Currie Cup 2009

South Africa’s premier domestic competition kicks-off this weekend as the Sharks set out to defend their Currie Cup title.

With being the longest running domestic competitions in the world, the Currie Cup makes this an interesting weekend with two local derbies in the mix.

Full Fixture list available here:

Boland Kavaliers v Leopards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The 2 smaller teams take battle with the Leopards first premier league match.

The Cavaliers  win – by 10 points or less

Free State Cheetahs v Griquas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From sharing players for Super 14, to fighting it out in Currie Cup, this will be one of the matches to watch!

The Cheetahs to win by 10

Blue Bulls v Lions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the big clashes the weekend.  With 10 players out for the Springboks for the Bulls, they are playing mostly second string players, but the Bulls have depth!
There will be emerging boks in the team so they will go out to show what they are made of. The Bulls will be in the Top 4 this year.

The Bulls by 15 points.

Western Province v Sharks

  

  

  

  

  

 

 

 

There has been huge banter between these 2 teams this week and it will be the match of the weekend. Sharks have lost more players to the SA camp than province, but with 4 players that did play one of the Test vs the B&I Lions they look like the stronger out of the 2 teams on paper.

But the ball and pitch will have the last say!

Undecided still….
Either – Sharks win – by less than 10 points.
WP win – by less than 5 points

Tour: Lions vs Springboks

In a month or so, the British & Irish Lions will be touring in South Africa.

Since 1891 the Lions have won 16 Tests against the Springboks and lost 21, while seven tests were drawn.

 

The itinerary is as follows:

Saturday 30 May 2009 v Highveld XV, Royal Bafokeng, Rustenburg

Wednesday 3 June 2009 v Golden Lions, Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Saturday 6 June 2009 v Cheetahs, Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein

Wednesday 10 June 2009 v Sharks, ABSA Park, Durban

Saturday 13 June 2009 v Western Province, Newlands, Cape Town

Wednesday 17 June 2009 v Coastal XV, Port Elizabeth

Saturday 20 June 2009 –  British & Irish Lions vs South Africa – 1st Test, Absa Park, Durban

 

Tuesday 23 June 2009 v Emerging Springboks, Newlands, Cape Town

 

Saturday 27 June 2009 –  British & Irish Lions vs South Africa  – 2nd Test, Loftus Versfeld,Pretoria

 

Saturday 4 July 2009 – British & Irish Lions vs South Africa – 3rd Test, Ellis Park, Johannesburg

ALSO – 

Tri Nations 2009

Super 14 Week 5

BLUES vs CHEETAHS
The round starts off with an easy prediction in favour of the Blues. The Blues will be looking to bounce back from last week’s Shark bite against the Cheetahs who have never won in New Zealand or Australia since the Super 14 began.  It won’t be a complete rout, but the Blues will rack up the points in the final quarter.

Blues by 19

BRUMBIES vs WARATAHS
Man this is a tough call! The Brumbies were lucky to win a few early games.  The former best Australian team against the current best Australian team.

Waratahs by 1

CRUSADERS vs FORCE 
The mighty have fallen. The Saders will scrap for all they’re worth in the forward exchanges.  The Force are actually three places higher on the Super 14 table than the Crusaders who are in the extremely unusual place of being 9th.  They will need to be at full strength as the Crusaders will throw everything at the Force on Saturday. The Crusaders are desperate to get back to winning ways and they will go out this week with a win at all costs. They have moved regular No.10 Colin Slade out to the wing and Stephen Brett takes the No.10 jersey. Kicking goals should not be too much of a problem this week as Leon MacDonald returns. No Richie McCaw though. How they would love Dan Carter and Richie McCaw back right now.  it’s not unthinkable that the Force could beat the Crusaders, it seems more unthinkable that the Crusaders could go four matches in a row without winning.

Crusaders  by 3

HIGHLANDERS vs CHIEFS
This Kiwi derby should bring out the best and worst of both packs.  The Highlanders will be filled with confidence after last week’s record victory over the Crusaders. The Chiefs have ended their usual slow start and have started winning. This usually results in a string of wins and a charge for the play offs.

Chiefs by 10

REDS vs SHARKS
The Sharks were the most impressive last weekend.  They have 14 Springboks in their squad (11 in their starting line-up) and are superior in all facets.  The weather/heat in Brisbane should not be a factor at all as the Sharks have almost identical weather in Durban.

Sharks by 11

STORMERS vs LIONS
The Stormers have won the last seven clashes between these two teams and the return of Schalk Burger cannot be underestimated.  It’ll be ugly but the Stormers will take a win.  The fact that if the Stormers can’t beat the Lions at Newlands, then they will not win on tour!

Stormers by 15

Currie Cup: Semi’s

The Sharks are expected to feast on the Lions in the first of the two
semifinals, in Durban on Saturday.

However, not all experts agree as to who will win the other semifinal when the Blue Bulls host the Free State Cheetahs in Pretoria.

Currie Cup play-off matches are not for the faint of heart and encounters between the Sharks and Lions have always been at the top end of the scale in terms of physical demands.

And in this game there is so much more at stake – not just because it is the semifinal, but because neither team have won a trophy for years.

The Sharks last tasted success in 1996 and last played in a Currie Cup Final in 2003. The Lions narrowly lost in last year’s Final to the Cheetahs, but they also go back to before the turn of the century for their last Currie Cup win – 1999.

Road to the playoffs:

Sharks:
v Western Province won 28-25
v Boland won 38-13
v Bulls lost 35-14
v Falcons won 28-10
v Cheetahs lost 31-9
v Lions won 16-11
v Griquas won 15-44
v Western Province won 10-32
v Boland won 7-41
v Bulls won 34-24
v Cheetahs won 22-10
v Falcons won 19-44
v Lions won 20-34
v Griquas won 66-12

Lions:
v Bulls lost 7-21
v Cheetahs lost 22-18
v Falcons won 35-23
v Boland won 57-17
v Griquas won 32-36
v Sharks lost 16-11
v Western Province won 27-13
v Bulls won 27-30
v Cheetahs lost 28-38
v Falcons won 14-83
v Griquas won 41-20
v Boland won 10-31
v Sharks lost 20-34
v Western Province lost 14-6

 

Don’t expect too much in terms of fancy footwork, or expansive and extravagant moves when the Blue Bulls and Free State Cheetahs go head-to-head in their semifinal in Pretoria on Saturday.

Encounters between these two sides – who have met in the play-offs every year since 2004 – have produced some of the most dramatic results. Also, some of the most brutal.

Just think back to the Final of 2005, when a bounce of the ball literally handed the Currie Cup to the Cheetahs.

And with neither side making a secret of the fact that they will again be out to physically dominate the opposition, to pummel them into submission, the bar will be raised considerably.

Road to the playoffs:

Blue Bulls:
v Lions won 7-21
v Western Province lost 26-17
v Sharks won 35-14
v Cheetahs won 31-23
v Boland won 10-26
v Falcons won 7-50
v Lions lost 27-30
v Griquas won 41-12
v Western Province won 37-6
v Sharks lost 34-24
v Boland won 69-19
v Cheetahs won 5-23
v Griquas won 22-58
v Falcons won 22-20

Free State Cheetahs:
v Griquas won 16-20
v Lions won 22-18
v Western Province lost 9-3
v Bulls lost 31-23
v Sharks won 31-9
v Falcons won 55-14
v Boland won 10-15
v Griquas won 22-3
v Lions won 28-38
v Western Province lost 17-35
v Sharks lost 22-10
v Bulls lost 5-23
v Falcons won 7-78
v Boland won 50-40

Rugby: Weekend Roundup

Currie Cup
Cheetahs showed superior form in finishing off neighbours Griquas and cement their place in the top two on the Absa Currie Cup standings with convincing 22-3 win in Bloemfontein.

The Sharks moved to the top of the Absa Currie Cup standings with a 32-10 win over  Western Province.

Boland Cavaliers scored a nail-biting 31-29 win over the Falcons at Boland Stadium on Friday, after trailing 7-19 at halve time.

The Lions have hit some impressive mid-season form. An impressive 30-27 bonus-point win over the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Friday helped move them from fifth to third on the standings. Outscoring the Bulls by four tries to three – two of those coming from Man-of-the-match Willie Wepene.

The Springboks rattled up 9 tries against the Pumas. A sloppy start to the match that allowed the visitors to take a 9-0 lead early in the match.
The Boks were guilty of poor handling and ill-judged passes in contact.  The Springboks finally woke from their  in the 31st minute scoring a well finished off try. Fianly winning the match 63 – 9