Preview: Sharks v Western Province
Two old foes will lock horns on Saturday when the Sharks entertain Western Province in the 50th Currie Cup Final.
Two old foes will lock horns on Saturday when the Sharks entertain Western Province in the 50th Currie Cup Final.
Western Province, who have won the Currie Cup a record 32 times, will be out to break their recent hoodoo in the competition, which has seen them fail to lift the trophy since 2001.
Allister Coetzee's side is littered with Springboks and they will probably head into the game as slight favourites.
But they are sure to have their hands full against a young Sharks side that have grown in stature as the tournament has progressed, and they showed great maturity to overcome a Blue Bulls team, that have dominated the local game in recent times, in the semi-final.
While the Sharks will be brimming with confidence after that triumph, coach John Plumtree knows that the Final will be a totally different ball game.
“It's a final and everything is going to happen quicker and everything needs to be much sharper. Scoring opportunities are going to be less and it's about taking them,” he said.
“Western Province will be feeling pretty good about themselves and so are we.”
The last time the two sides met in a final was in 2001 when Province prevailed 29-24 and the only player that was on the park that day, who will compete in Saturday's showpiece, is Sharks centre Stefan Terblanche.
The Final could well be the Sharks skipper's swansong and what better way to sign off then by gaining revenge and lifting the crown.
While many will argue that the advent of Super Rugby has seemingly taken the attraction out of the Currie Cup over the last few years, the build-up to the 2010 Final will go a long way to dispelling that theory.
The Currie Cup is one of the oldest and most prestigious competitions in world rugby and for many of the players and the local rugby public it is still the ultimate prize.
This is clearly illustrated by Schalk Burger's sentiments leading up to the game at the Absa Stadium.
“I love the Currie Cup,” Burger told the Times. “It's how I learnt to watch rugby.
“I would be at Newlands as a young boy watching my heroes and WP greats playing Currie Cup. There wasn't anything else.
“When I think back, my first ambition was to always play for WP. It's a great competition and it's something we as South Africans need to hold on to.
“You don't get the chance to win the Currie Cup very often, so it's an opportunity that you have to try and grab when it comes.
“Personally I'd like to look back one day and say I won the Currie Cup, but right now my focus is team-driven.”
Ones to watch:
For Sharks: Keegan Daniel will look to prove a point to the national selectors following his omission from the Springbok training squad that will do duty on the end-of-year tour. He has been the stand-out loose forward in this year's Currie Cup showcasing his skills on both attack and defence. Daniel scored the only try in the Durban side's semi-final, which set the tone for the Sharks' famous victory over the Blue Bulls a fortnight ago. He will be serve as a major threat to Western Province's chances of coming away with the Cup.
For WP: In what could be his last chance to win a Currie Cup with his beloved Western Province, Schalk Burger will put it all on the line to help the boys from Cape Town win their first title in nearly a decade. While Burger is highly decorated at international level, he has failed to win any silverware in either the Super 14 or the Currie Cup. But the 2004 IRB International Player of the Year will be determined to change this on Saturday. Burger has been outstanding since returning from the national conditioning programme and expect another massive game from him as he leads from the front in what is expected to be a largely physical encounter.
Head to head: Willem de Waal v Pat Lambie. Old v New. De Waal will be looking to end a distinguished domestic career in South Africa in style before jetting off to Italy. The 32-year-old will look to add another Currie Cup crown to the titles he won with the Cheetahs in 2005, 2006 and 2007. But this time he will be out to win it with the team he supported as a boy. On the other end Lambie, 12 years De Waal's junior, is in his breakthrough season for the KwaZulu-Natal side and a first Currie Cup title will be all the motivation he needs to put in another big performance. The two contrasting styles of play makes for an interesting prospect on Saturday, with De Waal set to stick with his conservative kicking game, while Lambie is likely to opt for the ball-in-hand running approach which has seen him burst onto the scene this term. The performances of the two fly-halves will ultimately decide where the 2010 Currie Cup trophy will end up.
Prediction: The star-studded Western Province side will be slight favourites to end their Currie Cup drought. The rugby-mad Western Cape public are hungry for trophies and Allister Coetzee's men will be confident of finally delivering. However, there is an air of self-belief within the Sharks squad after their triumph over a more-fancied Blue Bulls side and if they are able to repeat that showing, with home ground advantage, they should sneak it. Sharks to win by two points.
The teams:
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Stefan Terblanche (c), 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Jacques Botes, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Andre Pretorius, 22 Riaan Swanepoel.
Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jean de Villiers, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger (c), 5 Anton van Zyl, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements: 16 Hanyani Shimange, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Lionel Cronje, 22 Paul Bosch
Date: Saturday, October 30
Venue: Absa Stadium, Durban
Kick-off: 17:30 (15:30 BST)
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: Cobus Wessels, Christie du Preez
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman