DHL Western Province may enjoy the homeground advantage, but Xerox Golden Lions hold the upper hand in the Vodacom Rugby Stats App ahead of their ABSA Currie Cup Final at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Team vs Team feature has pitted the two finalists against each other with the collated statistics from the season, making for some interesting reading.
While the teams are neck-to-neck in some categories, the Lions dominate Carries, Clean Breaks, Defenders Beaten, and Metres Run.
Two players from either side dominate many of the individual categories this season and proved invaluable to their respective campaigns.
It is therefore no wonder Golden Lions flanker Jaco Kriel and Province’s Cheslin Kolbe dominated braai time chats.
The two teams’ ball-in-hand approach is what separated them from the rest of the sides, which paid rich dividends for them this season, making it into the final.
Xerox Golden Lions scored the most tries before the playoffs with their 44, while Western Province scored the second most by crossing the whitewash 40 times.
Kriel contributed a whopping nine to the Lions’ tally, making him the leading try-scorer in the competition.
Province captain Juan de Jongh is in the fourth place along with Lions wing Ruan Combrinck with the six five-pointers they scored.
The Johannesburg side made 1 126 Carries compared to the 861 by the Capetonians, while the Lions also beat 35 more defenders than the weekend’s hosts.
The Lions made 93 Clean Breaks to the 62 of Western Province and Kriel contributed richly in this category with the 13 he made.
Kriel also rules the roost in the Defenders Beaten category with 16, while flanker Michael Rhodes is the highest Province player on the list, getting past nine defenders.
Kolbe demonstrated this season that he is a dangerous man not only as a try-scorer but also with the Try Assists, a category he dominates with six.
While the Lions (10 481m) ran almost 2 000 metres more than Western Province (8 526m), Kolbe tops the individual bracket with the 966m he covered this season, while Combrinck boasts the second most (905m) metres run.
Finals are often tight affairs, but with the two expansive-minded teams going up against each other, a thrilling encounter should be on the cards.
Western Province has not only made more Tackles (1 913) than the Lions (1 247), but has also had more lapses in defence with their 316 missed tackles compared to the 193 of the Johannesburg side.
This indicates that the Lions have a higher propensity for running with the ball in hand and will test the Province defence.
However, Province has standout eighthman Nizaam Carr in their ranks, who made the most tackles this season.
Carr executed a monstrous 181 tackles this season and could form a strong defensive barrier with Rhodes, who made the second most (163).
While the stats may highlight certain key areas, the Currie Cup Final is more than a numbers game and the passion to win the coveted trophy often determining the champions.
Follow the action on the Vodacom Rugby Stats App, where supporters get real-time cutting-edge game analysis during the Final.
Xerox Golden Lions Head coach Johan Ackermann said: “This is a final and another match. We don’t want to come this far and lose the game. But we know what Western Province can do and they play in front of their home crowd, so it’s going to be tough for the team. We are going out there to support each other and play as a team.”
He has named his team to take on DHL Western Province for the 2014 ABSA Currie Cup final, taking place in Cape Town this Saturday. The match will kick off at 17:00.
Ackermann has once again opted for consistency, making just one change to his match day 22.
The only change sees Jacques van Rooyen return to the side to provide cover off the bench.
The team is:
15. Jaco van der Walt
14. Ruan Combrinck
13. Lionel Mapoe
12. Howard Mnisi
11. Courtnall Skosan
10. Marnitz Boshoff
9. Ross Cronje
8. Warren Whiteley (c)
7. Derick Minnie
6. Jaco Kriel
5. Franco Mostert
4. Martin Muller
3. Ruan Dreyer
2. Robbie Coetzee
1. Schalk van der Merwe
16. Armand van der Merwe
17. Jacques van Rooyen
18. Julian Redelinghuys
19. Willie Britz
20. Warwick Tecklenburg
21. Mark Richards
22. Harold Vorster
