Robert du Preez will help Western Province by trying to impress his new team, the Sharks. Photo: Gallo Images.
Some pessimists believe the Currie Cup is dead.
That might be a bit melodramatic but they’re not wrong as the hallowed domestic tournament gets weakened yearly.
However, the fun thing about this weekend’s action is not only the scramble for semifinal places.
Also read: Lions not complaining over the suddenly strong Cheetahs
With the Springboks done playing for now, it’s rather pleasing that there’s seems to be a bit of a rise in interest this week.
It shows there’s still a lure to the competition, however small nowadays.
Here are the talking points for the weekend.
A semifinal place is secondary to continued Blue Bulls progress
Despite captain Burger Odendaal insisting they’ll go all out to keep up their end of the bargain in making the last four, the Bulls shouldn’t worry too much about the playoffs.
Instead, there’s a bigger picture of Super Rugby to consider.
Sometimes the psychological effect of ending a season merely on a high is better for confidence than reaching the semis.
The Bulls have certainly found their feet under coach John Mitchell’s regime.
“It’s nice to see the benefits of being connected. We’re not overthinking how to play anymore. It’s nice to see reward,” he said ahead of Friday’s meeting with the Pumas at Loftus.
“It will be a good measure for us in terms of how we have grown emotionally and how we have understood that certain aspects on the game.”
It surely won’t be a repeat of the 51-15 mauling they received in Mbombela.
Lions need to continue the Big Vic magic
You can expect points in the cat fight between the Lions and Cheetahs on Saturday at Ellis Park but it won’t be just about running rugby.
To score points, a team needs a good foundation.
For the past few weeks, the Lions have been particularly good in the line-outs.
There are two reasons for this.
Forwards coach Victor Matfield is finding his feet as a mentor and he’s positively influencing lock Marvin Orie.
“Victor is a fundi with the line-outs. He’s a genius,” said Lions mentor Swys de Bruin.
“But we have to remember that the Cheetahs are known for having a very strong line-out.”
If the Lions deliver the type of performance like they did against Western Province last week, that won’t be a problem.
However, the Cheetahs are battle ready after tough weeks in the Pro14.
This should be fun…
Province’s hidden Robert perk
WP’s coach John Dobson all but confirmed this week that his flyhalf, Robert du Preez, is joining his dad at the Sharks next year.
That doesn’t mean he’ll let the Capetonians down in Saturday’s clash at King’s Park.
In fact, Dobson is pretty eager to see Du Preez play against his new teammates.
“Rob does have a good record against his dad. It actually aligns quite nicely for us because in a way he’ll be trying to play for a place there next year, and so I’m excited to see that,” he said.
Indeed, Du Preez doesn’t only have something to prove to the Streeptruie, he needs to make dad doubt whether Curwin Bosch is his number one No 10 in Super Rugby next season.
Fixtures: Blue Bulls v Pumas (Friday, 7.00pm); Sharks v Western Province (Saturday, 3.00pm); Lions v Cheetahs (Saturday, 5.15pm).
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