Cape Town – Gaining valuable momentum will be the focus for all the teams in action in the Currie Cup this weekend, as some sides reach the halfway stage of their campaigns and others edge closer to the final stages of their pool games.

The Free State Cheetahs and Golden Lions – who are both unbeaten – will kick off the action in Bloemfontein on Friday evening, while the Pumas host the Sharks in Nelspruit and the Blue Bulls take on Griquas in Pretoria on Saturday.

Western Province have a bye. 

The battle for places in the top four on the standings in the Currie Cup First Division will intensify this weekend as the teams face the realisation that there are only three pool rounds remaining, including this weekend, to earn semi-final spots.

The Boland Cavaliers and Valke will kick off the action at Esselen Park in Worcester on a jam-packed Saturday, which will also feature matches between the Jaguares XV and SWD Eagles in Potchefstroom, the Border Bulldogs and Eastern Province in Mthatha, and the Griffons and Leopards in Welkom.

Winning momentum becomes vital in Currie Cup

The Cheetahs and Golden Lions – who are the only two unbeaten teams in the Currie Cup Premier Division – will be hunting their third victories in a row when they meet in the city of roses.

Both sides have been impressive on attack, scoring 30 points or more in both their matches this season, while the Free Staters boast the best defence in the competition, which is expected to set the scene for an exciting encounter.

The Johannesburg outfit won the last two matches between the sides, but they will be wary of the fact that the last time they toppled the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein was way back in 2015.

The Golden Lions opted for continuity in selection with the only change to the starting team that defeated Western Province being the inclusion of lock Wilhelm van der Sluys in place of Marvin Orie, who has joined the Springbok squad.

The Free State Cheetahs team shows three personnel changes, with Tapiwa Mafura (winger), Marnus van der Merwe (flanker) and Ox Nche (prop) earning starts, while a notable inclusion on the bench is former Springbok scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar.

In Nelspruit, thePumas and Sharks will enter their encounter under pressure to win, with an eye on the semi-final stages. The hosts have lost all three of their matches so far and need to win all their remaining games with bonus points to salvage any hope a possible place in the top four, while the KwaZulu-Natalians have won one of their two games and will determined to build momentum after coming off a bye.

Should the Pumas succeed in earning their first win of the season, it would mark their first victory against the Sharks since 2015. But they will have to step up their defence significantly to achieve this after conceding 100 points in the last three matches.

The Pumas named the same starting team that faced the Blue Bulls last week, while the only change to the Sharks starting XV was the inclusion of Junior Springbok captain Phendulani Buthelezi on the side of the scrum, which saw Jacques Vermeulen being included among the replacements.

The battle between the Blue Bulls and Griquas is also expected to be a tight tussle as they both take to the field in their third-last pool matches.

The Kimberley outfit will be determined to return to their winning ways after suffering their first defeat last week, while their Pretoria counterparts – who are second last on the log – will be keen to build on their first win last week to power their way up the standings.

The Blue Bulls have dominated the encounters between the sides for the last six years, but this will have no significance this weekend as a slip-up for either team could come at a big price in the next few weeks as the pool stages nears its conclusion.

In the only change to the Blue Bulls starting team, former Junior Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok returns to pivot, while Marnitz Boshoff has been named among the replacements. Springbok Sevens player Stedman Gans has also been drafted in among the replacements.

The Griquas team, in turn, shows a few changes, with Victor Sekekete (lock), Andre Swarts (centre) and Anthony Volmink (fullback) earning starts.

Currie Cup Premier Division Round 4 fixtures:

Friday, August 2

Free State Cheetahs v Golden Lions

Kick-off: 19:15

Venue: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein

Referee: Jaco Peyper

Assistant Referees: Marius van der Westhuizen and Griffin Colby

TMO: Lourens van der Merwe

TV: SS1

Free State Cheetahs – 15 Darron Adonis, 14 Tapiwa Mafura, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Dries Swanepoel, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer (capt), 8 Henco Venter, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Marnus van der Merwe, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Sitno Manjesi, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche. 

Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Reinach Venter, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Abongile Nonkontwana, 21 Gerhard Olivier, 22 Ruan Pienaar, 23 Louis Fouche.

Golden Lions – 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Jan-Louis la Grange, 11 Stean Pienaar, 10 Shaun Reynolds, 9 Ross Cronje (capt), 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Johannes Jonker, 2 Pieter Jansen, 1 Sti Sithole. 

Substitutes: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Leo Kruger, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Rhyno Herbst, 20 James Venter, 21 Len Massyn, 22 Dillon Smit, 23 Manuel Rass.

Saturday, August 3

Pumas v Sharks

Kick-off: 15:00

Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni

Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron and Stephan Geldenhuys

TMO: Christie du Preez

TV: SS1

Pumas – 15 Devon Williams, 14 Morne Joubert, 13 Ryan Nell (capt), 12 Henko Marais, 11 Etienne Taljaard, 10 Christ Smith, 9 Ashlon Davids, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Stefan Willemse, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Marne Coetzee, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Andrew Beerwinkel. 

Substitutes: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Hilton Lobberts, 19 Phumzile Maqondwana, 20 Ginter Smuts, 21 Kobus Marais, 22 Alwayno Visagie, 23 Morgan Naude.

Sharks – 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Jeremy Ward (co-captain), 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Tera Mtembu (co-captain), 7 Phendulani Buthelezi, 6 Luke Stringer, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Juan Schoeman. 

Substitutes: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Gideon Koegelenberg, 20 Jacques Vermeulen, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Aphelele Fassi.

Blue Bulls v Griquas

Kick-off: 17h15

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Referee: Divan Uys

Assistant Referees: AJ Jacobs and Griffin Colby

TMO: Pro Legoete

TV: SS1

Blue Bulls – 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Dylan Sage, 12 Johnny Kotze, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Marco van Staden, 6 Ruan Steenkamp (capt), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.

Substitutes: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Adri Smit, 20 Wihan Vosloo, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Stedman Gans.

Griquas – 15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Michal Haznar, 12 Andre Swarts, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 George Whitehead (capt), 9 Zak Burger, 8 Neill Jordaan, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Khwezi Mona. 

Substitutes: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Mox Mxoli, 18 Johan Momsen, 19 Zandre Jordaan, 20 Chriswill September, 21 Chris Smit, 22 Bjorn Basson, 23 Ruan Kramer.

Port Elizabeth – The Southern Kings have released a statement regarding the selection process of their new head coach.

There was an uproar on social media on Monday after a report claimed that former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers was overlooked for the position because he did not possess a Level 3 coaching certificate.

De Villiers hit back, with evidence, insisting that he did possess of the necessary qualifications.

Afrikaans newspaper Rapport wrote on Sunday that New Zealand’s Steve Jackson, the current Samoa coach, was the only remaining candidate on the shortlist to replace Deon Davids as Kings coach.

Other candidates mentioned included Worcester Warriors coach Rory Duncan and Cheetahs forwards coach Corniel van Zyl.

Duncan is no longer wanted by the English club, but he has ruled himself out of contention for the Kings job, while Van Zyl reportedly does not have a Level 3 coaching certificate.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Kings insisted that “only one of the candidates that were interviewed had the required qualifications”.

The Kings, however, did not reveal who the candidates were.

The full Kings statement reads as follows:

The Southern Kings Board has noticed the widespread and largely inaccurate speculations in the media regarding the ongoing process of appointing a new Head Coach for the franchise.

We can confirm that proceedings continue to progress in an orderly, confidential and professional manner.

An interviewing panel was appointed to interview candidates for the Head Coach position and to make recommendations to the Southern Kings Board.

While the job advertisement for the vacant position called for a candidate with a World Rugby Level 3 qualification, as per minimum requirement for all elite coaches, and experience at the highest level, it was discovered that only one of the candidates that were interviewed had the required qualifications.

Notwithstanding the above, following the completion of the process of interviews, the interviewing panel ranked the candidates in terms of their technical capacity for the job.

We can confirm that the interviewing panel has sent their scores and rankings to the Chairman of the Board, Mr Loyiso Dotwana, who intends to present these recommendations at the next Board meeting before a final decision is made.

An official announcement will be made at the appropriate time once all contractual negotiations have been completed.

As previously stated, we continue to treat the entire process with strict confidentiality and sensitivity.

Cape Town – Determinedly keep the selection/rotational focus on the bigger picture of the World Cup … or put a concerted, short-term focus on winning the Rugby Championship for the first time in its modern shape.

READ: Scoreboard says DRAW, stats paint a different picture!

That is the reasonably pleasant dilemma facing Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus at this point.

One thing’s certain: following their spirited 16-16 share of the spoils with world champions New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday, they are within rare, tantalisingly striking distance of clinching the Championship silverware in Salta in a fortnight’s time.

Beat Argentina and there would be an excellent likelihood – definite, if they do it with a bonus point – of the Boks bagging the title in this year’s abbreviated competition.

By registering that dramatic, late try through fast-developing reserve scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies, so coolly converted by experienced pivot Handre Pollard after the hooter in the Cake Tin, South Africa simultaneously shifted into pole position for the Champs spoils.

They advanced to a healthy, field-leading seven log points from two of their three matches, one clear of their greatest rivals in black, so a full house in Salta against the Pumas would take them to an unassailable 12, leaving what happens in the other final-round fixture between the Wallabies and All Blacks in Perth earlier on the same day immaterial.

Even a basic triumph, minus the “extra”, might well be enough to close the trophy deal in the Boks’ favour.

Yes, the 2019 competition has a decidedly secondary, devalued feel with the World Cup in Japan so close on its heels.

But wouldn’t it still be a seriously “nice to have” laurel … especially for a Springbok cause starved of really significant silverware in recent years?

Those scoffing at its gravitas this year could also point to the traditional curse, showing that the side winning the Rugby Championship or former Tri-Nations inevitably fails to go on to land the Webb Ellis Cup when the World Cup is held in the same year.

That has been the case in all of 1999 (Tri-Nations champs NZ, World Cup Australia), 2003 (Tri-Nations NZ, World Cup England), 2007 (Tri-Nations NZ, World Cup South Africa), 2011 (Tri-Nations Australia, World Cup NZ) and 2015 (Rugby Championship Australia, World Cup NZ).

But a feasible counter-argument might be that sporting bogeys are only there to be broken: if you are a genuinely ambitious and confident outfit, how about spiritedly targeting both?

Also in favour of having a crack at it against the Pumas with best possible resources, isn’t the time fast looming when Erasmus should begin settling in some earnest anyway on his most desirable A-team?

He has had two weekends of notable mixing and matching his combinations (to largely pleasing effect) with RWC needs strongly in mind, and while he may still be tempted to cocoon certain vital stalwarts of his squad for the tournament-ender in South America, a Bok side that is as near as possible to fullest strength is, arguably, just as likely now to run out in Salta.

South Africa have not won, after all, the major southern hemisphere competition since distant 2009 – so a full decade ago – as the Tri-Nations.

Lifting the Champs trophy in Argentina would be a tidy morale-booster for his charges ahead of RWC 2019; it seems well within their capacity at present to do so, too.

The Boks may have been well beaten 32-19 in last year’s Argentinean-hosted clash in the competition (in Mendoza) but it may be a good omen that in the last encounter staged in Salta (2017, when they were broadly a less compelling team than they are now) they earned a handsome 41-23 victory – with a bonus point.

This carrot somehow looks too tempting not to have a proper Springbok bite at, especially with the relative luxury of a fortnight to prepare for it and a mounting feeling that something truly good is brewing for the national side …

*Follow our chief writer on Twitter: @RobHouwing

Cape Town – It was one of the most spectacular Springbok debuts you are ever likely to see, and when Herschel Jantjies announced himself on the international stage against the Wallabies in Johannesburg last weekend, he had a group of vocal and emotional supporters locked away in a Durban hotel. 

They came in the form of his Western Province team-mates, who watched the Test together just after they had gone down to the Sharks at King’s Park in a Currie Cup clash.

WP were poor on the day, and captain Chris van Zyl acknowledged that the mood in the camp after their 32-27 loss to their coastal rivals was low. 

The match had started at 14:00, and after a quick shower and a chat, the squad returned to their hotel to watch the Boks take on the Wallabies. 

What followed was an experience none of them will forget as they watched the 23-year-old Jantjies boss proceedings for over an hour as he scored two tries on his way to a man-of-the-match performance and a commanding 35-17 win.

“We got back from the hotel in a sulky mood but decided we were going to watch the game as a team,” Van Zyl revealed at Newlands on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s clash against the Golden Lions in Cape Town. 

“Although we weren’t in our best mental space because of the poor performance, the joy in that room when he (Jantjies) was singing the anthem and then when he scored his first and second try was just phenomenal.

“The guys were going mental. It was flippen special, even under the circumstances, to see how much the guys care for each other and what it means to us. He is a great man.”

Coach John Dobson is as proud of a player he has seen come through the youth structures at Western Province. 

“You’ve all seen that clip of Dillyn Leyds, who didn’t get onto the field (against Australia), but the joy on his face just speaks volumes,” he said of Jantjies’ performance and what it meant to the WP boys. 

It would be easy for Dobson to take at least some of the credit for Jantjies’ rise given how closely he has worked with him and for how long, but the new Stormers coach admits that he did not expect the Paul Roos product to have achieved what he has this early on in his career. 

Jantjies was the form South African scrumhalf in Super Rugby this season, but he would almost certainly not have been given as many opportunities had Jano Vermaak not been injured. 

“I could say it was part of the plan, but it’s been quite surprising,” Dobson acknowledged. 

“I remember one year we took him to Potch in the SuperSport Challenge and I was really scared to put him on. To be fair, he was 19 or 18 years old. He did quite well.

“Then last year, when Jano (Vermaak) pulled out, we put him on in the (2018) Currie Cup final and it wasn’t his best game. I thought a Currie Cup final was pushing him a little bit far and fast, to be honest.

“That Currie Cup final was a tough game for us and nobody played particularly well, but nine months later here he is.

“Coaches can’t really claim credit for that … if Jano had been fit he probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity.”

That 17-12 loss to the Sharks at Newlands feels like forever ago now, though, and Jantjies has quickly become a player who will be key to the Stormers’ plans next year as well as South Africa’s charge at the 2019 World Cup in Japan. 

“He’s going to be a talisman of this team next year,” Dobson said.

“He’s always been a promising player, but I didn’t expect him to be man-of-the-match in a Rugby Championship game this year … it’s fantastic.

“To be fair to Rassie, rassie told us months ago that he was going to the World Cup.”

Jantjies will start on the bench behind Faf de Klerk for Saturday’s clash against the All Blacks in Wellington, while WP’s fixture against the Lions at Newlands kicks off at 17:15. 

Teams:

Western Province

Cape Town – Western Province coach John Dobson hit out at his side for not respecting the blue and white jersey after the 32-27 defeat to the Sharks on Saturday.

Province got their Currie Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 20-5 victory over the Blue Bulls at Newlands the week before, but Dobson was at a loss as to why his team ‘were so flat’ at Kings Park this weekend past.

“I don’t know why we were so flat‚” Dobson said.

“Our body language from the start was not good and we were well beaten in the kicking game. Curwin Bosch and Rhyno Smith were exceptional in pinning us back.

“We missed a lot of touch kicks and our exit game was poor. There were some positives such as our set pieces and breakdown work‚ but as Western Province we pride ourselves on our passion of playing for the blue and white hoops‚ and today we didn’t have that,” he said.

“We knew the Sharks would bounce back after last week – they are too good not to. We knew we were in for a tough game. I didn’t expect us to roll over quite like that.

“Unions like ours want to host play-off games so we can’t afford another loss in this shorter campaign.”

Western Province will be up against the Golden Lions at Newlands on Saturday.

Kick-off is at 17:15.