The Cheetahs and Pumas battle it out in last year's Currie Cup final in Bloemfontein. Picture: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
The Cheetahs and Pumas are set for a thrilling finale to the pool phase of the Currie Cup as they battle it out for the fourth and final semifinal spot in their clash at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The table topping Lions, second placed Bulls and third placed Sharks have already sealed the top three positions on the log, and it is only where the Highveld sides finish that is still up in the air, as the Sharks can’t catch the Bulls and can’t be caught in third.
It is thus down to the Cheetahs and Pumas to battle it out for that final playoff spot, as sixth placed Western Province, seventh placed Griquas and bottom of the log Griffons are all out of the running.
It is also a rematch of last year’s Currie Cup final in Bloemfontein that ended with the Cheetahs triumphing over the defending champs to win the title.
Both the Cheetahs and Pumas suffered surprise defeats to teams below them over the past weekend, the Cheetahs going down 44-31 to the Griquas in Kimberley, while the Pumas lost 39-30 against Western Province in Cape Town.
Both will thus be desperate to bounce back and get the win that puts them through to the knockouts, and Cheetahs Director of Rugby and former Springbok Frans Steyn believes it’s going to be a thrilling match.
“They have a good team. Their pack is big and they have good x-factor players. You know Jimmy (Stonehouse, Pumas coach) will inspire them by playing on the emotions of his players,” said Steyn.
“So it is going to be tough. But it is a (essentially a) quarterfinal and hopefully we can come out on the other side on top.
“I think other teams have been doing us a favour recently. But we are still in it and we are still in a position to qualify for the semis and we have to make it work.”
The Lions should be able to secure top spot on the log as they take on the bottom feeding Griffons, who are yet to pick up a win in the competition, and the hosts should be confident of picking up a full house of points at Ellis Park on Friday evening.
The Sharks then welcome the Bulls to Durban in what should be an entertaining encounter, although by that stage on Sunday afternoon the result could count for nought with both teams’ places on the log secure.
The other match sees the Griquas host Western Province in a dead rubber game on Friday afternoon that will be their final match of this year’s competition.
Friday
Griquas v Western Province – 3pm
Lions v Griffons – 5:15pm
Saturday
Pumas v Cheetahs – 1:30pm
Sunday
Sharks v Bulls – 3pm
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