Crunch time as Currie Cup enters crucial stage of the season

The Cheetahs are aiming to bounce back against the Pumas, while the Griquas want to continue their momentum against Western Province in the two Currie Cup matches being battled out on Friday.

The Griquas claimed a surprisingly massive 46-18 win over the Cheetahs over the past weekend, and both teams now have clear ideas of what they need to do over the final two pool games ahead of the knock outs.

The Cheetahs have to win both their games, against the Pumas at Toyota Stadium (kick-off 6pm) on Friday and against the Bulls in their final pool game next weekend if they want to finish top of the log.

So they are targeting a much improved showing against a tricky Pumas side who themselves need to win to try and stay in the play-off hunt.

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“We have as much if not more to play for than the Pumas. We disappointed ourselves and our supporters last week. We have to come back strong and show character and we have a chance to do it against the Pumas,” said Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie.

“It’s a home game and we are proud of playing in front of our own supporters and we want to put up a big performance and turn the tables around.”

Milestone moment

Cheetahs captain Ruan Pienaar will also be celebrating a special milestone as he makes his 50^th appearance for his boyhood team and he will be hoping for a good result to mark the occasion.

“I didn’t know about it until a little bit earlier in the week. So it’s great to be back here in Bloem with my family and the team that I grew up supporting. Obviously my dad played I think 169 games for Free State, so it’s a proud day for the family,” said Pienaar.

“But I think there are more important things than my 50^th cap. We let ourselves down last week and we would like to rectify those mistakes that we made.

“So I am grateful that I get to pull the jersey over for the 50^th time but I think there is a more important job at hand.”

Playing for pride

The Griquas know a win against Western Province at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch (kick-off 4pm) on Friday could seal their place in the knockouts if the Pumas lose, but if the Pumas win it will go down to the final weekend of pool fixtures next weekend.

The Griquas will be very pumped up from their massive win over the Cheetahs, but find themselves up against a team that is out of the running for the play-offs and could be very dangerous as they are only playing for pride.

“I told the players afterwards (Cheetahs game) that it was close to the perfect performance but when you review the game you could see there are a lot of areas where we can improve,” admitted Griquas coach Pieter Bergh.

“We have seen in this Currie Cup where teams have a good victory and then the next week they lose a game everyone thought they should have won.

“So I think that’s important for us, we have had a good week and hopefully we can get the same performance. We don’t want to be overconfident, because then you become arrogant. But our players’ minds are in a good space and we are excited for the game.”

Saturday’s only Currie Cup game sees the Sharks host the Lions, at 5pm.