Currie Cup 2010 Almost here

It is little more than a week before the start of the 2010 Currie Cup season and this weekend could be an indicator of how the eight teams in the Premier Division will shape up after their respective losses and gains following the Super 14 and Vodacom Cup campaigns.

While the Sharks bemoan their fortunes with five Boks off to Australasia for the Tri-Nations campaign and injuries to another five Springboks, the Blue Bulls and Western Province have even more stars to replace.

Eleven of the victorious Bulls Super 14 side leave for New Zealand this weekend, while the Stormers have lost six backs and three forwards to Bok call-ups.

The Bulls will also be without their most experienced Super Rugby player Pedrie Wannenburg (Ulster) and scrumhalf Heinie Adams (Bordeaux), who have decided to pursue careers abroad; the rock-solid Tiger Mangweni has moved to Eastern Province, while Springbok Akona Ndungane fractured his leg again.

Fourie du Preez’s surgery has also hit the Blue Bulls hard as it probably opened the way for promotion for his obvious replacement as Blue Bulls scrumhalf Francois Hougaard to the Springbok side.

On the plus side, the Blue Bulls get lock Wilhelm Steenkamp back from his loan to the Sharks and impressive fellow lock Juandré Kruger is back with the Bulls after a stint at Northampton.

* Western Province have not only lost their Boks for the greater part of the competition, but will also be without fullback Joe Pietersen (Europe) and flyhalf Peter Grant (Japan).

On the plus side, they have near-forgotten Springbok fullback Conrad Jantjes back after more than a year’s injury lay-off. Nick Koster is also fit and raring to go, but he will only be used at No.8 – the position he played before he was moved to wing.

“With a couple of our senior players doing national duty, a number of junior players have joined our squad, and we’ve also worked on getting them up to speed in terms of game planning and preparation,” said head coach Allister Coetzee on the WP website.

* Sharks No.8 Willem Alberts (ankle) and Deysel (wrist) have had to undergo surgery after the Super 14, which has ruled them out of early contention for the Currie Cup.

Coach John Plumtree has to rely on a handful of Super 14 players, such as loose forwards Keegan Daniel and Jacques Botes, scrumhalf Rory Kockott and fullback Stefan Terblanche and new recruit, lock Ross Skeate.

He also has Bok Alistair Hargreaves at lock, but he still has to make his mark at provincial level.

The Sharks have been bolstered by the presence of former Lions fullback Louis Ludik after a serious knee injury and flyhalf Steve Meyer’s turnabout after his retirement could be the solution to the team’s flyhalf problems.

* The Cheetahs are still without a number of their injured players, but have lost only CJ van der Linde to the Bok squad.

Their loose forwards, in particular, make for impressive reading. Hendro Scholtz, Heinrich Brüssow, Johan Wessels, Frans Viljoen, Juan Smith, Francois Uys, Philip van der Walt, Ashley Johnson, Kabamba Floors and Boom Prinsloo are all in the Currie Cup group.

The Cheetahs have also been using former Free State and England fullback Michael Horak, who has been appointed as a consultant to the Free State Cheetahs. He has this week been concentrating on the defence structure of the Cheetahs .

As it is, the Free State Cheetahs’ record over the past six years points to them as a team not to be taken lightly. They have played in five of the last six Currie Cup finals since 2004, won two and shared the trophy once.

* Griquas, the surprise package in last year’s Currie Cup when they led the log after the first round and eventually missed out on a semifinal place after a count-out on point differential, are also well-situated.

Griquas have lost wing Trompie Nontshinga, prop Ruaan du Preez, Springbok wing Gavin Passens, and locks Brendan Snyman and Jacques Lombard.

On the other hand they have gained former Bulls lock Hendrik Roodt from the Waratahs, wing Zaheer Rylands from Western Province, the Maties flank and captain Wesley Wilkins, former Pumas and Lions Super 14 flyhalf Rudy Voigt and scrumhalves Warren Malgas and Marnus Hugo.

* Leopards coach Chaka Willemse, too, is confident of a good season.

They have regained a few players who have recovered from injury and Willemse is confident of a good season and points to the fact his players now know what to expect at this level.

Their two training matches to date, plus the match against the Griffons on Saturday, will stand them in good stead.

* The Pumas have already shown in a training match against the Lions they will be a handful. They have newcomer Terry Jacobs, a former Western Province wing, they can consider.

Springbok Sevens player Shaun Venter is back in the 15-man game, and Lions Super 14 players Hannes Franklin and scrumhalf Jacques Coetzee are also back in the Pumas frame.

* The Lions will hope their returnees from injury such as Alwyn Hollenbach and Johan Jackson, will regain their sharpness soon, while lock Johan Snyman will add more drive to the pack as they prepare for the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington this weekend.

It will be a tough encounter. Former Lions coach Loffie Eloff is up against his old team for the first time at this level and will want to prove he has been ill-treated.

He also has a much more balanced-looking Cavaliers side than the one that struggled last year, and a Lions win will go far to show they are ready for the season.

The compulsory friendlies for the weekend are:

Friday: SWD Eagles v Griquas, Mossel Bay; Griffons v Western Province, Welkom; Leopards v Griffons, Potchefstroom.
Saturday: Border Bulldogs v Free State Cheetahs, East London; Mighty Elephants v Blue Bulls, Port Elizabeth; Boland v Lions, Wellington.

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