The 2023 Currie Cup Bulletin #7

The two leading teams in the Currie Cup Premier Division after three rounds of action, the Toyota Cheetahs and Airlink Pumas, go to head-to-head this weekend when the fourth round of the competition takes place on Friday and Saturday.

Kicking off at 17h05 in Bloemfontein, the match between the only two unbeaten teams in the Premier Division is bound to attract huge interest.

On the other end of the scale, in the earlier clash on Friday afternoon at 15h00 in Welkom, the NovaVit Griffons and Vodacom Bulls will be desperate to register their first win of the campaign following three losses each side.

The action then shifts to Johannesburg and Cape Town on Saturday. The Fidelity ADT Lions host the Cell C Sharks from 15h30 at Emirates Airline Park, followed by the game between DHL Western Province and Windhoek Draught Griquas at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, where the kick-off time is 19h15.

The winner of the weekend’s first fixture, between the NovaVit Griffons and Vodacom Bulls, will leave the field victorious for the first time this season after both sides have struggled in the opening rounds.

Vodacom Bulls coach Edgar Marutlulle welcomes back two Springboks, flyhalf Johan Goosen and loose forward Nizaam Carr, in his starting fifteen in an effort to halt their slide of three losses so far.

The Welkom outfit have showed glimpses of good play in their losing efforts against Cell C Sharks and Fidelity ADT Lions before running out of steam, and on Friday they face a Vodacom Bulls side brimful of experience and desperate to turn their season around.

Three games, three bonus point wins – that the story so far for Hawies Fourie and his Toyota Cheetahs team as they lead the standings on 15 league points. That is one point more than Jimmy Stonehouse’s Airlink Pumas, who have also managed to win three out of three.

The Mpumalanga side have beaten the Free Staters three times and lost twice in their last five meetings, which includes last season’s pulsating semi-final in Bloemfontein, which the Airlink Pumas won 38-35 on their way to a historic first Currie Cup title.

In fact, the visitors also won last season’s regular league fixture against the Free Staters in Bloemfontein (29-28). The Toyota Cheetahs’ previous win over the pink jerseys was 28-17 win at the Mbombela Stadium in the fourth round last season.

The Fidelity ADT Lions will be hoping for better form when they welcome the Cell C Sharks to Johannesburg, seeing that they managed to win only two of their last five meetings of this fixture. The Highvelders won 38-32 when they previously met in Durban (4 June last year) and that was after the coastal side had prevailed 45-31 in last February.

Meanwhile down in the Western Cape, DHL WP will definitely hope for better fortunes against tricky customers Windhoek Draught Griquas in their Saturday evening match.

Dating back to July 2021, the Capetonians have lost four consecutive Currie Cup matches against the Kimberley combination, including last June’s 43-41 reverse in Stellenbosch.

Province last won this fixture (34-17) on 26 December 2020 at their previous home in Newlands.

Currie Cup First Division / Mzansi Challenge

Two Currie Cup First Division / Mzansi Challenge fixtures will be played over the weekend. The Valke face the Border Bulldogs in Kempton Park on Saturday, with kick-off set for 15h00.

This meeting is followed by the clash in Windhoek between home side Windhoek Draught Welwitschias and the SWD Eagles, while the other fixture scheduled for Saturday, between the Simbas from Kenya and Boland, has been postponed at request of the Kenyan Rugby Union.

Currie Cup Premier Division match information:

NovaVit Griffons vs Vodacom Bulls
Venue: Down Touch Investments Stadium, Welkom
Date: Friday, 31 March
Time: 15h00
Referee: Griffin Colby
TV: SuperSport

Toyota Cheetahs vs Airlink Pumas
Venue: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Date: Friday, 31 March
Time: 17h05
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
TV: SuperSport

Fidelity ADT Lions vs Cell C Sharks
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Date: Saturday, 1 April
Time: 15h30
Referee: Paul Mente
TV: SuperSport

DHL Western Province vs Windhoek Draught Griquas
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Date: Saturday, 1 April
Time: 19h15
Referee: Christopher Allison
TV: SuperSport

Currie Cup Premier Division First Division Airlink Pumas Windhoek Draught Griquas Vodacom Bulls Fidelity ADT Lions NovaVit Griffons Toyota Cheetahs Cell C Sharks DHL Western Province Carling Currie Cup First Division Mzansi Challenge

Bulls and Sharks shine for SA in Vodacom URC...

The Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks provided a ray of light for South Africa’s teams in the Vodacom United Rugby ...

SA sides gear up for important round before break...

Another gripping round of Vodacom United Rugby Championship action awaits this weekend as the Emirates Lions face their ...

Coastal sides bounce back as Lions remain unbeaten...

The Emirates Lions, Hollywoodbets Sharks, and DHL Stormers made it a Super Saturday for the South African franchises in ...

Late flourish sees WP defend their U21 crown...

DHL Western Province scored two tries in as many minutes at the death of an absorbing SA Rugby Under-21 final as they be...

Naka Bulle go back-to-back in ARC Gold Cup...

Naka Bulle beat Northam Rhinos by 22-19 (half-time 3-7) in Pretoria on Saturday to successfully defend their African Rai...

Blitzboks’ aim on HK quarters despite tough pool

They may have arrived in Hong Kong with their backs to the wall, but the Springbok Sevens team know where to make the necessary improvements to get back on track with only four tournaments left in the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Forward power key for Bok Women against Spain

The performance of the Springbok Women forwards against Canada last Saturday brought smiles to the faces of their coaching staff, especially that of Laurian Johannes-Haupt, who is assisting interim coach Louis Koen on their two Test tour to Spain.

Heads down as Blitzboks look to bounce back

The Springbok Sevens team have arrived in Hong Kong and are looking forward to getting back on the field and fixing what went wrong in North America a month ago, but also to see three new players join the Blitzbok family at arguably the most prestigious event on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Visitors win big in SA Rugby U20 Cup action

The SA Rugby Under-20 Cup competition delivered high-scoring results for all three visiting teams last weekend, with DHL Western Province, the Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls flexing their muscles in the penultimate round of league action.

Demand sees intake doubled for first WLA Workshop

The inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship Women’s Leadership Academy (WLA) workshops have been met with such an overwhelming demand that the original intake of qualifying candidates has been doubled for the first series of this ground-breaking new programme.

Academy Programme to launch Junior Bok season

A group of 41 players will attend this year’s SA Rugby Academy programme, which will also kick-start the Junior Springboks’ preparations for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in South Africa later this year.

Massive task for SA sides in business end of European competitions

The South African teams will face a big task this weekend as the Heineken Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup reaches the business end in the opening playoff rounds, where all five domestic franchises will look to book places in the quarter-finals.

Composed Blitzboks on the board in Hong Kong

The Springbok Sevens started the Cathay / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens with a 14-7 victory (half-time 7-7) in their pool match against Ireland, grinding out a crucial win in a tough game in wet conditions on Friday morning.

Bok Women want to finish tour on positive note

Results apart, the Springbok Women have already achieved some of their pre-tour objectives during their two-week stint in Madrid, and according to team captain Nolusindiso Booi, a victory against Spain on Saturday would be a good reward for the hard work done by the squad this month.