2014 Currie Cup Premier Division

creeper said:
Does it matter. WP had Potgieter also playing for them today.
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You play 80 minutes and the given extra time. I don't want to see this lack of discipline being carried over to next week. Province had won, yes, but the game was pathetic.
 
Fulcrum29 said:
Nah, Province have a knack to bring their opponents down to their level, throwing the whole game into disarray. Check, next week the Lions will drive themselves into submission, giving the game Currie Cup away on a silver platter.
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I hope so....need to rub it deep in Captain dry's face :p
 
Fulcrum29 said:
You play 80 minutes and the given extra time. I don't want to see this lack of discipline being carried over to next week. Province had won, yes, but the game was pathetic.
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WP will have to up their game. Lions is still picking out shark meat from their teeth after tearing them apart
 
My last pick will be Province with 15 points the victor. I don't think the Lions will be able to pull through on Newlands. My only concern is the availability in the WP premier stable, Carr went down early today and he could had enhanced the WP game in the 2nd 40 minutes.
 
MickeyD said:
Final is a 4 pointer, so Dry Fannie is still in as well.
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Even when they hit the bonuses, the odds are good that other SB players will pick the exact same score as well. You have 1,84 points leading in which I presume against the best they can pick will crown you the champ with 0,34 points.
 
Nick Mallet:

http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/details/pick-coleman-for-final

What former Springbok coach NICK MALLETT had to say on SuperSport about the past weekend's Currie Cup semi-finals.

Western Province vs Blue Bulls

'I think it was a poor game of rugby compared to the first match. The skill levels weren't great and the referee [Pro Legoete] was poor. His indecisiveness made the players unsure about where they stood.

'The Bulls tried to play their territory game and it was only right at the end of the game that they showed they can play some good rugby. One just wishes that they'd had the courage to do this throughout the season. Had the Bulls selected Handré Pollard at flyhalf and Jesse Kriel at fullback – two very good youngsters – they would've been a lot closer to Western Province at the end of the day. Pollard's great decision-making skills were lost to the Bulls.

'Western Province went into this game with Demitri Catrakilis – who is a great tactical, territorial kicker, but he's not a guy who gets the best out of his backline. Kurt Coleman gets the best out of his backline.

'So if you're wanting to play an attacking, ball-in-hand game and make use of Seabelo Senatla and Kobus van Wyk, you've got to have a flyhalf that can actually threaten the defence, which Pollard can, Coleman can, Pat Lambie can, Morné Steyn can't and neither can Catrakilis.'

Golden Lions vs Sharks

'The Lions are a complete team. They're very strong in the scrums, they've got really good ball-carrying loose forwards, their lineout is operating well, they got a very good halfback pairing [Ross Cronjé and Marnitz Boshoff] who vary the game really well and then they've got this offloading game that has been really exciting all season.

'It's interesting that their offloading game really started paying off in the final 20 minutes, where the other team just runs out of defensive players. The Sharks just couldn't wait for the final whistle to blow.'

The final

'The biggest problem that Province have got heading into the final is that both front rows that the Lions will field – the first-half and second-half front rowers – are all better than the Province front rowers. Province struggled against the Bulls and the Bulls struggled against the Lions. If Province don't get good scrum ball, and their lineout continues to be a little bit dicey, they have to use every ball that they get to the best of their ability to score tries.

'You can't play a territory game and play a set piece to set piece game, unless you're dominating the set piece.

'No matter who they pick for the final, they're not going to beat the Lions by playing a negative, territorial-based strategy. They're going to have to beat the Lions by exploiting turnover ball to the best of their abilities.

'Given a good referee, we're going to see a really good game of rugby. I can't see the Lions changing the way they play. Province are going to need to counter-attack from the back – hopefully they'll give Coleman a run – and we're going to see a fantastic final.'
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http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/details/what-weve-learned67

Five lessons from the Currie Cup semi-finals, according to SIMON BORCHARDT.

The Lions pack sets them apart
The Golden Lions scrum has been the best in this year's Currie Cup, and it dominated the Sharks at Ellis Park on Saturday, with Thomas du Toit and Matt Stevens being substituted after a first half they'll want to forget. The Lions' front-row depth allows them to start with Schalk van der Merwe, Robbie Coetzee and Ruan Dreyer, and then bring on another two quality players in Julian Redelinghuys and Armand van der Merwe during the second half. The latter is an ideal impact player, and it was no surprise to see him score yet another try this season. The Lions also have a good lineout and three strong ball-carriers in loose forwards Derick Minnie, Jaco Kriel and Warren Whiteley. And with their pack in charge, the Lions backs get front-foot ball that allows them to attack from almost anywhere.

A tighthead prop's fight is out
Stevens was dominated at scrum time by Van der Merwe at Ellis Park because he was scrumming in at an angle instead of slightly out. That allowed the Lions loosehead to get under Stevens and pop him. In the past, Stevens could have relied on his weight advantage to dominate the hit and get into the correct position, but with the hit having been removed from the engagement process, the technically better scrummager now tends to come out on top.

Demetri Catrakilis is Western Province's ideal 10 for the play-offs
Catrakilis may not unleash his outside backs as well as Kurt Coleman, but he showed at Newlands on Saturday why he should be starting for Province at this stage of the season. Teams inevitably play more conservatively in do-or-die knockout games and goal-kicking becomes even more important. Against the Bulls, Catrakilis slotted two conversions, three penalties and a late drop goal that gave WP a 16-point lead with six minutes to go. The 25-year-old also kicked well out of hand, and it was his clever grubber that was collected by Kobus van Wyk just inside the right touchline, with the winger giving the try-scoring inside pass to Cheslin Kolbe. Earlier in the move, Catrakilis had kicked an up and under that had got WP the field position and enabled them to turn over possession from Akona Ndungane.

Handré Pollard should have started at flyhalf for the Bulls
You didn't need the benefit of hindsight to know that Pollard should have worn the Bulls No 10 jersey against Western Province, with Ulrich Beyers replacing the injured Burger Odendaal at inside centre and Jesse Kriel starting at fullback. Pollard showed in the Rugby Championship how he can spark a backline when he's at flyhalf and he was unable to do that at 12 for the Bulls with Jacques-Louis Potgieter at 10. The 20-year-old also should have been the Bulls' first-choice goal-kicker, having successfully done the job for the Boks. Potgieter's three missed penalties in the first half could have made all the difference to a Bulls team that ultimately fell eight points short.

Quick penalty taps can result in seven points instead of three
Aaron Smith got the All Blacks back into the third Bledisloe Cup match in Brisbane when he tapped a penalty 5m out, caught the Wallabies defence napping and scored a crucial try. Nic Groom dotted down in similar fashion for WP late in the first half of the Currie Cup semi-final at Newlands to give his side a 25-3 lead. Both penalties would have been a certain three points if the captains had pointed to the posts, but quick thinking from the scrumhalves got their teams seven instead.
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