RUGBY: Jon Swift
IT IS not surprising that the focus of attention in this weekend’s Currie Cup matches will be on a man in the chasing pack rather than on the first-half leaders his team face in kicking off the second half of the
The country has been through the agonies of a lead-in to an international with Western Province wing Chester Williams before. And when the stocky darling of the terraces countrywide runs out against Natal at King’s Park in Durban, there will be more than one set of fingers firmly crossed.
Before the World Cup the nation waited for what seemed like bulletins on the hour on Williams’ hamstring. And the wave of sympathy for him when he made the decision to pull out of the South African squad was as heartfelt as it was universal.
This time it is a knee which is troubling Williams. And again, the hopes of the nations rugby supporters will be in one place. Let that knee hold up against the Banana Boys and let Williams be fit for the Test against Wales. This, one suspects, will even be the feeling of the partisan Natal crowd even though their captain Gary Teichmann — what a season he has had — will be just as much in the spotlight.
The match itself is an important one for Natal. With home victories as important as they are in the competition, Natal will be looking to open an extra two-point lead over the talent-laden Province line-up.
With the men from the Western Cape having played some of the most inspiring rugby in the country so far this season, a tough task faces Natal … even a Natal with the added Gallic flair of Oliver Roumat and Thierry
At Ellis Park, the emphasis for Transvaal will be on reversing the defeat at the hands of Eastern Province during the “player revolution” which saw the champions go into the first game with an unfamiliar line-up of faces at this level.
Eastern Province, with only that home win against Transvaal and a point from the 19-19 draw at Free State Stadium, have not had as good a season as one would have suspected them capable of before the first whistle
And adding to their problems has been the resignation of Garth Wright as coach. It could not have been an easy task for Wright to have taken over from Alex Wylie, despite his Springbok pedigree. But his decision to step down at this stage cannot have helped EP’s floundering cause.
But if the Eastern Province season thus far has been marked by headaches, that of Free State has been a
With only a solitary point on the log, they face the daunting task of taking on a Northern Transvaal side which looks hellbent on refashioning a side to compare with the mighty Blue Bulls line-ups of the past.
And even with home ground advantage, the way Northerns have been playing of late — led by some fine lock play by a revitalised Drikus Hattingh and Lance Sherrell rapidly regaining cool and confidence — two points would look a bridge too far for Free State this
Meanwhile, we all hold thumbs for Chessie.