And they’re off!
26 Jun 2006
The opening round of the Absa Currie Cup went according to the script.
Once the dust had settled on round one, the defending champions were perched atop the standings, followed closely by Dick Muir’s Sharks on five points.
The Sharks won 33-22 over the Lions in Durban, while Rassie Erasmus’s team ran in eight tries to smash Griquas 55-14 and signal an ominous warning to the chasing pack.
The smart money is on a Sharks v Cheetahs final come October 14 and already they showed their pedigree with the two biggest wins of the weekend. Both teams, playing at home, scored a bonus point for four tries to get the perfect start.
But two other teams also got off to winning starts, albeit a little less emphatically. The Bulls had to dig deep to grind out a gritty 18-16 win over the Valke at Loftus Versfeld. Western Province were the only team to win away from home and had a brace of tries from new captain Luke Watson to thank for the hard-fought 25-18 win in Witbank.
Before the competition even started, the Cheetahs, Sharks, Western Province and Blue Bulls, were seen as favourites to make the semi-finals. And now they are well on their way.
Eugene Eloff’s Lions though put in a solid display that they can definitely build on in coming weeks. They are the only other team likely to challenge for a top four spot by the end of September.
The Valke though will probably like to dispute that as they came bitterly close to trumping the Bulls in their own backyard and John Williams’ charges will give many bigger unions a big run for their money if they can maintain that form.
Conventional wisdom will tell you that neither Griquas, the Pumas or Valke can really trouble the Big Five, but with Springboks missing anything is possible on the day.
This weekend’s matches include Griquas hosting the Pumas on Friday night before Saturday sees three matches, two of which are highly anticipated.
Western Province play the Sharks at Newlands and the Lions and Blue Bulls clash at Ellis Park. In the last game of the day, the Cheetahs travel to Brakpan to play the Valke.
By Andrew Hollely
18 Comments
26 Jun 2006, 06:42 am
come on natal you can with the cup again
ja boet iam first today
26 Jun 2006, 06:43 am
The Lions played with some youngsters that performed very well in their first CC outing. The Lions could even have won the game were it not for Kockotts kicking ****-ups – and Wikus’ poor ball control. I believe this young Lions team will build some serious momentum as the CC competition progresses – to cause havoc at the end.
26 Jun 2006, 06:47 am
ja the lions need to roar again tranvaal create grat players but cant keep them in joburg cause of crime and thing they breed james small schalk britzs andre joubert kobus wiese ricky januarie jacque fourie and so fourth thier poor super 14 effort was not good come lions i picked up a brand new super 14 jersey for 200 rand today was a steal now ihave 2 sharks jersey a cats one 2 bok one and an all black one not happy bout the weekend jake
26 Jun 2006, 07:03 am
When will SARU bring the violence in Western Cape Rugby to an end?
From IOL … Rugby players in shock after on-field drama …
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060626003205884C195087
26 Jun 2006, 07:29 am
Yep. The curiously-named “Delicious RFC”…
Not very different to the other infamous Cape thugby clubs like Collegians RFC and Schotse-Kloof Walmers RFC…
26 Jun 2006, 07:31 am
Katesnor that is really shocking….
26 Jun 2006, 07:32 am
Wat de hel gaat aan innie kaap? Of is dit net sekere dele vd kaap?
26 Jun 2006, 07:37 am
Om terug te kom na hierdie thread, die Bulle gaat maar moeilik die ding doen die jaar.
Is dit ‘n aprilfools joke of het ek gelees Hottie Louw gaat vd Bulle speel?
26 Jun 2006, 08:38 am
No Hottie is joining the Bulls
26 Jun 2006, 08:41 am
It’s Monday , and what a weekend of rugby.
Sad om te **** van nog ‘n jong lewe wat geneem is op die rugby veld. Dis regtig hartseer en my hart gaan uit na sy ouers en mede spelers. Daar moet regtig aandag gegee word aan club rugby , te veel geweld wat gepaardgaan met clubrugby. Ek was twee weke gelede by ‘n game waar Worcester teen Ceres gespeel het. Harde rugby en ek het dit nogals geniet om te kyk. Enigste probleem was die skare wat bietjie handuit geruk het by tye. Miskien ‘n goeie idee as geen drank by sulke wedstryde toe gelaat word nie. Rugby overhede moet ook meer aandag skenk aan clubrugby.
Was goed om die sharks game te kyk. Die ouens gaan hierdie jaar ‘n groot verskil maak in die CC. Hulle ball skills was uitstekend gewees by tye. Daar was genoeg hardloop rugby en dit was ‘n game wat mens kon geniet het om te kyk. Human het goed gespeel vir die Cats. Haal my hoed af vir daai man , nog steeds baie spoed.
Geluk aan die sharks hulle het verdien om te wen.
Bulls het nie baie oortuigend gewen nie. Maar soos ek hulle ken sal hulle trugkom. Jammer ons kon nie die wedstryde sien nie.
Boks het regtig swak gespeel. Hulle was gedurig op die agtervoet. Daar was geen momentum in die game nie. Wonder of dit nie is omdat Jake White ander planne het nie. Miskien het dit ‘n invloed gehad op die spelers se spel Saterdag. Maar dis nie ‘n verskoning nie. Nou kan ‘n mens duidelik sien daar is iets fout in die springbok kamp. Ek sien groot probleme vir on in die 3N hierdie jaar. Australie het Saterdag weereens gewys , hulle moet nie onderskat word nie.
Baby boks , weet nie wat daar gebeur het nie. Hulle het so goed gespeel teen die all blacks. Het nie die game gesien , so kan nie juis veel uitbrei daaroor nie.
Hopelik maak van hierdie spelers sommer gou hulle buiging in die senior span. Die bokke sit met ‘n lang lys beserings en dinge raak net al erger.
26 Jun 2006, 08:51 am
The Sharks can take it, but they will have to fix the leaks in their defence, they were actually quite lucky to come away with the win after so many missed tackles. Hopefully it can be attributed to what JW would term “rustyness”. I hope the U21 boys get a good rest before they are pushed back into action. The Sharks are the only team that have shown true youth and homegrown talent development (maybe the Bulls as well) and if they dont lose all their charges to other unions or overseas contracts then we can look forward to another era of Sharks dominance.
26 Jun 2006, 09:06 am
Sharks have some good players in U21 that may come back to help out when the Bulls hit their stride.
We’ve still a problem in the Lions with the old timers that need to be replaced. Janno Vermaak looked OK with the U21′s. Would like a better set of flankers, although Wickus is pretty steady, he dies with the ball too often.
Cheetahs look thinnest in terms of squad cover and may struggle with Bok call ups.
26 Jun 2006, 09:13 am
On this Monday morning I give thanks to the fact that Jake White will never ever again be able to say: “One must remember that Julies has never played in a loosing Bok side”. If anything that is a blessing in itself!
26 Jun 2006, 09:57 am
Lol Red, you got that right.
26 Jun 2006, 10:00 am
At this rate I think I’m gonna start eating crow and agree with you lads about Watson.
What really pisses me off is all this **** with White and his contract. What the hell is he doing airing his dirty washing in public.
26 Jun 2006, 10:08 am
Hottie for the Bulls ? Oh noooooo !!!! Why why , WTF is WP doing ? Are they sleeping ?
Oh Tackles , nice cut and paste job.I’m interested to know what u know re club rugby in the western cape ?
26 Jun 2006, 10:10 am
Don’t be fooled by the Bulls poor showing. They are still the major force in SA rugby. I’m pretty sure they’ll make the final. Hopefully Natal will be the other team (and the winners).
26 Jun 2006, 19:41 pm
Bulls won’t make it this year. Cheetahs and Sharks for the final. Province may miss out on semi’s.
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