Currie Cup Final Round Preview

14 October 2011

With the Springboks out of the Rugby World Cup most South Africans will turn their attention back to the final Currie Cup round robin games, before the semi-finals, this week. It has notably been one of the most intense Currie Cup competitions of the last couple of years. With only one round to go the 2nd placed Sharks and 3rd placed Cheetahs can still gain a home semi-final should they win. WP, 4th, the Blue Bulls, 5th, and Griquas in 6th place can all still qualify for the final semi-final spot depending on various results. Let us have a look what this weekend has in store for us. Read more for Dave's predictions and more match analysis.

WP takes on the Pumas at Newlands in Cape Town. The home team should win this one with ease. However the Pumas showed against the Pumas last week that they are a team that can make it difficult if their defence and discipline holds. WP have suffered injuries to key players over the last few weeks, but they should be allowed to welcome back some of the fringe Springboks like Gio Aplon and Juan de Jongh this week. This will bolster their hopes of qualifying. All they need is a 4 point win from this game.

The Blue Bulls take on the Leopards at Loftus Versfeld. Again the home team should be able to run rampant and score the 4 tries for a bonus point win. This may not be enough as WP's points difference is far superior to theirs. Thus they will have to win by a considerable margin or hope that the Pumas beat WP or draw against them if they have any hope of making the semi-finals. I just can't see this happening.

The Cheetahs will host a confident Griquas team. The Cheetahs will be looking for a bonus point win and hope the Sharks lose to the Lions, with out taking any points from the game, if they want that home semi-final. Griquas can still qualify if they beat the Cheetahs and score 4 tries in the game. WP and the Blue Bulls will have to lose or draw for them to qualify though. This can however become the game of the weekend as both teams have a lot to play for.

The Sharks host the Lions in Durban. The Sharks needs at least one point to secure a home semi-final. The Lions have nothing to lose, but also nothing to play for. They can't lose their place at the top of the log. They will however be playing to keep their momentum going. The sharks will want the win and with their experience they should be able to do it.

My predictions are as follows:
Lions to beat the Sharks by 7
WP to beat the Pumas by 25.
The Blue Bulls to beat the Leopards by 40+.
The Cheetahs to beat Griquas by 10.

This will see the Lions host WP and the Sharks host the Cheetahs in the semi-finals. But this Currie Cup has surprised and it might just happen again this weekend.

But then this is just my view.

Currie Cup Final Round Preview

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