TUESDAY, 12.30PM:
NATAL kept their lead at the top of the Bankfin Currie Cup log after this weekend’s rugby matches. A depleted Natal team were made to work hard on Saturday for their 29-19 win over the Mpumulanga Pumas at King’s Park Stadium while their closest rivals, Western Province, ran rampant over North West 52-18 at Newlands on Sunday.
Springbok and Blue Bulls scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen is likely to miss Friday night’s match against North West at Potchefstroom because of a rib injury. Van der Westhuizen will undergo an examination on Tuesday morning.
Hennie le Roux is recovering well from a thigh injury, but will be sidelined for the Currie Cup match between Gauteng Lions and Gauteng Falcons at Ellis Park on Saturday. Lions coach Dawie Snyman said Le Roux is responding well to treatment and will be afforded another chance to increase his match fitness in a club match this weekend. He took part in a training session at Rand Afrikaans University on Monday.
THIS WEEK’S CURRIE CUP FIXTURES:
FRIDAY: North West vs Northern Transvaal, Free State vs Northern Free State.
SATURDAY: Griquas vs Western Province, Boland vs Border, Mpumalanga vs South-Western Districts, Gauteng Lions vs Gauteng Falcons.
SUNDAY: Eastern Province vs Natal.
Remaining fixtures for the contenders over the next four weekends:
FREE STATE: Northern Free State (h), Border (a), Boland (h), Gauteng Lions (a).
GRIQUAS: Western Province (h), Northern Transvaal (a), Gauteng Falcons (a).
BOLAND: Border (h), Free State (a), Mpumalanga (h).
GAUTENG LIONS: Gauteng Falcons (h), Northern Free State (a), Border (h), Free State (h).
CURRIE CUP LOG:
(played, won, lost, drawn, for, against, bonus, points)
Natal 10 10 0 0 412 183 6 46
WP 10 9 1 0 453 220 8 44
Free State 9 7 2 0 404 185 6 34
Griquas 10 6 3 1 347 244 7 33
Boland 10 5 4 1 385 289 10 32
Gauteng Lions 9 6 3 0 237 276 5 29
N Tvl 9 5 4 0 262 232 6 26
SWD 10 5 5 0 261 287 5 25
Gauteng Falcons 9 3 8 0 247 396 4 16
NFS 9 3 8 0 282 439 3 15
Border 9 2 7 0 203 373 4 12
North West 9 2 7 0 254 326 3 11
EP 10 1 9 0 190 360 2 6
Mpumulanga 9 1 8 0 154 327 2 6