In a weekend with only one Currie Cup game being played, there will also be two compulsory friendlies around the country. The Sharks will be hosting Griquas at the Absa Stadium in Durban in the only Currie Cup fixture. In East London, it’s the Bulldogs versus the Lions, and in George it’s Western Province versus South Western District.
Western Province rugby coaches Kobus van der Merwe and his assistant, Jerome Paarwater, resigned from their posts on Wednesday. This was confirmed by Western Province Rugby Union CEO Rob Wegner, who said it was mutually agreed by his union and the coaches that in the interest of Western Province rugby the coaches would step down.
The third round of the Currie Cup played over the weekend has left many teams with more questions than answers. Western Province and the Valke will reflect on their results and wonder what they have to do to resurrect their Currie Cup campaigns.
Golden Lions coach Eugene Eloff has made two changes to his side to take on the Vodacom Blue Bulls in their Currie Cup rugby match at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. Among others, Eloff promoted prop Kenny Mackenzie to the starting line-up due to Heinke van der Merwe’s national call-up.
The Lions shrugged off a spirited effort by the Sharks to win 14-0 in their Absa Currie Cup match at Ellis Park on Saturday night. The Sharks had most of the try-scoring opportunities, but they went into half-time without scoring as the Lions led 3-0. The visitors created all the play.
The Free State Cheetahs had few problems beating the Valke by 45-11 at the Bosman Stadium in Brakpan on Friday night. The visitors patiently waited for the home side to make mistakes, on which they then pounced. Most of the visitors’ six tries were against the run of play, with the Valke failing to protect their own ball.
The Blue Bulls scored six tries to the Falcons’s three as the home side won their first Absa Currie Cup game of the seaon at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night by 43 points to 26. The bonus-point win for the home side didn’t produce anything for the courageous visitors who stood tall against a team that included nine players from Super 14 final.
Springbok loose forward Joe van Niekerk will be lost to South African rugby after the World Cup, which is to be played in France in September. With the emergence of new talented players coming through the ranks, Van Niekerk has opted to take his services abroad to Northampton Saints.
Australia have not won in South Africa since the turn of the millennium and going into Saturday’s Tri-Nations rugby opener at Newlands in Cape Town it doesn’t seem as if the trend will change. Former Springbok coach and player Carel Du Plessis believes the Boks are mentally and physically too strong to succumb to the Wallabies.