One last roll of the dice in the league stages of the Currie Cup competition. For some, the odds are straight forward - win, collect a full-house of five points or it is all over.

We start at the top. Western Province need to take five points from the Golden Lions to stay in first place. Anything less will open the door for the Sharks, who face Griquas, to sneak past them.

The Blue Bulls, who seem set for an armchair ride to five points against the Leopards will finish third or fourth, regardless of any results. They will travel in the play-offs. Do they really care who they meet in the semifinals?

The spotlight will certainly be on the battle for fourth and final place in the semis.

Griquas need two points against the Sharks - a draw or two bonus points - to edge the Cheetahs into the play-offs.

The Cheetahs also have a seemingly easy task as they chase five points against the hapless Boland Cavaliers. Even if the Cheetahs get the desired result in Wellington, they still need things to go their way in Kimberley.

iafrica looks at all the Week 14 action!

Friday, 9 October:

Leopards v Blue Bulls
(Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, Phokeng - 19.10, 17.10 GMT)

The Blue Bulls - in the knowledge that they have already booked their place in the play-offs and will travel - have decide on a pragmatic approach to their last league fixture.

They are going to use their encounter with the Leopards as a trial run for the semifinals.

"We know that we are in a semifinal and therefore our focus will be on our own game," Bulls head coach Frans Ludeke said.

"We want to fine-tune some aspects of our game for the reason that everything must be 100 percent before we go into the play-offs."

But the game can also be an ideal trial run for the Leopards.

They will face the SWD Eagles, the second-placed team in the First Division, in a home-and-away promotion-relegation series later this month.

So, Wilhelm Koch and his team will be keen to get their structures in place, as a good performance this week will be a great boost ahead of their play-offs.

As Bulls manager Wynie Strydom said this week, it is very important to start building momentum ahead of the semifinals.

The Bulls have a couple of injured stars on the sideline, but even without the likes of Bryan Habana and Pierre Spies, they will be able to use the game as a good practice match.

iafrica Prediction: The Leopards have shown great heart and at times they were very competitive. However, this Bulls team is looking for momentum and the Leopards are in for a rude awakening. They should not expect any mercy and it would not be a surprise if the Bulls put 50 points past them. The Bulls to win easily, by at least 25 points.

Teams:

Leopards: 15 Colin Lloyd, 14 Nicky Kritzinger, 13 Jovan Bowles, 12 Japie Nel, 11 Shuaib Samaai, 10 Cecil Dumont, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Christo van Niekerk, 7 Thabo Mamojele, 6 Wilhelm Koch (captain), 5 Edrich Linde, 4 Bradley Mockford, 3 Barend van der Walt, 2 Gavin Williamson, 1 Nardus Lombard
Replacements: 16 Martinus van der Westhuizen, 17 Philip Lemmer, 18 Bennie Adams, 19 RW Kember, 20 Theo van Wyk, 21 Clayton Durand, 22 Berndt Theissinger

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier , 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Danie Rossouw, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Pedrie Wannenburg, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Burton Francis, 22 John Mametsa

Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: Gareth Lloyd-Jones, Reuben Rossouw
TMO: Arrie Schoonwinkel

365

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