Currie Cup shootout: Province and Griquas fight for top four spot

Fans need to strap in for what is expected to be a Currie Cup shootout when the Griquas host Western Province at Griqua Park in Kimberley on Friday afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

It is a must win game for both sides as they chase a place in the top four which will secure them a spot in the semi-finals.

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With this the penultimate weekend of pool stage action, a loss for either side will likely knock them out of the running for the play-offs.

‘Congested’

Currently Province sit in fourth position on 31 points, but only ahead of the Lions and Bulls on points difference, while the Griquas are seventh just one point behind them.

“Looking at the log it’s quite congested. The only thing that we can control is the result on Friday afternoon, so it is a very important game for us,” admitted Western Province assistant coach Dawie Snyman.

“The Griquas hosted the final last year and are a very good team. They have been very good at home, it’s not an easy place to go and play but it will be a good challenge for us.”

Confident Griquas

Although the Griquas haven’t had as good a season as they did last year, they will head into the game with confidence after they drew 29-all with the Cheetahs over the past weekend, and they will hope to build on that against Province.

“They had a really good game in Bloemfontein. If you go to the Cheetahs and come away with a draw, and they were close to winning that game, it just shows the quality of the side,” said Snyman.

“They have been together as a tight knit unit throughout the competition, whereas we have chopped and changed a bit with players coming in and out of the Stormers.

“In terms of the log they will be desperate to get the result so we will have to be at our very best if we want a positive result.”

Bounce back

Province will be looking to bounce back after they suffered a 34-12 defeat against the Lions in Cape Town last weekend and will be bolstered by a few Stormers stars who will shift into the team after the United Rugby Championship came to an end.

“We can take some positives out of that game, especially from the first half. We were only trailing by two points at halftime and then in the second half we had a few errors that let us down,” explained Province lock Connor Evans.

“But the fight was there, the spirit was there, so in terms of team morale we haven’t taken a hit and we are fired up for the Griquas match.”

In the other matches this weekend, the Bulls host the Griffons on Friday (5.05pm), while on Saturday the Pumas entertain the Cheetahs (5pm) and the Sharks welcome the Lions (7.05pm).