Defining weekend for Blue Bulls-Sharks
The Cell C Sharks and the Vodacom Blue Bulls kick off another round of exciting Absa Currie Cup action in Durban on Friday evening, and both sides will be determined to return to winning ways after suffering defeats in the previous round. Starting time at Growthpoint Kings Park is at 20h00.
Xerox Golden Lions, the current unbeaten log leaders, travel to Bloemfontein were they will be in action in the early Saturday afternoon fixture against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs. The match in the Free State Stadium starts at 13h15.
In the remaining fixtures, 2014 winners the DHL Western Province are at home against the Steval Pumas. This match at the DHL Newlands Stadium in Cape Town starts at 15h00, while the Eastern Province Kings host the Steval Pumas in Port Elizabeth in a 15h30 fixture.
With just two more rounds to come following this weekend’s round of league fixtures, none of the frontrunners can afford any setbacks. The top four sides will qualify for the two semi-finals. Currently, the unbeaten Golden Lions are leading the standings on 33 points, eight more than the Blue Bulls. WP are third on 24 and they are followed by the Cheetahs on 17. The Sharks and Pumas have 13 points each, followed by the Eastern Province Kings (7) and ORC Griquas (6).
The Sharks face a huge battle on Friday evening against the young Blue Bulls team. Last week they lost 26-18 against the Lions while Western Province defeated the Blue Bulls 29-14 in Cape Town, to hand the Bulls their second successive loss of the competition.
Although the Bulls will be without influential flanker Roelof Smith (wrist injury), they still have plenty of firepower in their loose trio to cause the Sharks plenty of problems at the breakdown area. No 8 Philip van der Walt will lead the Sharks as regular skipper Marco Wentzel drops to the bench.
Western Province will be without influential fullback Cheslin Kolbe and hooker Scarra Ntubeni for this Saturday’s clash against the Pumas in Newlands. Ntubeni has a calf muscle injury and Kolbe has bone bruising on his ankle, both having picked up injuries during WP’s win over the Bulls last weekend. Springbok prop Vincent Koch will make his 50th appearance for the Pumas.
Steven Sykes reaches Absa Currie Cup milestone
In Port Elizabeth, 31-year-old Steven Robert Sykes will play his 100th Absa Currie Cup game when the EP Kings take on ORC Griquas. Prior to joining the Kings, Sykes represented The Sharks in 90 Absa Currie Cup matches.
Middelburg-born Sykes attended Cradock Primary School and Marlow Agricultural, and represented EP at various age-group levels, including the EP U13 team in 1997 and the EP Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week side in 2002.
In 2003, he joined the Sharks Academy in Durban and that year he also represented South Africa at the IRB Under-19 World Championship. He made his first-class debut for the Natal Wildebeest as a lock during the 2005 Vodacom Cup competition against Border in Durban. He made his Absa Currie Cup debut for the Sharks against Eastern Province in 2005.
He then made his Vodacom Super Rugby debut for the Sharks against the Vodacom Bulls in 2007. In 2009 he featured for the Emerging Springboks against the British and Irish Lions side in Cape Town and was also called into the Springbok squad for the third Test, but remained an unused substitute.
A brief stint with Irish side Leinster was followed by a return to the Sharks, before joining the Southern Kings for their debut season in the Vodacom Super Rugby in 2013. He played for the EP Kings Absa Currie Cup team in 2013, when EP reached the First Division final, and 2014, when they were promoted to the Premier Division. He was loaned to the Cheetahs for the 2015 Vodacom Super Rugby season.
A brief summary of the available team news:
Cell C Sharks - Director of Rugby Gary Gold handed No 8 Philip van der Walt the captaincy as regular skipper Marco Wentzel starts on the bench. Australian Dave McDuling comes in for Wentzel at lock for his debut. Flanker Christiaan de Bruin gets his first start after making his debut off the bench against WP, replacing the promising Jean-Luc du Preez. Veteran Jean Deysel comes into the replacements.
Vodacom Blue Bulls - Coach Nollis Marais made three changes to his starting side with Springbok centre Jan Serfontein starting at outside centre in place of Dries Swanepoel, who drops to the bench. Tian Schoeman replaces Louis Fouché at flyhalf. The only change to the pack sees Arno Botha back in the No 8 jersey, with Lappies Labuschagne shifting to flank in the place of the injured Roelof Smit. Smit is out for four weeks after he underwent an operation on Tuesday to repair torn wrist ligaments. Botha’s place on the bench is filled by Ruan Steenkamp, who could make his Blue Bulls and competition debut.
Eastern Province Kings - Coach Brent Janse van Rensburg has made several rotational changes while a hamstring injury has ruled out wing Siyanda Grey. Grey has a grade three hamstring tear and is replaced by former Junior Springbok Sylvian Mahuza. In the pack Lizo Gqoboka returns to the front row in place of Schalk Ferreira, now on the bench, along with loose forwards Thembelani Bholi and Tim Agaba. Cornell Hess starts at lock, with Stefan Willemse, Paul Schoeman and Jacques Engelbrecht now the revamped loose trio. The only other change to the backline sees Dwayne Kelly get a chance No 9, with Enrico Acker starting on the bench.
Xerox Golden Lions – Springbok Warren Whiteley is back at No 8 but Jaco Kriel is still captain. Steph de Wit comes in at flank with Kwagga Smith moving to the bench. In the front row. The third change to the starting line-up is the inclusion of Jacques van Rooyen in the front row, while the backline stays unchanged.
Toyota Free State Cheetahs – Coach Franco Smith made five changes to this starting team for their home match against the Lions. Sias Ebersohn gets a first start at flyhalf and he will partner new scrumhalf Zee Mkhabela, a 2014 Junior Springbok. Tertius Kruger gets the nod at inside centre, while Vincent Jobo and Freddie Ngoza comes in at flank and lock respectively.
DHL Western Province – Province will be without hooker Scarra Ntubeni and fullback Cheslin Kolbe. Ntubeni has a calf muscle injury and Kolbe has bone bruising on his ankle. Hooker Michael Willemse is over his long-term knee injury and is back at full training, as well as back utility Jaco Taute (groin). Dillyn Leyds will fill in at fullback.
Steval Pumas – Springbok prop Vincent Koch will play in his 50th match for the Mpumalanga side. Meanwhile, Coach MJ Mentz made three changes to his starting backline. Stefan Watermeyer and Wilmaure Louw are replaced by Wilmaure Louw and Jerome Pretorius while Bernado Botha will wear the No 14 jersey in place of Jerome Pretorius.
Eastern Province Kings – Lock Steven Sykes will play in his 100th Absa Currie Cup match after playing in 90 matches for The Sharks before making the move to PE.
ORC Griquas – Hawies Fourie (coach) shuffled his team for the away match on Saturday in Port Elizabeth. Regular fullback Riaan Viljoen is out with a hamstring and is replaced by Gouws Prinsloo. Out wide, Danie Dames and Ntabeni Dukisa returns in place of Ruhan Nel and Jacquin Jansen. Nel and team mate Sandile Ngcobo were selected for the SARU Sevens Academy team for a tournament in Windhoek. Jaco Negpen is ruled out with concussion, which means Jonathan Adendorf moves from flank to lock. Jonathan Janse van Rensburg is now part of the revamped loose trio. A rotational switch sees Martin Bezuidenhout starting and AJ le Roux moving to the replacement.
The Absa Currie Cup Premier Division fixtures for this coming weekend are:
Friday, 25 September
Cell C Sharks vs Vodacom Blue Bulls
Venue: Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 20h00
TV: SS1
Saturday, 26 September
Toyota Free State Cheetahs vs Xerox Golden Lions
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 13h15
TV: SS2
DHL Western Province vs Steval Pumas
Venue: DHL Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15h00
Eastern Province Kings vs ORC Griquas
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 15h30
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