Leopards hunting vital Absa Currie Cup Qualifier points

The Leopards return to action this weekend July 11 against Down Touch Griffons in the Absa Currie Cup Qualifier race with a mission to close the gap on current log leaders, ORC Griquas, with a solid performance in Welkom.

The Leopards, who enjoyed a bye last weekend, find themselves six points behind the Griquas, who smashed the Griffons 47-20 last Saturday in Kimberley. Griffons find themselves second from bottom, however, they would have been encouraged by their competitive first half performance against Griquas.

With bonus points now paramount for them, the Leopards have very little choice but to chase a bonus try victory if they want to narrow the gap on the frontrunners. They might find this challenging, especially if the Griffons can apply the same determination they showed during a tightly contested first half in Kimberley.

Elsewhere on Saturday mid-table Boland Cavaliers are home to Hino Valke (fifth placed) in Wellington. The home team will no doubt draw a lot of positives from their fine comeback last weekend to force a thrilling 28-all draw against bottom-placed SWD Eagles. Valke, meanwhile, scraped a surprise one point win over in-form Border Bulldogs and they will fancy their chances against a Boland side who could win only two out of four so far.

The two teams have eight points each but the Valke have played one game less. This match will be televised live on SuperSport1 and kick-off is at 15:00.

In the only the Friday night July 10 fixture SWD are home to third-placed Border in George (kick-off 19:00). The Bulldogs are still smarting from their surprise loss against the Valke in East London last weekend, a result which severely dented their slender hopes of challenging for first place. The Eagles have leaked 120 points so far in the campaign, the same amount as Boland, and they will have to improve their defence if they want to stop the much-improved Border side.

Current log leaders, the ORC Griquas, have a bye this weekend.

The Absa Currie Cup Qualifier fixtures for this coming weekend are:

Friday July 10
SWD Eagles vs Border Bulldogs
Venue: Outeniqua Park, George
Kick-off: 19:00
Saturday July 11
Down Touch Griffons vs Leopards
Venue: HT Pelatona Projects Stadium, Welkom
Kick-off: 15:00
Boland Cavaliers vs Hino Valke
Venue: Boland Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 15:00