Francois Kleinhans, who comes in for the injured Jean Deysel.

Up front, Dale Chadwick returns from injury, replacing Juan Schoeman in the final change with Lourens Adriaanse, Khaya Majola and Kyle Cooper not considered due to injury.

Continue reading

Steval PumasThe Steval Pumas have made 3 changes to the side that will face the EP Kings in their ABSA Currie Cup clash in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

Prop Corné Fourie will start his 1st match of the season for the Pumas, scrumming down at loosehead prop, with Khwezi Mona shifting to tighthead prop in place of De-Jay Terblanche.

Jason-Colin Fraser earns a starting berth at No 8 in place of Lambert Groenewald, while lock Rudi Matthee will feature in the run-on side for Giant Mtyanda, who shifts to the bench.

The Pumas will be looking to bounce back from their 44 / 27 defeat to the Xerox Golden Lions in Johannesburg last weekend.

In the corresponding fixture in 2013 the Pumas suffered a narrow defeat to the Eastern Cape side.

Continue reading

Vleis Engelbrecht

Vleis Engelbrecht

Loose forward Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht has returned to the starting line-up for the Eastern Province Kings’ clash against the Steval Pumas on Friday.

Engelbrecht, who made a name for himself in the Southern Kings’ 2013 Super Rugby season with hard hits and bulldozing runs, replaces flank Stefan Willemse on the side of the scrum.

The 30-year-old has been a welcome return to the EP side (on loan) after he departed for the Bulls at the end of 2013.

Willemse has been included on the bench, but Janse van Rensburg said the flank had a slight niggle, which they believe will clear up for Friday’s game.

Continue reading

Sergeal Petersen

Sergeal Petersen

Wing Sergeal Petersen is set to make his Toyota Free State Cheetahs Currie Cup debut for the showdown against ORC Griquas on Friday.

Petersen, who has now signed a full-time deal in Bloemfontein, has not featured yet for the Free State outfit in this years’ Currie Cup but will occupy the right wing position on Friday.

The 21-year-old has already made 5 Super Rugby appearnces for the Toyota Cheetahs and holds 3 Vodacom Cup caps for Free State, while he was on loan from the EP Kings.

Petersen’s inclusion sees Clayton Blommetjies move to fullback in place of the injured Adriaan Coertzen. Coertzen has been ruled out with an ankle injury.

The only other forced change to the starting line-up is Gerhard Olivier coming in at openside flank for the injured Boom Prinsloo (broken jaw).

Continue reading

DHL WPVodacom Blue BullsHas the world gone mad? The Vodacom Blue Bulls will be playing an expansive game and DHL Western Province will kick for territory.

That is what is on the cards when South Africa’s biggest derby, the north-south Currie Cup showdown between the Blue Bulls and WP, take place at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Province have made it clear they want to build ‘scoreboard pressure’, building up a healthy lead before looking for tries and bonus points.

One gets the feeling the WP brains trust believe the Blue Bulls can’t chase a game once they are behind.

Both WP coach John Dobson and new captain Nizaam Carr said they will not be lured into a helter-skelter contest and will back their structures to wear the Blue Bulls down.

Continue reading

Harold Vorster

Harold Vorster

The Xerox Golden Lions medical group have released a report ahead of the team’s match against the Cell C Sharks in Durban this Saturday.

There is just 1 new injury to report, following last weekend’s win over the Steval Pumas.

Centre Harold Vorster has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the match.

Head coach Johan Ackermann sees the injury as a big blow but believes Vorster will be able to make an impact upon his return to play during the 2016 season.

Continue reading

Stefan Watermeyer

Stefan Watermeyer

The Steval Pumas face an injury crisis ahead of Friday’s Currie Cup Round 3 clash with the Eastern Province Kings in Port Elizabeth.

Pumas physio Luzahn Louw revealed that a number of players are doubtful for this weekend’s match – following their 27 / 44 loss to the Golden Lions this past weekend.

Influential Pumas captain Stefan Watermeyer suffered a thigh strain, but should be fit for Friday’s encounter.

His leadership skills helped them upset the Sharks in Round 1.

Continue reading

Deon Stegmann

Deon Stegmann

Vodacom Blue Bulls flanker Deon Stegmann will miss the next 4 weeks of the ABSA Currie Cup after he fractured his cheekbone against ORC Griquas on Friday. The flanker left the field in the 52nd minute of the match.

William Small-Smith, who left the field after a blow to the head, will have a fitness test on Thursday to determine if he will be available for the clash against DHL Western Province on Saturday.

Francois Hougaard, who injured a thumb ligament, will also be given time till Thursday to prove his fitness, team doctor Org Strauss confirmed.

Lock Jacques du Plessis, who has a back spasm, will be back on the training field on Tuesday.

Continue reading

Juan de Jongh

Juan de Jongh

DHL Western Province were dealt a cruel blow with the news that captain Juan de Jongh has been ruled out of action for 8 to 10 weeks.

De Jongh suffered a knee injury in the 49th minute of last Saturday’s 9 / 3 win over the Toyota Free State Cheetahs.

The Springbok centre – who captained WP to Currie Cup glory last season – suffered a Grade 2 Medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear, which could potentially see him only return in time for the Currie Cup play-offs in October.

Continue reading

ABSA Currie CupThe Xerox Golden Lions, Vodacom Blue Bulls and the DHL Western Province all achieved successive wins in the 2nd Round of the ABSA Currie Cup played over the weekend.

In Durban, the Cell C Sharks opened their account with a win over the Eastern Province Kings, which means the EP Kings, Toyota Free State Cheetahs and the ORC Griquas are still searching for their 1st win after 2 Rounds of Premier Division matches.

At Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg the Xerox Golden Lions survived a bruising battle against the Steval Pumas to win 44 / 27 (halftime 20 / 10) on Friday night. In another Friday evening clash Vodacom Blue Bulls flyhalf Tian Schoeman contributed 21 points to steer his team to a 36 / 12 victory over the ORC Griquas at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Griquas led 12 / 6 at halftime.

DHL Western Province beat the Toyota Free State Cheetahs 9 / 3 in driving rain on Saturday afternoon to hand new coach, John Dobson, his 1st ABSA Currie Cup win at DHL Newlands in Cape Town. In the late Saturday kick-off the Cell C Sharks fought off a determined challenge from the Eastern Province Kings to claim a 33 / 25 (half-time 18 / 10) victory at Growthpoint Kings Park.

The Blue Bulls and the Golden Lions have both collected the maximum 10 Log Points on offer from their 2 outings and the Gauteng rivals are closely followed by defending champions, Western Province, who have 9 Log Points.

Continue reading

1 5 6 7 8 9 30

Users Online

Total 81 users including 0 member, 81 guests, 0 bot online

Most users ever online were 3735, on 31 August 2022 @ 6:23 pm

Archives