As the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division moves into the second half of the league phase, the race for the semi-final spots is heating up nicely, with four more exciting encounters lined up for the long weekend.
Round six action gets underway from 15h00 on Saturday, when the Fidelity ADT Lions and Airlink Pumas clash in Johannesburg.
The Doornfontein encounter, one of three to be staged on Saturday, will be followed by the Vodacom Bulls’ home fixture against the NovaVit Griffons in Pretoria (17h05), and the clash between DHL Western Province against the Toyota Cheetahs in Cape Town (19h10).
The final match of the weekend is between the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV and Suzuki Griquas on Sunday at 15h00 in Durban.
After stringing together five wins in a row against the Fidelity ADT Lions since the opening round of the competition in 2021, the Airlink Pumas saw their winning run dry up, with their rivals from Gauteng winning the last two clashes between the teams.
On Saturday at Emirates Airline Park, the men from Mpumalanga will be eager to make amends for their 75-21 drubbing when the two teams last met at the beginning of last month in Nelspruit.
These two teams, as well as the Toyota Cheetahs (second on the log), all have 18 league points, with the Fidelity ADT Lions third and the Airlink Pumas fourth on points differential.
Sandwiched in the middle of the three Saturday games, log leaders, the Vodacom Bulls, host the last-placed NovaVit Griffons at Loftus Versfeld. It will be a case of the league’s best defence against the one which have leaked the most points so far.
When the two met during the second round in July, the Pretoria outfit easily won by a margin of 42 points. The side from Welkom have shown plenty of enterprise on attack despite going down in all five games so far this season, but they will have to improve their defence if they want to surprise the log leaders.
When DHL WP and Toyota Cheetahs meet at the DHL Stadium, the Capetonians will be fully aware that a home win is a must against the Free Staters if they want to stay within touch of the top four.
Last week, DHL WP put the NovaVit Griffons to the sword at home, however, the men from Bloemfontein will offer a far more difficult assignment. The Toyota Cheetahs have won their last three meetings, including the previous clash last month by a margin of 20 points in Bloemfontein.
A quick glance at the last five results between the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV and Suzuki Griquas shows a trend of a win every other game for the team from Kimberley, meaning three wins from five starts.
After making a slow start with no wins in their opening three games, the Durbanites have since won a game plus managed a high-scoring draw. Given their recent upward curve, the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV will fancy their chances in this home clash with Suzuki Griquas.
All the action will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Match information:
Fidelity ADT Lions vs Airlink Pumas
Date: Saturday, 10 August
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Time: 15h00
Referee: AJ Jacobs
TV: SS Rugby
Vodacom Bulls vs NovaVit Griffons
Date: Saturday, 10 August
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Time: 17h05
Referee: Peter Martin (IRFU)
TV: SS Rugby
DHL Western Province vs Toyota Cheetahs
Date: Saturday, 10 August
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Time: 19h05
Referee: Christopher Allison
TV: SS Rugby
Hollywoodbets Sharks XV vs Suzuki Griquas
Date: Sunday, 11 August
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Time: 15h00
Referee: Hanru van Rooyen
TV: SS Rugby
AlertXis
Albert Johanneson Made Country People Proud: Very few black players from South Africa have had the chance to represent the country at the top level of English football, but many are quite successful at small African football clubs such as the Garden Hotspurs. Gladly, he was the first black player to represent the country in this tournament and also in the FA Cup Final. He proved to be a gem for the country by giving an improbable performance in the contests!
Flyswat Briggs
Virender Sehwag’s highest scores in T20, ODI and Tests are 119, 219 and 319 respectively.