Rassie Erasmus
After going down 16-12 to the Sharks in the first Absa Currie Cup rugby semifinal in Durban on Saturday, Vodacom Blue Bulls’ coach Frans Ludeke admitted that his men were not accurate enough at the breakdowns against a side that took special care of retaining possession.
The Sharks ended the Blue Bulls’ reign as Currie Cup champions and secured a home final with a hard-fought 16-12 victory in atrocious conditions at Absa Stadium on Saturday.
Sharks (10) 16 / Blue Bulls (6) 12 (Final Score)
The Sharks hosted the Vodacom Blue Bulls at ABSA Stadium, Durban at 14:30 SA Time on 16 October 2010. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match is broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SSHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
With a first half where the Sharks absolutely controlled territory and possession, the Sharks laid the foundation for their 4-point win.
In a hard fought match and terrential rain deep in the second half, the Blue Bulls attacked hard but the resolute defence of the Sharks held.
Congratulations Sharks, the final will be in Durban.
Saturday sees the 2 Currie Cup Premier Division semi-finals, one between the Sharks vs Blue Bulls in Durban, the other between WP and the Free state Cheetahs at Newlands in Cape Town.
Here are the team sheets for the 2 clashes:
Let them carry on and God bless. This is the view of KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union (KZNRU) president Peter Hassard, who yesterday cocked a snook at some of the province’s black rugby officials who have threatened a breakaway union if their transformation and development concerns are ignored. Continue reading
Okay, so after all the chest beating and Yo-Mama insults, let’s get down to business and look who is set to play in the final of this year’s Currie Cup. Continue reading
The Sharks coach, John Plumtree, has named his team to take on the might of the Blue Bulls in Durban for one of the 2 semi-finals of the Currie Cup.
A lot was said already and a lot more will be said in the psychological war of words this week. No one wants to be the favorite this week. It is quite funny how every team digs up stats to show that their opponent is the favorite.
Front page allegations of racism at the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union have clouded the Sharks’ build-up to the Currie Cup semi-final against their perennial rivals, the resurgent Blue Bulls, on Saturday.
The strength of the situation the Sharks were in when they found themselves with an unassailable lead at the top of the Currie Cup log with one match to play was that they could use their final league match to ask the questions that needed answering.
Top South African referees Marius Jonker and Mark Lawrence have been handed this weekend’s crucial Absa Currie Cup semifinals.
WP (20) 33 / Sharks (7) 21 (Final Score)
Vodacom Western Province hosted the Sharks at Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & SuperSport HD & M-Net on TV in SA.
WP were clearly the hungrier team in this game and the Sharks played a strange lacklustre attacking game, with both teams scoring 3 tries each in the process.
With this last game in the regular Currie Cup season, the semi-finalists and where they will play is now determined, with the Sharks taking on the Blue Bulls in Durban and the WP taking on the Cheetahs in Cape Town.
The Final Currie Cup Log Standings list the top 4 as follows:
- Sharks 52
- WP 48
- Cheetahs 47
- Bulls 47
Here are the Teams as anoounced.
The Sharks are going to Newlands to win with the strongest available side – that was the message from head coach John Plumtree on Tuesday as he looked ahead to the top-of-the-log Currie Cup clash against Western Province at Newlands on Saturday evening.
Both the Sharks and Province’s Directors of Coaching – Rudolf Straeuli (Sharks) and Rassie Erasmus (WP) have a history of employing ‘cat-and-mouse’ tactics in the run-in to crucial matches, and it could well be the case this week.
It looks like Springbok Andre Pretorius, and not Patrick Lambie, will start at flyhalf for the Sharks against Western Province in the Absa Currie Cup league match in Cape Town.
The Sharks may “freshen up” in a few positions, but their coach John Plumtree has refuted any suggestion that he will follow the lead of the Bulls by choosing a B team for Saturday’s eagerly anticipated final Absa Currie Cup league game against Western Province.
Sharks (35) 63 / Leopards (6) 6 (Final Score)
The Sharks hosted the Platinum Leopards at ABSA Stadium, Durban at 19:10 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
The Sharks ran in 9 converted tries, totally demolishing the Leopards who only managed to convert 2 penalties for all their trouble.
It was like men against boys with the Sharks already bagging their bonus point for tries before 20 minutes had lapsed.
The Sharks have secured their home-semi now, only question which remains is whether WP can catch and surpass them for top spot on the Log.
Springbok Sevens star Lionel Mapoe will stay in Durban and will appeal the court ruling handed down against him by the Bloemfontein High Court on Wednesday.
The Sharks may shortly experience a wing crisis similar to the one that was a major headache for Free State in this year’s Currie Cup.
Sharks No 8 Ryan Kankowski has been suspended from all forms of rugby for one week, after he was found guilty of foul play in last weekend’s Absa Currie Cup loss to the Lions in Johannesburg, the South African Rugby Union (Saru) said on Thursday.
Sharks coach John Plumtree is considering making a number of changes to his team for Friday’s Currie Cup encounter with the Leopards.
However, he first has to find a new captain now that Stefan Terblanché has been ruled out.
Free State Cheetahs wing Lionel Mapoe, was on Wednesday ordered by a Bloemfontein Court to report at the Cheetahs by Thursday 15:00.
Lions (10) 22 / Sharks (10) 20 (Final Score)
The Xerox Lions hosted the Sharks at 17:05 SA Time at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & HD and on M-Net on TV in SA.
In a nail-biter till the end the Lions came back at the death to score a try through captain Franco van der Merwe and with the sucessful conversion from Elton Jantjies sealingthe win by only 2 points…. final score Lions 22 / 20.
College Rovers won the SAA National Club Champs for the first time in their history when they beat Maties 24-15 (halftime 11-5) at the Danie Craven Stadium on Friday.
Springbok captain John Smit will get an opportunity next year to fill in the one gap that was left in his impressive CV following the 2007 World Cup triumph.
Six teams are still jostling for semi-final places in the 2010 Absa Currie Cup as the Premier Division competition enters its final three weeks of league fixtures.
Sharks (18) 30 / Cheetahs (9) 16 (Final Score)
The Sharks hosted the Cheetahs at ABSA Stadium, Durban at 15:00 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, M-Net and SuperSport HD in SA.
The Sharks extended their lead on the Currie Cup Log with this bonus point win, whereas the Cheetahs were prevented from scoring any Log points.
This weekend we see the following 4 matches:
| 17 | GWK Griquas | v | Platinum Leopards | GWK Park, Kimberley | 19:00 |
| 17 | Pumas | v | Vodacom Western Province | Puma Stadium, Witbank | 19:10 |
| 18 | Sharks | v | Vodacom Free State Cheetahs | The Absa Stadium Durban | 15:00 |
| 18 | Vodacom Blue Bulls | v | Xerox Lions | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | 17:05 |
The two most interesting clashes both take place on Saturday 18 September, those between the Sharks and Cheetahs and the Blue Bulls against the Lions.
The contractual dispute between the Cheetahs and Sharks over the services of wing Lionel Mapoe is set to add fuel to the fire of the rugby war that will be waged between the unions in Saturday’s Currie Cup match in Durban.
Pumas (14) 14 / Sharks (27) 30 (Final Score)
The Barloworld Toyota Pumas hosted the Sharks at Puma Stadium, Witbank at 19:10 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
In a very fast paced 1st half, the Sharks secured their bonus point and in so doing secured the game. The second half delivered a heap of action but only 3 solitary points via a penalty by the Sharks.
The Final Score was Sharks 30 / 14.
We have 1 match on Friday 10 September and 3 matches on Saturday 11 September, with only the match between WP and the Leopards not broadcast on TV in SA.
The games are:
- Pumas vs Sharks – Witbank at 19:10 SA Time on 10 September
- Lions vs Griquas – Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 15:00 SA Time on 11 September
- WP vs Leopards – Newlands, Cape Town at 17:00 SA Time on 11 September
- Cheetahs vs Blue Bulls – Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein at 17:05 SA Time on 11 September
Sharks captain Stefan Terblanche will run out in his preferred position at fullback for Friday night’s Absa Currie Cup game against the Pumas in Witbank.
Blue Bulls (13) 40 / Sharks (24) 34 (Final Score)
The Blue Bulls hosted the Sharks at Loftus, Pretoria at 19:15 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The game was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
The Blue Bulls fought back from an 11-point halftime score to win a magnificent game, earning their bonus point for tries, winning 40 / 34.
The Sharks get one Log point for losing by less than 7 points.
This win was absolutely crucial for the Blue Bulls Currie Cup aspirations.
Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has opted for prop power on his substitutes bench and kicking options in the backline for Saturday’s Currie Cup match against the Sharks in Pretoria.