Currie Cup round-seven: preview
This week’s Currie Cup competition will bring about round-seven, and the halfway point of round one. The eight premiership squads will have hoped to have found their games by this point, as they battle for the top four spots in the table. Western Province will try and add to its perfect record against a difficult Sharks side, while the Blue Bulls will have their hands full with a Griquas squad coming off of a 50-point performance.
Blue Bulls vs. Griquas
The Blue Bulls will welcome the Griquas to Pretoria, and Loftus Versfeld for their seventh round engagement.
The Blue Bulls are coming off of a tough loss to rival Western Province and now sit one spot behind the Griquas in the standings. The Bulls will be interested in taking the win at home, however they will once again be missing their bevy of international talent, as the Springboks play host to New Zealand this weekend.
The Griquas meanwhile will be keen on extending their lead over the Bulls in the standings, coming off of a huge win over the Pumas that saw them score 58 points, and dot down for eight tries.
The Blue Bulls are currently in fourth spot with 17 points, while the Griquas are in third with 20 points.
Cheetahs vs. Leopards
The Free State Cheetahs welcome the Leopards to Bloemfontein, and Vodacom Park this weekend.
The Cheetahs are coming off of a late loss at the hands of the Golden Lions last week, and will need to rebound against a struggling Leopards side in round seven if they hope to get back into contention for the second round.
The Leopards meanwhile, need to improve their form if they hope to avoid relegation at the end of the round robin. They suffered an embarrassing loss to the Sharks last week, allowing them to go for seven tries and 51 points.
The Cheetahs are currently in fifth with 15 points, while the Leopards are in last with four points.
Pumas vs. Golden Lions
The Pumas host the Golden Lions in Johannesburg at Coca-Cola Park in their seventh-round match-up.
The Pumas are coming off of a loss to the Griquas in which they gave up 58 points. They will hope to reverse their fortunes against the Lions this weekend, as right now they are wallowing at the bottom of the table, very close to returning to first division if they are not able to string together a couple wins in the second half of the season.
The Golden Lions are coming off of an impressive win over the Cheetahs, in which they dotted down twice in the final ten minutes. If they hope to advance to the second round they will need to win their games against teams lower in the standings, such as the Pumas.
The Pumas are currently in seventh with five points, while the Golden Lions are in sixth with 10 points.
Natal Sharks vs. Western Province
The Natal Sharks will host Western Province in Durban’s Absa Stadium over the weekend.
In what will be the match-up of the week the Sharks have their hands full with an impressive Western Province side. Sitting within striking distance, the Sharks will hope they can take advantage of the lack of Springbok talent in Provinces roster, and leap into first position.
Western Province Is coming off of an impressive victory over their bitter rivals the Blue Bulls, in which the entire match was decided from the tee. The visitors will hope to cross the whitewash a couple times against a Sharks side that has looked impressive on offence this season.
The Sharks are currently in second with 25 points, while Western Province is in first with 27 points.
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