2015 Currie Cup

[PaarlBok]

As we say in Afrikaans. "Dit was mos nou mooi!"

I just really hope we can continue like this for the rest of the Currie Cup, then we might actually make the final again for once.

Bulls played really well and myself a bit pissed off with Leyds who cost us heavyliy with his dance moves and yellow card.

Warrick Gelant was impressive. Good to see the Outenikwa old boy now start to blossom in CC rugby. Expect the same from his class mate Dehan vd Merwe.

If this is what the Bulls are going to play I can only see positives.

 

[PaarlBok]

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28
Free State Cheetahs v Western Province - 19:10
Free State Cheetahs

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 BG Uys
Substitutes: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Reniel Hugo, 19 Freddy Ngoza, 20 Ruan van Rensburg, 21, Tertius Kruger, 22 Sias Ebersohn
Western Province

15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Jaco Taute, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Nizaam Carr (captain), 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Alistair Vermaak
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 JP Smith, 18 Jan de Klerk, 19 Chris Cloete, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Dillyn Leyds
Pumas v Golden Lions - 19:10
Pumas

15 JW Bell, 14 Bernado Botha, 13 Jerome Pretorius, 12 Stefan Watermeyer (captain), 11 Rosco Spekman, 10 JC Roos, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jason-Colin Fraser, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Giant Mtyanda, 4 Rudi Mathee, 3 Khwezi Mona, 2 Frank Herne, 1 Corné Fourie
Substitutes: 16 Francois du Toit, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Jannie Stander, 19 Jaco Bouwer, 20 Reynier van Rooyen, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Hoffmann Maritz
Golden Lions

15 Ruan Combrinck, 14 Sampie Mastriet, 13 Stokkies Hanekom, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan , 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronje (captain), 8 Fabian Booysen, 7 Stephan de Wit, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Jacques van Rooyen
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Julian Redelinghuys, 18 MB Lusaseni, 19 Jano Venter, 20 Jaco van der Walt, 21 Alwyn Hollenbach, 22 Anthony Volmink
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29
Griquas v Blue Bulls - 15:00
Griquas

15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Sandile Ngcobo, 13 Michael van der Spuy, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Ntabeni Dukisa, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Tian Meyer (captain), 8 RJ Liebenberg, 7 Jonathan Adendorf, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Jaco Nepgen, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Steph Roberts
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Luxolo Koza, 18 Hilton Lobberts, 19 Carel Greeff, 20 Rudi van Rooyen, 21 Jonathan Francke, 22 Ruhan Nel
Blue Bulls


15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Lappies Labuschagne (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 RG Snyman, 19 Nick de Jager, 20 Andre Warner, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Dan Kriel

Eastern Province Kings v Sharks - 17:05
Eastern Province Kings

15 Scott van Breda, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 Ronnie Cooke (vice-captain), 12 JP du Plessis, 11 Luther Obi, 10 Karlo Aspeling, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Luke Watson (captain), 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Substitutes: 16 Schalk Ferreira, 17 Edgar Marutlulle, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Stefan Willemse, 20 Paul Schoeman, 21 Dwayne Kelly, 22 Hansie Graaff
Sharks

15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. S’bura Sithole, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Michael Claassens, 8. Philip van der Walt, 7. Daniel du Preez, 6. Francois Kleinhans, 5. Marco Wentzel (captain), 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 3. Gerhard Engelbrecht, 2. Monde Hadebe, 1. Dale Chadwick
Substitutes: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Thomas du Toit, 18. JC Astle, 19. Jean-Luc du Preez, 20. Stefan Ungerer, 21. Wandile Mjekevu, 22. Garth April

 

[PaarlBok]

CC is going into its last stage before business end and much more exciting then the WC. The top three team wont be catchb and an interesting run for the 4th team to make the semis. The Lions have a bit of a gap at the top , Bulls 2nd and WP 3rd. 4th will be a dog fight between the Cheetahs, Sharks and the surprise packet Pumas. Kings really start to play some nice rugby, so its all tight.

Remaining matches for the current top six teams:
Golden Lions (33 points): Cheetahs (a), WP (h), Griquas (h).
Blue Bulls (25 points): Sharks (a), EP Kings (h), Pumas (a).
Western Province (24 points): Pumas (h), Lions (a), EP Kings (h).
Cheetahs (17 points): Lions (h), Pumas (a), Sharks (h)
Sharks (13 points): Blue Bulls (h), Griquas (a), Cheetahs (a)
Pumas (13 points): WP (a), Cheetahs (h), Blue Bulls (h)

CC Log u21:
TEAM PLAYED WON LOST DREW POINTS FOR POINTS AGAINST TRIES FOR TRIES AGAINST LOSS BONUS TRIES BONUS POINTS
Group A
WP U21 10 8 1 1 362 198 36 22 1 6 41
Free State U21 10 6 3 1 371 226 52 30 2 7 35
Golden Lions U21 9 5 4 0 300 190 39 20 3 5 28
Blue Bulls U21 10 5 4 1 287 337 39 42 0 6 28
Sharks U21 9 5 3 1 227 207 24 26 1 3 26
Leopards U21 9 1 8 0 206 384 26 47 0 4 8
EP Kings U21 9 1 8 0 151 362 20 49 0 0 4
Group B
Pumas U21 6 6 0 0 233 160 30 19 0 5 29
Boland U21 6 4 2 0 274 204 40 26 1 5 22
Limp Bulls U21 6 4 2 0 221 148 32 20 0 4 20
Griquas U21 6 4 2 0 177 151 13 14 1 2 19
SWD U21 6 3 3 0 152 164 19 20 1 2 15
Border U21 6 2 4 0 97 161 8 18 1 0 9
Valke U21 6 0 5 1 159 192 22 26 3 3 8
Griffons U21 6 0 5 1 102 235 12 33 1 1 4

CC Log u19:
TEAM PLAYED WON LOST DREW POINTS FOR POINTS AGAINST TRIES FOR TRIES AGAINST LOSS BONUS TRIES BONUS POINTS
Group A
E Province U19 9 9 0 0 257 146 28 17 0 5 41
W Province U19 10 7 2 1 287 222 36 32 1 6 37
Blue Bulls U19 10 7 3 0 345 273 49 37 0 6 34
Golden Lions U19 9 4 5 0 257 210 34 28 2 4 22
Free State U19 10 2 6 2 263 345 38 44 1 5 18
Leopards U19 9 2 7 0 257 379 39 54 1 7 16
Sharks U19 9 0 8 1 160 251 21 33 3 2 7
Group B
Pumas U19 6 6 0 0 235 107 36 16 0 5 29
Griffons U19 6 5 1 0 168 113 24 15 0 4 24
Griquas U19 6 4 2 0 215 107 20 14 1 3 20
Valke U19 6 3 3 0 150 128 23 19 0 3 15
Boland U19 6 3 3 0 173 188 27 29 0 3 15
Lim B Bulls U19 6 2 4 0 175 195 25 28 2 4 14
SWD U19 6 1 5 0 112 207 18 33 2 2 8
Border U19 6 0 6 0 74 257 8 27 1 0 1

 

[PaarlBok]

Remaining matches for the current top six teams:
Golden Lions (38 points): WP (h), Griquas (h).
Blue Bulls (29 points): EP Kings (h), Pumas (a).
Western Province (29 points): Lions (a), EP Kings (h).
Cheetahs (18 points): Pumas (a), Sharks (h)
Sharks (14 points): Griquas (a), Cheetahs (a)
Pumas (13 points): Cheetahs (h), Blue Bulls (h)
Bulls lead WP by 3 points on differense.

Massive game coming up Lions vs WP @ Ellispark

 

[Dewald Nel]

It's bordering on a joke how good these Lions are becoming at the moment. It will be very interesting to see what they will do in Super Rugby next year. Playing with so much freedom and accuracy.

Obviously overseas opponents will be a lot tougher, but this Western Province team is not exactly filled with mugs.

 

[Dewald Nel]

Still a lot of work to do on their defence though. 36-20 half time.

 

[Dewald Nel]

How's that for a log. Lions beat WP 62-32 in the end.

Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Golden Lions 9 9 0 0 401 198 203 43
2 Blue Bulls 9 7 0 2 317 214 103 34
3 Western Province 9 6 0 3 283 234 49 30
4 Free State Cheetahs 8 3 0 5 197 249 -52 18
5 Sharks 8 3 0 5 182 215 -33 14
6 Pumas 8 3 0 5 166 240 -74 13
7 Eastern Province Kings 9 2 0 7 201 289 -88 12
8 Griquas 8 1 0 7 180 288 -108 8

 

[PaarlBok]

Yep Lions were awesome. Cant see any team beat them but you never know. CC have thrown up some strange results in the last couple of years.

 

[PaarlBok]

For the first time in many years the Sharks wont play in the CC semi. John Smit has a lot of explaining to do. I'd like to think that he should start getting his structures stronger. If I look at next year intake they got one or two excellent schoolboy youngsters ( Curwin Bosch from Grey High, PE) but not nearly the amount WP/Bulls/Cheetahs have. In the youth teams, the Bulls dont made the u21 semis and the Kings u19s top the log.

Friday, October 16

Currie Cup semi-final
Blue Bulls v Western Province
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 19:00
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen

Under-19 A-Division semi-final
Eastern Province Under-19 vs Free State Cheetahs Under-19
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 15:00
Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

Under-19 A-Division semi-final
Blue Bulls Under-19 v Western Province Under-19
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 16:30
Referee: Archie Sehlako

Saturday, October 17
Currie Cup Premier Division semi-final
Golden Lions v Free State Cheetahs
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 13:45
Referee: Jaco van Heerden

Under-21 A-Division semi-final
Free State Cheetahs Under-21 vs Sharks Under-21
Venue: Free State Rugby Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 13:00
Referee: Francois Pretorius

Under-21 A-Division semi-final
Western Province Under-21 vs Golden Lions Under-21
Venue: City Park, Cape Town
Kick-off: 14:00
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe

 

[PaarlBok]

next year the CC and Super Rugby run concurrently and teams will need a lot more depth if they hope to do well in both competitions.

Some interestings CC semi stats:
- The Lions is the first team in 10 years to win all its league stage games in a Currie Cup season. The Bulls last did it in 2005
- The Sharks, in 1996, was the last team to finish a Currie Cup season unbeaten
- It will be the first semi-final at Ellis Park between the Lions and Cheetahs. The previous time they met in a semi final was in 2002 in Bloemfontein
- It is the first time since 2006 that the blue Bulls and WP meet in a semi final at Loftus. It is only the fourth time they meet in a semi final since semi finals were instituted in 1956
- The Blue Bulls last played a home semi final in 2008
- It is the first time since 2005 that the Sharks doesn't make the semi finals

 

[Dewald Nel]

next year the CC and Super Rugby run concurrently and teams will need a lot more depth if they hope to do well in both competitions.

Some interestings CC semi stats:
- The Lions is the first team in 10 years to win all its league stage games in a Currie Cup season. The Bulls last did it in 2005
- The Sharks, in 1996, was the last team to finish a Currie Cup season unbeaten
- It will be the first semi-final at Ellis Park between the Lions and Cheetahs. The previous time they met in a semi final was in 2002 in Bloemfontein
- It is the first time since 2006 that the blue Bulls and WP meet in a semi final at Loftus. It is only the fourth time they meet in a semi final since semi finals were instituted in 1956
- The Blue Bulls last played a home semi final in 2008
- It is the first time since 2005 that the Sharks doesn't make the semi finals

Just when I thought the scars were healed.

 

[PaarlBok]

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
Blue Bulls v Western Province, Pretoria 19:10
Blue Bulls
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Lappies Labuschagne (captain), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Substitutes: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 RG Snyman, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Ivan van Zyl, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 William Small-Smith
Western Province
15. Cheslin Kolbe, 14. Dillyn Leyds, 13. Johnny Kotze, 12. Juan de Jongh (captain), 11. Seabelo Senatla, 10. Robert du Preez, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6. Rynhardt Elstadt, 5. Ruan Botha, 4. Jean Kleyn, 3. Wilco Louw, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Michael Willemse, 17. Oli Kebble, 18. Chris van Zyl, 19. Jurie van Vuuren, 20. Jano Vermaak, 21. Kurt Coleman, 22. Huw Jones

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
Golden Lions v Free State Cheetahs, Johannesburg 17:05
Golden Lions
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Stokkies Hanekom, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Steph de Witt, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Lourens Erasmus, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcom Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen
Substitutes: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Fabian Booysen,19 Kwagga Smith, 20 Jaco van der Walt, 21 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 22 Sampie Mastriet
Free State Cheetahs15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit,1 BG Uys

Substitutes: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Maks van Dyk, 18 Reniel Hugo, 19 Gerhard Olivier, 20 Ruan van Rensburg, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 AJ Coertzen

 

[Dewald Nel]

Lions going for Kwagga Smith as their backup scrummie. At least it will make the game interesting if Cronje gets injured in the first 5 minutes...

 

[PaarlBok]

WP beats Bulls in the semi at Loftus. Ginga & Kolbe were awesome. Bulls pretty one dimensional.

S24

Dobson 'relieved' after WP win


Ockert de Villiers - Sport24
Pretoria – Western Province coach John Dobson admitted he was a relieved man as his side my heavy work of putting an under-par Blue Bulls side away in their Currie Cup semi-final in Pretoria on Friday evening.
The Blue Bulls lacked the lustre their fans had come to expect this season with the Capetonians eventually claiming a 23-18 victory after the teams were even at 9-9 going into the half-time break.
"I was disappointed with 9-9 at half-time so relief was the sentiment because the Bulls never stopped playing and they could have won it at the end," Dobson said after the match.
"But I thought we should have done more in the first half."
The Bulls were careless with their possession with the set-piece being a liability instead of an asset while Western Province did not capitalise on this.
Bulls prop Pierre Schoeman was sin-binned for 10 minutes for a dangerous tackle but the visitors only managed to draw the scores level during his absence.
Dobson nevertheless praised the Bulls for the way they have changed their playing philosophy over the season and for advancing this far in the competition with a relatively inexperienced side.
"This is a great result and we have to give Nollis Marais and the Bulls a lot of credit, they are playing a great style of rugby and it is an up and coming team," said Dobson.
"With a home semi-final they had a lot of belief so for us to win up here so credit to my team as well and we marginally deserved to win that match."
Marais in turn said his team should have played better while he bemoaned the lost opportunities.
"At the end of the day they took their opportunities and scored from them and when you start playing catch-up rugby you make mistakes and they force errors," Marais said.
Western Province took the game away from the home side with two tries that came courtesy of some individual flair by pocket rocket Cheslin Kolbe.
Kolbe score one of the tries after he brilliantly collected a kick while he also took a quick lineout which led to Jano Vermaak’s try.
The Cape Town side will now feature in their fourth consecutive Currie Cup final where they will be playing the winner of the Saturday's semi between the Golden Lions and the Free State Cheetahs.

 

[PaarlBok]

Lions 13-16 Cheetahs half time.

 

[PaarlBok]

Semi finals:
Blue Bulls 18-23 WP
Golden Lions 43-33 FS Cheetahs

Finals
Saturday, October 24 2015
13:15 - Xerox Golden Lions vs DHL Western Province - Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

Saturday, October 24 2015
TBA - Western Province U21 vs Free State U21 Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

Saturday, October 24 2015
TBA - Eastern Province U19 vs Blue Bulls U19 - Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

 

[Dewald Nel]

Lions by 30.

 

[PaarlBok]

Lions by 30.

The Bulls supporters have been shamefull on this thread. They just flounce per usual when their team lose.

 

[Dewald Nel]

The Bulls supporters have been shamefull on this thread. They just flounce per usual when their team lose.

How has me being a Blue Bull supporter have anything to do with it?

 

[PaarlBok]

How has me being a Blue Bull supporter have anything to do with it?

Was waiting for some replies Man. Vokol niks nie. WP already won the CC after beating the Bulls at Loftus.