Bulls and Sharks set for showdown

PRETORIA – The elimination of Western Province from the Absa Currie Cup race at the weekend has made it a near certainty that the final on October 25 will be an appetising Durban re-run of last year’s Super 14 decider at the same venue.

At full strength, WP were the only team that could challenge the Sharks or the Blue Bulls, both of whom have comprehensively outplayed the two semi-finalists in the space of the last couple of weeks. This has been a Currie Cup in which it has been ridiculously easy to make predictions.If one looks back at the previews run on SuperSport Zone over the past few months, one will notice that sometimes winning margins may have been wrong, but it is hard to recall when last a team won a match they weren’t expected to.The last time it happened was probably when WP went down to the Falcons on that bizarre night in Brakpan back in July, a night which cooked their goose as far as Currie Cup semi-final qualification was concerned as from that point onwards the Cape union was always chasing.Province ended fifth on the final log, but they are definitely a lot better than the Lions, who did make the semi-finals, than their eight-point win over those opponents told us on Saturday.They also outplayed the Cheetahs with their full-strength team in Bloemfontein a couple of weeks ago, and were victorious in the home clash with the champions too.The Sharks and the Bulls have been the most consistent teams in the competition this year, and they are on a different level to both the Cheetahs and the Lions.So it is going to have to take a rare turn-up of the books this coming weekend, when the Sharks host the Lions in the early semi-final and the Bulls do the same with the Cheetahs in the later game, for an unpredictable note to be introduced to a competition which has been so predictable.The Sharks lost unexpectedly to the Lions in Durban last year, but they were under-strength then.Since returning to full-strength, the Sharks have been unstoppable, and the more direct approach introduced by new head coach John Plumtree has paid handsome dividends.It was evidence again at the weekend as the Sharks romped home against the outplayed Griquas, and they will take momentum into a match against opponents that they beat by 14 points away from home just over a week ago.There are several things counting against the Lions, but perhaps the most significant of those factors is the toll that their match against WP at Newlands would have taken on them.The Lions needed to lose by less than 19 points against Province, so they will look back at their trip to Cape Town as mission successful, but they had to show a lot of guts and courage to keep the deficit to just 8.Coach Eugene Eloff has admitted as much, which is why he is talking about easing his players into this build-up week to their most important game of the domestic season.The Bulls took a different view to their last match of the league phase.Instead of concentrating on momentum, they gave their second string a run against the Falcons, and very nearly came a cropper against their neighbours, who turned in by far their best performance since that heady night against WP.Indeed, if nothing else, this was a match which vindicated the view of the WP coaching staff that losing to the Falcons is a possibility when you tackle them with an under-strength team.The Cheetahs scored their anticipated bonus point win over the Boland Cavaliers in Bloemfontein at the weekend but will have to undergo a miraculous improvement in every aspect of their game if they are to turn around the 18-point defeat suffered to the Bulls on their home ground two weeks ago.- Superrugby Fixtures October 11 14h30: Sharks v Lions The Absa Stadium, Durban 17h00: Blue Bulls v FS Cheetahs Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria October 25 16h30: Final 1 v Final 2This has been a Currie Cup in which it has been ridiculously easy to make predictions.If one looks back at the previews run on SuperSport Zone over the past few months, one will notice that sometimes winning margins may have been wrong, but it is hard to recall when last a team won a match they weren’t expected to.The last time it happened was probably when WP went down to the Falcons on that bizarre night in Brakpan back in July, a night which cooked their goose as far as Currie Cup semi-final qualification was concerned as from that point onwards the Cape union was always chasing.Province ended fifth on the final log, but they are definitely a lot better than the Lions, who did make the semi-finals, than their eight-point win over those opponents told us on Saturday.They also outplayed the Cheetahs with their full-strength team in Bloemfontein a couple of weeks ago, and were victorious in the home clash with the champions too.The Sharks and the Bulls have been the most consistent teams in the competition this year, and they are on a different level to both the Cheetahs and the Lions.So it is going to have to take a rare turn-up of the books this coming weekend, when the Sharks host the Lions in the early semi-final and the Bulls do the same with the Cheetahs in the later game, for an unpredictable note to be introduced to a competition which has been so predictable.The Sharks lost unexpectedly to the Lions in Durban last year, but they were under-strength then.Since returning to full-strength, the Sharks have been unstoppable, and the more direct approach introduced by new head coach John Plumtree has paid handsome dividends.It was evidence again at the weekend as the Sharks romped home against the outplayed Griquas, and they will take momentum into a match against opponents that they beat by 14 points away from home just over a week ago.There are several things counting against the Lions, but perhaps the most significant of those factors is the toll that their match against WP at Newlands would have taken on them.The Lions needed to lose by less than 19 points against Province, so they will look back at their trip to Cape Town as mission successful, but they had to show a lot of guts and courage to keep the deficit to just 8.Coach Eugene Eloff has admitted as much, which is why he is talking about easing his players into this build-up week to their most important game of the domestic season.The Bulls took a different view to their last match of the league phase.Instead of concentrating on momentum, they gave their second string a run against the Falcons, and very nearly came a cropper against their neighbours, who turned in by far their best performance since that heady night against WP.Indeed, if nothing else, this was a match which vindicated the view of the WP coaching staff that losing to the Falcons is a possibility when you tackle them with an under-strength team.The Cheetahs scored their anticipated bonus point win over the Boland Cavaliers in Bloemfontein at the weekend but will have to undergo a miraculous improvement in every aspect of their game if they are to turn around the 18-point defeat suffered to the Bulls on their home ground two weeks ago.- Superrugby Fixtures October 11 14h30: Sharks v Lions The Absa Stadium, Durban 17h00: Blue Bulls v FS Cheetahs Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria October 25 16h30: Final 1 v Final 2