With just four rounds to go before the Currie Cup play-offs, the season is drawing towards a fighting finish for top honours, and in securing a home semifinal for those in the running.

After some interesting results last weekend which saw the Cheetahs lose at home to a revived Western Province, round 11 will only host one 'big five' encounter while the rest will take part in a mad scramble for log points.

As it stands, the top four (Sharks, Blue Bulls, Cheetahs, Lions) are sitting pretty with a healthy nine-point difference between fourth (Lions) and fifth (WP) positions.

However, WP have a sniff at a semifinal berth and will no doubt be looking for maximum points here on in. Their final predicament obviously would also depend on how the Lions fare in their remaining rounds.

The current log-leaders (Sharks) overcame the ever-threatening Blue Bulls last week to go top of the standings, although this weekend the latter face substantially weaker opposition which could see the Bulls regain top spot pending the outcome of the Sharks clash.

But for now, lets put our calculators aside and see what action we have in store this weekend...

Friday, 12 September

Blue Bulls vs Boland
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, 7.10pm (5.10pm GMT)

The Bulls will be without a handful of Springboks in their starting XV on Friday due to injury, although their line-up still looks fairly threatening.

They can also call on some ruthless replacements in Victor Matfield and Pierre Spies for good measure, as the Bulls look to bounce back from last weekend's disappointment in Durban and secure an easy five log points at home off the struggling Cavaliers.

"We want to make sure we do well in our structures, that all our moves come off," Springbok prop Gurthrö Steenkamp told us this week, looking at the Boland clash in the larger context of the tournament.

"We don't want to try different things, and a different type of strategy. We need to ensure what we've worked on during the week comes off on the weekend.

"We want to make sure we improve on our strengths. Every player realises the mistakes he made (last week) and it's up to each player to take responsibility and make sure he makes that step up."

The Cavaliers will no doubt be in for a torrid time at Fort Loftus, as coach Deon Davids side continues to suffer in the personnel department after a spate of injuries to key players.

Centre Piet van Zyl will captain Boland's endeavors in the Highveld on Friday, marking his 139th game in Cavalier colours.

Prediction: It should be a pleasant Friday evening stroll for the Bulls, who'll win by 30 or more.

Blue Bulls: 15 Tiger Mangweni, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Marius Delport, 12 Wayne Julies, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Dewald Potgieter, 7 Wikus van Heerden (captain), 6 Pedrie Wannenburg, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Juandré Kruger, 3 Rayno Gerber, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Victor Matfield, 19 Pierre Spies, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Zane Kirchner.

Boland Cavaliers: 15 Justin Peach, 14 Alshaun Bock, 13 Piet van Zyl (captain), 12 Dewey Swartbooi, 11 Renfred Dazel, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Danie van der Merwe, 8 Whalied Heyns, 7 Zolani Mofu, 6 Angelo Brinkhuis, 5 Bradley Mockford, 4 Nico Esterhuyse, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Harry Vermaas, 1 Janro van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Wium, 17 Andries Human, 18 Cecil Kemp, 19 Wendell Wehr, 20 Marnus Hugo, 21 Lionel Cornelius, 22 Deon Scholtz.

Referee: Marius Jonker
Touch judges: Gareth Lloyd-Jones, Cobus Wessels
TMO: Michael Cupido

Saturday, 13 September

WP vs Falcons
Newlands, Cape Town, 3pm (1pm GMT)

A resurgent WP will be capitalising on their next few games against seemingly weaker opposition in their fight for a semifinal berth.

This might be the reasoning at least behind coach Allister Coetzee fielding an almost full-strength side against the bottom-of-the-log Falcons for their home clash on Saturday.

With the absence of an injured Gcobani Bobo, Coetzee would also be using a game like this to experiment with new combinations (in light of the Stormers' "building phase" towards next year's Super 14 campaign), namely the inclusion of Fijian Sireli Naqelevuki to partner captain Jean De Villiers in the midfield.

"Rassie (Erasmus) showed me a few DVD's of the Pacific Nations Cup and Sereli was in outstanding form throughout that tournament at number 13, and its one of the reasons we would like to see him play there, also for next year's Super 14," Coetzee said at a press conference this week.

"It's also nice just to have the depth that there's a Sereli to fall back on should anything happen.

"There's no doubt about Sereli's talent. I can't say it's going to come off, but it's gonna be a great combination and I'm looking forward to seeing him partnering Jean," he added.

Falcons coach Rudy Joubert has made some pride-salvaging 'experimental' changes to his side this week after their hammering from the Lions.

The Falcons can at least go into this game with a silent smile, knowing they toppled the Cape greats in their previous encounter in Brakpan — which in all likelihood will be avenged, with interest.

Prediction: WP to secure the five-pointer and win a physical contest by 25 points.

Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Wylie Human, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Luke Watson, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 AJ Venter, 19 Nick Koster, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Joe Pietersen, 22 Morgan Newman.

Falcons: 15 Nicky Kritzinger, 14 Dewald Pretorius, 13 Ernie Kruger, 12 Showan Smith, 11 Luvo Sogidashe, 10 Hanno Coetzee (captain), 9 Poerie van Rooyen, 8 Sean Plaatjies, 7 Marius Coetzer, 6 Warren Perkins, 5 Wouter Moore, 4 Ruhan van Jaarsveld, 3 Dirk Smit, 2 Jody Jeneker, 1 Gavin Whittingham.
Replacements: 16 Rayno Barnes, 17 Frik Venter, 18 Reg Perkins, 19 Emile Verster, 20 Gerrie Odendaal, 21 Jeff Perkins, 22 TBC.

Referee: Christie du Preez
Touch judges: François Veldsman, Eugenia Daniels

Lions vs Griquas
Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, 3pm (1pm GMT)

A win for the Lions could see them leap-frog the Cheetahs on the competition log this weekend and into third position, should the defending champions go down in Durban.

This prospect has surely provided further motivation for Eugene Eloff's Lions — a side already on the front foot after an impressive spectacle of running rugby against the Falcons last weekend.

Eloff's goal for now, however, is not to work out "permutations", as their only focus at this stage will be on the Griquas this coming Saturday and "nothing more".

The Griquas thus will undoubtedly arrive with purpose and an upset in mind.

Considering their fractional chance of making the play-offs, they're an improved side who tend to command respect from the bigger unions.

The conditions in the Highveld also suit the Griquas, who will remember the scare they gave the Lions in their previous encounter back on the hardened grounds of Kimberley.

Prediction: The Griquas will impress, but the Lions should take this one by 15 points.

Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Michael Killian, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Trompie Nontshinga, 10 Earl Rose, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Justin Wheeler, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (captain), 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Lawrence Sephaka, 18 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 19 Derick Minnie, 20 Louis Strydom, 21 Rayno Benjamin, 22 Dusty Noble.

Griquas: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Barry Geel, 12 Herkie Kruger, 11 MJ Mentz, 10 Conrad Barnard, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Heinrich Stride, 7 Stefan Gerber, 6 Gareth Krause, (captain), 5 Brendon Snyman, 4 Wayne van Heerden, 3 Bees Roux, 2 Hans van Dyk, 1 Regardt Dreyer.
Replacements: 16 Bees van Dyk, 17 Ruaan du Preez, 18 Jacque Lombaard, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Dougie Helmuth, 21 Naas Olivier, 22 Jaco Bekker.

Referee: JC Fortuin
Touch judges: Deon van Blommestein, Peter de Bruin
TMO: Michael Cupido

Sharks vs Cheetahs
Absa Stadium, Durban, 5.05pm (3.05pm GMT)

The Sharks surprised all and sundry with their emphatic win over a dangerous Blue Bulls outfit last weekend, as coach John Plumtree sets his sights on attaining their first Currie Cup silverware since Gary Teichman led the Durbanites to victory in 1996.

Leading the competition table (38 points) and in the best possible position to host a home semifinal, the Sharks have been bolstered this week with additional returning Boks — although they've stuck with their winning formula so as to maintain their ever-impressive structures.

"Obviously for us we want to win every game here on in, it's about momentum now I think in these last couple games, getting your structures into place before the knock-outs," Sharks centre Bradley Barritt told us this week.

"It's always nice to welcome back other players into the team though, and obviously the Sharks can just go from strength to strength.

"The Cheetahs are always a really tough team to play, and they've had the advantage over the Sharks in the Currie Cup for the last couple of years, so it's a great opportunity for us to put in a good performance again like last week," he added.

The Cheetahs have come off a home defeat, and boast far fewer internationals within their ranks than the Sharks.

Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske in turn is aware of the threat that awaits his side in Durban on Saturday, as they look to hold onto their position (third) on the tournament log.

"They're (the Sharks) a well-balanced team," said the Cheetahs boss.

"That's their biggest strength. They've got a good defensive system, they're strong at the breakdown and they've got plenty of game-breakers across the board.

"But we're not worried about who we're playing against, it's more about how we do on the day," he added.

Prediction: The Sharks will continue their current form, and beat the Cheetahs by 12 points.

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (captain), 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Skipper Badenhorst, 17 Patric Cilliers, 18 Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira, 19 Albert van den Berg, 20 Ryan Kankowski, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Adrian Jacobs.

Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 Eddie Fredericks, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Kabamba Floors, 10 Tewis de Bruyn, 9 Neil Powell, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Juan Smith (captain), 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Barend Pieterse, 4 David de Villiers, 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Nico Breedt, 19 Heinrich Brüssow, 20 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 21 JW Jonker, 22 Hendrik Meyer.

Referee: Willie Roos
Touch judges: Phillip Bosch, Reuben Rossouw
TMO: Shaun Veldsman

365

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