Currie Cup Team of the Week – Round 4

Central stars are the centre of attention in our Currie Cup Team of the Week, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

Round four of the world’s oldest domestic rugby competition produced two nail-biting encounters. Throughout their decades-long rivalry, Griquas never managed to beat Western Province at Newlands, but the men from Kimberley emerged victorious from their first visit to Cape Town Stadium as a last-gasp converted try saw them snatch a famous 30-28 win.

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Friday’s fixture went down to the wire as well with the Cheetahs ultimately holding on for a pulsating 17-16 win over the Pumas in Bloemfontein, their first of the campaign. Meanwhile, Saturday’s scheduled match between the Sharks and the Lions was called off as the KwaZulu-Natal outfit opted to face the British & Irish Lions for a second time instead that evening, replacing the Covid-hit Bulls.

As a result, the triumphant teams have each been rewarded with five players in our side, while a trio of Province players and a pair of Pumas also earned selection.

15: Clayton Blommetjies (Cheetahs) – Player of the Week

Brought up his Currie Cup half-century in style. The most dangerous man on the park, the playmaker produced a number of try-scoring opportunities with his unpredictable flair and sparked the opening try with a counter-attacking run and offload. Saved a try with exemplary scramble defence as well and chipped in with a few good kicks out of hand to round off a Man of the Match performance.

Clayton "Chiellini' Blommetjies ?

The Cheetahs fullback putting in one of the best slide tackles you'll see on a rugby field, giving some of the defenders at #EURO2020 a run for their money ?#CurrieCup pic.twitter.com/0QbzmJSl72

— SuperSport ? (@SuperSportTV) July 9, 2021

14: Daniel Kasende (Griquas)

A well-rounded performance by the Griquas winger, who asked questions every time he touched the ball and had a high work rate on defence as he made eight tackles. Punished Province for lackadaisical defence when he waltzed past three defenders to score a try out of nothing.

13: Lesley Botha (Cheetahs)

A debut to savour, complete with a memorable try (time-stamped below) that came from good support play to round off silky handling by Jeandré Rudolph and Duncan Saal. Ran good lines, shored up his channel on defence and managed a turnover to boot.

12: Matt Moore (Pumas)

Following a second cracking performance in a row by the hard-running Pumas centre, Western Province will be wondering why they let him go. Veteran Johnathan Francke stepped up as one of the senior players to help inspire Griquas’ upset win but lacked the staying power of the relentless Moore.

11: Edwill van der Merwe (Western Province)

An energetic “nuisance”, especially in the aerial battle for high balls, causing Griquas all sorts of problems. Made a try-saving tackle on Eduan Keyter and displayed good finishing to dot down what wound up being a disallowed try because of an earlier knock-on.

10: George Whitehead (Griquas)

A match-winner whose vast experience showed in all aspects. Architected Griquas’ opening try with a deft chip, marshalled his troops, kept them in the game with his accurate boot – scoring 15 points in all – and coolly slotted the decisive conversion at the death.

9: Ruan Pienaar (Cheetahs)

A level head who directed his team like only a seasoned campaigner can. The 38-year-old Cheetahs skipper showed good pace to score despite Devon Williams’ best efforts (time-stamped below) and added seven more points with the boot.

8: Evan Roos (Western Province)

Who else? A master blaster, the red-hot Roos broke tackles at will all afternoon. Just relentless…even when we was finally brought down, he’d pop back up and carry on like something out of a horror movie. Made a round-high 13 tackles, many of them dominant, like when he drove big lock Mzwanele Zito back a few metres, and even snatched a lineout steal in the 58th minute.

7: Hanru Sirgel (Griquas)

The shift from No.8 to No.7 brought with it an impressive uptick in output as he led his team in carries (12), metres (25) and tackles (10). Also won a turnover on the deck and featured in the lineout.

6: Jeandré Rudolph (Cheetahs)

Made a try-saving tackle (one of a match-high 10 hits) on opposite number Francois Kleinhans and even though he then conceded a yellow card for not rolling away, the gamble paid off as the Pumas scored just three points during his time in the bin. Had a key hand in Botha’s try in the form of a classy chicken-wing offload and did good work at the breakdown.

5: Cameron Lindsay (Griquas)

David Meihuizen continued his excellent form and was named Man of the Match, but it was Lindsay’s heroics that proved decisive. The towering lock’s try at the death (time-stamped below) inspired Griquas’ smash-and-grab win and summed up a determined, hard-working effort that saw him make eight carries and seven tackles, as well as a lineout steal and breakdown turnover.

4: Rynier Bernardo (Cheetahs)

Good in the lineouts and a busy bruiser in general play with five carries and nine tackles. The Bloemfontein team bossed the breakdown and it’s here where the second-rower really stood out, executing two textbook jackals.

3: Ig Prinsloo (Pumas)

Enforced his will at scrum time, where he most notably won a penalty on the half-hour mark with overwhelming power and technique. For a man-mountain who tips the scales at a whopping 139kg, the Pumas prop got through a good amount of work as he carried the ball up four times and executed six tackles.

2: JJ Kotze (Western Province)

Pumas veteran Simon Westraadt had another good game, but Kotze made the greater impact as he continued his try-scoring ways with a brace while making 10 tackles and securing two turnovers.

1: Mox Mxoli (Griquas)

Flooded Province’s basement with cannon-like strikes at scrum time, which played a big part in the Cape Town siege. A period of uncontested scrums didn’t throw him off his game as he won three penalties in the end, the first of which resulted in a try.