18 July 2018, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld

CURRIE CUP PREDICTIONS – ROUND 2

The Free State Cheetahs will look to make a strong opening statement when they enter the Currie Cup fray on Friday evening against the Blue Bulls in Pretoria.

After sitting out the opening round, the men from Bloemfontein will be champing at the bit to get their campaign underway and will be determined to leave Loftus Versfeld with a win.

Round Two kicks off on Friday afternoon with a clash between Griquas and the Pumas in Kimberley, while on Saturday, the Sharks will seek redemption while Western Province will want to make it back-to-back wins when the coastal teams collide in Durban.

A repeat of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge final, which Griquas won 28-13 in Saldanha Bay last month. It was quite an upset as the Pumas were undefeated going into the decider. The roles are reversed this time around, with Griquas entering the encounter as favourites after their stunning upset of the Sharks.

As impressive as the 37-13 scoreline was the way in which they bagged the shock bonus-point win. They dominated the set pieces and were smarter and more clinical tactically, with halfback pairing Zak Burger and George Whitehead dictating terms. There was nothing flukish about their win.

The Pumas also made a surprisingly good first impression. Unfortunately for them, though, they squandered a 16-point lead to go down at the death. Both “minnows” sent a message that they shouldn’t be seen as pushovers. With their strong set-piece play against a Sharks side filled with Super Rugby stars, Griquas should make it two-from-two.

Prediction: Griquas by 5. 

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The Blue Bulls will want to wipe the disappointing loss to their arch-rivals from their memory with a big performance in their first home game. It was always going to be tough to topple Western Province at Newlands, but the Pretoria side would’ve wanted to put up a far better fight, at the very least.

They were blunt on attack, scoring just a solitary try despite having 60% of the possession, and conceded a whopping 12 penalties. These are key areas they would’ve focused on in training this week. It’ll also be interesting to see if they take the points when they’re on offer after turning down a number of kicks at goal with no reward last weekend.

A much-improved effort will be needed against the wildcards of this year’s competition. The Currie Cup has been cruel to the Cheetahs in recent years due to them having to split their resources. They finished with the wooden spoon and without a single win last year as a result.

That the competition has been brought forward means it won’t overlap with the PRO14 again this year, so the Bloemfontein side will be at full-strength and I expect them to make a serious run at the silverware, starting with a hard-fought win at Loftus.

Prediction: Free State by 3.

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Has the problems that dogged the Sharks during the Super Rugby season soaked into the fabric of the union? Last Friday’s shambolic showing was reminiscent of one of their Super Rugby ‘lowlights’, like the 51-17 loss to the Jaguares, also in Durban. It was the worst possible start to the Sean Everitt era.

That said, they are much better than what they showed in the competition opener. It’s not panic stations just yet, but it certainly will be if they crash to a second successive home loss. Will that pressure fuel or cripple them against a Western Province outfit who opened their campaign with a comprehensive win over the Blue Bulls?

Province were clinical in all departments. Most strikingly, they were strong on defence, dominated at scrum time – which should be a big concern for the Sharks – and showcased impressive interplay between forwards and backs. The heartache of losing last year’s final at home will be at the back of their minds and with momentum on their side, I see them shading an improved Sharks team.

Prediction: Western Province by 4.

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