One man that can tame the physical Samoans, Namibian captain Jacques Burger.

Cape Town – Namibia’s Welwitschias have pulled out of this year’s Vodacom Cup competition due to financial constraints.

SARU’s head of communication, Andy Colquhoun, confirmed to the Volksblad newspaper that Namibia pulled out of the competition.

Their absence will, however, not disrupt the schedule negatively. Teams will now instead receive byes where they would have played against the Welwitschias.

(Volksblad)

The teams to play are as follows:

DHL WP Vodacom Cup Squad

15. Tim Swiel
14. Elmo Thomas
13. Michael van der Spuy
12. Berton Klaasen
11. Ghafoer Luckan
10. Kurt Coleman
9. Andries Truter
8. Yaya Hartzenberg
7. Nick Fenton-Wells
6. Rohan Kitshoff
5. Wilhelm van der Sluys
4. Gerbrandt Grobler
3. Pieter Stemmet
2. Sidney Tobias
1. Allistair Vermaak

Reserves
16. Madoda Yako
17. Christo McNish
18. Tyrone Holmes
19. Waldo Prinsloo
20. William van Wyk
21. Taariq Davids
22. Adriaan Kritzinger

DHL WP Amateur Squad

15. Ian Coetzee
14. Marvin Christians
13. Sinetemba Mapaqa
12. Albert Trytsman
11. Vivian Fredericks
10. Ambrose Barendse
9. Morne Adams
8. Alconray Botha
7. Bennie Adams
6. Kuselo Moyake
5. Lee Clarke
4. Divaan Esterhuysen
3. Frank Charlie
2. Casper Lotter
1. Stefan Schreuder

Reserves
16. Shameeg Allen
17. SP Blakeley
18. Anton Lambrechts
19. Oswin Mentoor
20. Andy Coetzee
21. Berthan Erasmus
22. Phillip Hopley
23. JP Geldenhuys
24. Ashraf Smith
25. Jody Reyneke
26. Mosie Mostert
27. Abdullah Jacobs

The game kicks off at 16h45.

Schalk Burger, Bismarck du Plessis, Francois Hougaard, Pat Lambie and Victor Matfield got the most votes following a nomination process by the country’s rugby media. 

Burger and Du Plessis are also nominated in the category for Vodacom Super Rugby Player of the Year, while Hougaard and Lambie also feature in the list of nominees for Young Player of the Year. 

The only other players to get nominations in more than one category, are the MTN Golden Lions duo of Elton Jantjies (flyhalf) and Jaco Taute (fullback), as well as Toyota Free State Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen, who were all three nominated in the categories for Young Player and Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year. 

The DHL Stormers’ performance in Vodacom Super Rugby, where they hosted a home semi-final, is also reflected in the nominations. They are nominated as Absa Team of the Year, Allister Coetzee is one of the five coaches on the shortlist for Absa Coach of the Year and Burger is joined by Gio Aplon and Duane Vermeulen on the list of nominees for Vodacom Super Rugby Player of the Year. 

Also nominated in the categories for Coach and Team of the Year are Paul Treu and the Springbok Sevens side, who won three tournaments during the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series. 

The winners in six other categories have already been determined – Coca-Cola Craven Week Player of the Tournament, Marriott Referee Award, Women’s Achiever of the Year, SARU National Club Championship Player of the Tournament, SA U20 Player of the Year and Springbok Sevens Player of the Year. 

The glittering awards ceremony will have a new feel to it this year as it moves to the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City. Tickets will be available to the public from Computicket from Wednesday, 26 October, while the ceremony will be broadcast live on Supersport from 19:30 on November 3. 

The nominees are (in alphabetical order):

SARU Rugby Player of the Year:

1. 1.                   Schalk Burger
2. 2.                   Bismarck du Plessis
3. 3.                   Francois Hougaard
4. 4.                   Pat Lambie
5. 5.                   Victor Matfield

Young Player of the Year:

1. 1.                   Johan Goosen
2. 2.                   Francois Hougaard
3. 3.                   Elton Jantjies
4. 4.                   Pat Lambie
5. 5.                   Jaco Taute

Absa Team of the Year:

1. 1.       Regent Boland Cavaliers
2. 2.       MTN Golden Lions
3. 3.       Springbok Sevens
4. 4.       DHL Stormers
5. 5.       University of Cape Town

Absa Coach of the Year:

1. 1.       Allister Coetzee (DHL Stormers and Western Province)
2. 2.       Eugene Eloff (Regent Boland Cavaliers)
3. 3.       John Mitchell (MTN Lions and Golden Lions)
4. 4.       John Plumtree (The Sharks)
5. 5.       Paul Treu (Springbok Sevens)

Vodacom Super Rugby Player of the Year:

1. 1.       Gio Aplon (DHL Stormers)
2. 2.       Schalk Burger (DHL Stormers)
3. 3.       Bismarck du Plessis (The Sharks)
4. 4.       Sarel Pretorius (Toyota Cheetahs)
5. 5.       Duane Vermeulen (DHL Stormers)

Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year:

1. 1.       Johan Goosen (Toyota FS Cheetahs)
2. 2.       Elton Jantjies (MTN Golden Lions)
3. 3.       Frederic Michalak (The Sharks)
4. 4.       Josh Strauss (MTN Golden Lions)
5. 5.       Jaco Taute (MTN Golden Lions)

Absa Currie Cup First Division Player of the Year:

1. 1.       Bolla Conradie (Regent Boland Cavaliers)
2. 2.       Danwel Demas (Regent Boland Cavaliers)
3. 3.       Willie le Roux (Regent Boland Cavaliers)
4. 4.       Luke Watson (EP Kings)
5. 5.       Elgar Watts (Regent Boland Cavaliers)

Vodacom Cup Player of the Year:

1. 1.       Marnitz Boshoff (Vodacom Blue Bulls)
2. 2.       Marcell Coetzee (Sharks XV)
3. 3.       Lionel Cronje (DHL WP)
4. 4.       JJ Engelbrecht (DHL WP)
5. 5.       Juan Imhoff (Pampas XV)

We have confirm, through GWK Griquas that Abre Minnie, will be the acting head coach for the 2011 Currie Cup season. GWK Griquas are still looking for someone to take over from Anton Leonard.  Anton Leonard has made himself unavailable due to personal reasons.

GWK Griquas are set to release a statement tomorrow confirming Minnie’s appointment.

Rugby15

The Pampas XV are Vodacom Cup champions for 2011 after they secured a clinical 14-9 victory over the Vodacom Blue Bulls at the Profert Olen Park stadium in Potchefstroom on Friday night.
The Argentineans boasted the superior scrum and dominated the breakdown, controlled most facets of the match and were never really threatened by the defending champions from Pretoria. The final yielded only one try which was scored by Pampas XV winger Agustin Gosio who ran in his eighth five-pointer of the competition. Gosio ended the competition as the second-leading try-scorer behind fellow teammate Juan Imhoff and DHL Western Province winger JJ Engelbrecht who topped the Vodacom Cup try-scoring chart with 10 five-pointers each.

The other points scored by the Pampas XV in Friday evening’s final came via the boot of Nicolas Sanchez who kicked two penalties and Santiago Iglesias who added one penalty. The Vodacom Blue Bulls’ points were scored by flyhalf Maritz Boshoff who kicked three penalties during the second half.

Sanchez opened the scoring early in the first half before Gosio dived in to score his try which ensured that the hosts enjoyed an 8-0 lead during the first half. Sanchez kicked his second three-pointer of the game just before the break to hand the Argentineans an 11-0 half time lead.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls’ first points of the match were scored in the 50th minute when Boshoff successfully slotted the first of three penalty kicks in the second half (11-3). The Pampas XVs fought back and stretched their lead to 13-3 when Iglesias kicked his first penalty of the evening.

Boshoff went on to convert two further penalty kicks which put pressure on the Pampas XV to defend their five-point lead during the closing stages of the match. However the Argentineans, due to their tigerish defensive attitude, held on and secured their 11th consecutive victory of the competition and claim their maiden Vodacom Cup title.

Scorers: Pampas XV: Try: Agustin Gosio; Penalties: Nicolas Sanchez (2), Santiago Iglesias. Vodacom Blue Bulls: Penalties: Maritz Boshoff (3).

The Pampas XV, the only undefeated team in this year’s Vodacom Cup, will be hoping for one more victory in 2011 when they host the defending champions, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, at Profert Olën Park in Potchefstroom on Friday at 19h00.

The Argentineans will start as red hot favourites as they are currently on a 10-match winning streak, which started with a 52-29 victory over the Tasol Solar Griffons. Since then, they have managed to secure two more 50-point victories, against the Valke (57-15) in round seven and against the Welwitschias (52-10) in Windhoek in round nine.

What’s more interesting, is that the Pampas XV have already beaten the Vodacom Blue Bulls this season, by 27-22 at Profert Olën Park in round three. They were impressive in their 41-26 semi-final victory over the Sharks XV last weekend, and defeated the Toyota Free State Cheetahs (41-34) in extra time of a thrilling quarter-final clash.

A number of players from the Argentinean team have been outstanding this year, with winger Juan Imhoff currently the joint-leading try-scorer together with DHL Western Province’s JJ Engelbrecht on 10 tries. Winger Agustin Gosio is the second leading try-scorer with seven five-pointers to his name.

Pampas XV flyhalves Nicolas Sanchez (79) and Santiago Iglesias (62) are also amongst the leading Vodacom Cup points’ scorers this season. The “hosts” have also been the most entertaining team thanks to their expansive rugby this year. They have scored 53 tries this season, with Iglesias converting 24 of those tries and Sanchez converting 19.

However the Vodacom Blue Bulls, three-time Vodacom Cup champions, can count on huge finals experience, having played in eight finals at this level. Eight players who competed in the 2010 Vodacom Cup final for the Vodacom Blue Bulls have been included in their match 22 for Friday’s clash. Centre Stefan Watermeyer, flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff, scrumhalf Ruan Snyman, flank Okkie Kruger, prop Morne Mellett, locks Cornell Hess and Mthunzi Mabeta and captain Gerrit-Jan van Velze, who will make his fourth Vodacom Cup final appearance, were members of the team that defeated the Toyota Free State Cheetahs 31-29 at Loftus Versfeld last year. Boshoff is currently the fourth leading points’ scorer in the competition with 78 points.

The Pretoria team kicked off their 2011 title defence with four consecutive defeats – against the Sharks XV (30-19), Boland Cavaliers (20-17), Pampas XV (27-22) and DHL Western Province (16-8).

However, since then they have won five of their last six games, which included a 47-34 semi-final victory in Kimberley over GWK Griquas, as well as a nail-biting 28-26 quarter-final win over the MTN Lions in Johannesburg. The visitors have won four of their six matches played outside Pretoria. Their only away defeats were against the Sharks XV and the Pampas XV earlier this year.

Meanwhile the Modimola Primary School from the village of Modimola in Mafikeng was the proud winner of a 15-seater Toyota Quantum following a lucky draw which was held at the conclusion of SARU and Vodacom’s Schools Challenge, which formed part of the competition’s campaign of bringing rugby to the community.
SARU will do the official handover of the minibus which will be utilized for future rugby and sport activities in that community before the kickoff of the Vodacom Cup final between the Pampas XV and the Vodacom Blue Bulls at Profert Olën Park on Friday evening.

A total of 1759 learners from several provincial rugby unions participated in this challenge, which provided rugby education and skills to aspiring rugby players. SARU, competition sponsor Vodacom together with the development offices of the various provinces which hosted community matches; and teachers of the participating schools, presented basic rugby training sessions at these Vodacom Cup games.

Aspiring rugby players were put through their paces on game days and participated in rugby basic obstacle courses where they had the opportunity to apply their passing, catching, kicking as well as side-stepping skills.

Pampas XV road to the final:

Date Fixture Result
26-Feb-11 Pampas XV 52 Tasol Solar Griffons 29 W
04-Mar-11 MTN Golden Lions 6 Pampas XV 15 W
12-Mar-11 Pampas XV 27 Vodacom Blue Bulls 22 W
18-Mar-11 GWK Griquas 29 Pampas XV 32 W
26-Mar-11 Pampas XV 38 Platinum Leopards 20 W
01-Apr-11 Ford Pumas 20 Pampas XV 46 W
09-Apr-11 Pampas XV 57 Valke 15 W
15-Apr-11 Welwitschias 10 Pampas XV 52 W
29-Apr-11 Pampas XV 41 Toyota FS Cheetahs 34 W
06-May-11 Pampas XV 41 Sharks XV 26 W

Vodacom Blue Bulls’ road to the final:

Date Fixture Result
26-Feb-11 Sharks XV 30 Vodacom Blue Bulls 19 L
05-Mar-11 Vodacom Blue Bulls 17 Boland Cavaliers 20 L
12-Mar-11 Pampas XV 27 Vodacom Blue Bulls 22 L
19-Mar-11 Vodacom Blue Bulls 8 DHL Western Province 16 L
25-Mar-11 Toyota FS Cheetahs 21 Vodacom Blue Bulls 45 W
02-Apr-11 Vodacom Blue Bulls 29 EP Kings 28 W
08-Apr-11 Border Bulldogs 8 Vodacom Blue Bulls 34 W
16-Apr-11 Vodacom Blue Bulls 23 SWD Eagles 25 L
30-Apr-11 MTN Golden Lions 26 Vodacom Blue Bulls 28 W
07-May-11 GWK Griquas 34 Vodacom Blue Bulls 47 W

Vodacom Cup 2011 Stats:
Leading Points’ Scorers:
T C P D Pts
Lionel Cronje DHL Western Province 4 21 11 0 95
Louis Strydom Toyota FS Cheetahs 0 21 12 1 81
Nicolas Sanchez Pampas XV 1 19 12 0 79
Marnitz Boshoff Vodacom Blue Bulls 1 11 16 1 78
Coenie van Wyk Ford Pumas 3 15 10 0 75
Willie Le Roux Boland Cavaliers 4 21 4 0 74
Rudi Vogt GWK Griquas 1 18 10 0 71
Tiaan van Wyk Tasol Solar Griffons 0 18 9 1 66
Santiago Iglesias Pampas XV 1 24 3 0 62
Kyle Hendricks Valke 4 9 6 0 56
Vodacom Cup (2011) – Leading Try Scorers:
JJ Engelbrecht DHL Western Province 10
Juan Imhoff Pampas XV 10
Kobus de Kock Sharks XV 7
Agustin Gosio Pampas XV 7
Howard Noble SWD Eagles 7
Wesley Wilkins GWK Griquas 7
Thabang Molefe Tasol Solar Griffons 6
Wilmaure Louw GWK Griquas 6
Mark Richards Sharks XV 6
Joaquin Tuculet Pampas XV 6

Vodacom Cup Final – Additional stats:
Vodacom Cup Winners:
1998 - Griquas
1999 - Golden Lions
2000 - Free State Cheetahs
2001 - Blue Bulls
2002 - Golden Lions
2003 - Golden Lions
2004 - Golden Lions
2005 - Griquas
2006 - Valke
2007 - Griquas
2008 - Blue Bulls
2009 - Griquas
2010 - Blue Bulls

Results of Vodacom Cup Finals:
1998 Griquas 57 Golden Lions 0 Kimberley
1999 Golden Lions 73 Griquas 7 Johannesburg
2000 Free State 44 Griquas 24 Bloemfontein
2001 Blue Bulls 42 Boland Kavaliers 24 Pretoria
2002 Lions 54 Blue Bulls 38 Johannesburg
2003 Blue Bulls 17 Golden Lions 26 Pretoria
2004 Golden Lions 35 Blue Bulls 16 Johannesburg
2005 Griquas 27 Leopards 25 Kimberley
2006 Valke 25 Wildebeest 17 Brakpan
2007 Griquas 33 Blue Bulls 29 Kimberley
2008 Blue Bulls 25 Free State 21 Pretoria
2009 Blue Bulls 19 Griquas 28 Pretoria
2010 Blue Bulls 31 Free State 29 Pretoria

Vodacom Cup Final – Referees:
1998 - Jonathan Kaplan
1999 - Tappe Henning
2000 - Carl Spannenberg
2001 - Mark Lawrence
2002 - Eugene Daniels
2003 - Andy Turner
2004 - Shaun Veldsman
2005 - Linston Manuels
2006 - Johann Meuwesen
2007 - Jaco Peyper
2008 - Francois Veldsman
2009 - Phillip Bosch
2010 - Jason Jaftha
2011 – Stuart Berry

The Argentineans will host the defending champions, Vodacom Blue Bulls, after the Pretoria team secured a 47-34 victory over the GWK Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon. Flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff kicked six penalties, three conversions and a drop goal to end the match with a personal points’ haul of 21, despite being outscored by five tries to four.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls’ tries were scored by former SA Under-20 captain CJ Stander, Springbok Sevens speedster Sampie Mastriet, centre Stefan Watermeyer and Juandre Kruger. Boshoff’s feats with the boot ensured that he ended the round in fourth position on the leading points’ scorer’s table with 78.

GWK Griquas winger Rocco Jansen scored the first of his team’s five tries before the break, while Earl Rose, Hendrik Roodt, Jandre Blom and Wilmaure Louw ran in five-pointers during the second half. Flyhalf Rudi Vogt kicked three conversions and a penalty for the hosts.

Meanwhile the Pampas XV came back from a 16-7 half time deficit to confidently defeat the Sharks XV 41-26 in Potchefstroom on Friday night. The Argentineans, who trailed their Durban opponents by nine points at the break, upped the tempo of the match and ran in five second half tries.

The Pampas XV were starved of possession during the first half, and fought their way in to the match when flanker Julio Cabello scored a try during the first half which was converted by flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez.

Winger Juan Imhoff, currently the joint leading try-scorer in the 2011 competition with 10 tries along with DHL Western Province’s JJ Engelbrecht (2), scored a brace of tries while Nicolas Bruzzone, Joaquin Tuculet and Agustin Gosio were the other Argentineans to score five-pointers at Profert Olen Park.

Sanchez kicked four conversions in the match and a penalty to end the weekend on 79 points scored this season – 16 points behind the leading points’ scorer Lionel Cronje (95). The Sharks XV scored two tries – one by Rosko Specman, and the other five-pointer by winger Mark Richards which occurred during the final minute of the match. Gouws Prinsloo converted both tries and also kicked four penalties.

Eight players that played in last year’s Vodacom Cup final, were included in the defending champions’ team that will take on the four-time champions from the Northern Cape. The Vodacom Blue Bulls have won the title three times and advanced to the semi-finals by upsetting the MTN Golden Lions in Johannesburg last weekend.

Gerrit-Jan van Velze, who captained the Vodacom Blue Bulls in last year’s final, returns from a four-week absence after recovering from a cheekbone injury and will lead the team again on Saturday. The other members from last year’s title-winning team that will travel to Kimberley, are scrumhalf Ruan Snyman, centre Stefan Watermeyer, flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff, flanker Okkie Kruger, lock Cornell Hess and prop Morne Mellet, while Fudge Mbeta (lock) will warm the bench.

GWK Griquas, who scraped through in their quarter-final after extra-time against the Ford Pumas, will fancy their chances of ending the Vodacom Blue Bulls’ hopes of defending their title. The hosts have been impressive at home this season, only losing one match in Kimberley, against the Pampas XV (32-29).

The Argentineans “host” the other semi-final this weekend, when they take on the Sharks XV in Potchefstroom at 16h30 on Friday. Neither of these sides have won the Vodacom Cup before, but the team from KZN have one final appearance, in 2006 when they lost to the Valke.

The Sharks XV will be hoping to repeat their heroics of last Saturday, when they eliminated and ended the undefeated run of DHL Western Province by 21-19 in Cape Town. They will once again have the chance of knocking out the only other unbeaten team this season when they take on the Pampas XV.

The Pampas XV from Argentina have been the form team of the competition thus far. They beat the Vodacom Blue Bulls (27-22), MTN Lions (15-9), GWK Griquas (32-29), Ford Pumas (46-20), Platinum Leopards (38-20), Welwitschias (52-10), Valke (57-15) and the Tasol Solar Griffons (52-29) en route to ending the league phase in pole position on the South Section log.

They then secured a thrilling extra-time 41-34 victory over the Toyota Free State Cheetahs during their quarter-final match played at Profert Olen Park last Friday. The Argentineans have two players who are amongst the top ten points’ scorers in the 2011 season in Nicolas Sanchez (68) and Santiago Iglesias (62).

Pampas XV winger Juan Imhoff also will have the chance to become the leading try-scorer this season on Friday. He is currently on eight five-pointers, only two behind the current leading try-scorer of the competition – DHL Western Province winger JJ Engelbrecht.

Note to editors: In the event of matches being drawn in the knockout stages of the competition, SARU’s General Competition Rules shall apply and the winner will be decided as follows:

1.    The team scoring the most points within a 20 minute period of extra time (10 minutes each way with a one (1) minute break), and if still level;

2.    The team scoring the most tries in the match, including extra time; and if still level;

3.    The team with the highest log position immediately prior to the match.

In the event of the teams being tied in the final on both points and tries scored in the match, the winner will be the team scoring the greatest number of log points after completion of the pools matches, prior to the knock–out stages, and if still level the team with the best nett points difference (points for minus points against) will be declared the Vodacom Cup champions.

Vodacom Cup semi-final fixtures:

Friday 6 May 2011 (Semi-final 1)

16h30  Pampas XV v The Sharks XV at Profert Olen Park, Potchefstroom

Saturday 7 May 2011 (Semi-final 2)

14h20  GWK Griquas v Vodacom Blue Bulls at GWK Park, Kimberley

Vodacom Cup Leading Points’ Scorers (2011):

Vodacom Cup Previous Winners:

The defending champions, who ended the season in fourth position on the log, ended the 2011 challenge of the Johannesburg team by playing out the final 29 minutes this match with 14 players after SA Under-20 centre Francois Venter was red-carded for a spear tackle on MTN Lions lock George Earl during the 51st minute of the game.

The Pretoria team ran in three tries which were scored by former Springbok Sevens speedster Sampie Mastriet, former SA Under-20 prop Morne Mellett and Vodacom Blue Bulls flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff. The Pretoria pivot also kicked two conversions and three penalties to end the match with a personal points’ haul of 18.

The MTN Lions’ points came via the boot of former Springbok flyhalf Andre Pretorius who kicked three penalties; as well as three tries which were scored by centre Alwyn Hollenbach, winger Dusty Noble and scrumhalf Micheal Bondesio. Elton Jantjies also chipped in with one conversion.

The Sharks XV ended the unbeaten 2011 Vodacom Cup run of DHL Western Province following their 21-19 victory at DHL Newlands on Saturday.

Winger Mark Richards, who represented the Springbok Sevens during the opening two tournaments in the 2010/ 2011 HSBC Sevens World Series; and Cobus Reinach scored tries for the Sharks XV. Flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter converted Reinach’s try and kicked three penalties.

The Cape team’s tries were scored by both their wingers – Danie Poolman and JJ Engelbrecht. DHL Western Province rookie flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis, who was one of the outstanding performers in the 2011 FNB Varsity Cup for the UCT Ikeys, kicked three penalties for the hosts.

The victory for the Sharks XV means that they will now face the undefeated Pampas XV in next weekend’s semi-finals. The Argentineans maintained their unbeaten run this season by ending the Vodacom Cup aspirations of last year’s losing finalists, Toyota Free State Cheetahs, following their thrilling 41-34 extra time victory at Profert Olen Park in Potchefstroom on Friday.
Winger Juan Imhoff scored a hat-trick of tries which contributed to the “hosts” running in six five-pointers in this Vodacom Cup quarter-final match. Julio Cabello, Miguel de Achaval and Agustin Gosio were the other try-scorers for the Pampas XV. Nicolas Sanchez who kicked one penalty, chipped in with three conversions, while Santiago Gonzales added one conversion.

The Toyota Free State Cheetahs scored four tries which came thanks to the efforts of the talented 19-year-old flyhalf Johan Goosen, former SA U20 prop Marcel van der Merwe as well as Pieter Labuschagne and Eddie Fredericks. Louis Strydom added four conversions and a penalty.

In the other Vodacom Cup quarter-final match of the weekend, the GWK Griquas booked their place in next weekend’s semi-final against the Vodacom Blue Bulls following their 37-33 extra-time victory over the Ford Pumas at GWK Park on Friday.

Former national age group flyhalf Earl Rose scored a try during extra time which saw his team secure their place in next weekend’s playoffs. The GWK Griquas’ other try-scorers in this match were Jandre Blom, Wilmaure Louw, Richard Lawson and Jaco Nepgen. Rudi Vogt kicked two penalties and three conversions.

Tian Meyer added a brace of tries for the Ford Pumas while their third five-pointer was scored by former SWD Eagles pivot Ricardo Croy. Croy kicked four penalties and three conversions to end the match with a personal points haul of 23 points.

Both these teams scraped through to the quarter-finals of the Vodacom Cup this season by finishing in fourth place in their respective sections.

Seven players that competed for the Vodacom Blue Bulls in last year’s Vodacom Cup final, were included in the defending champions’ team that will take on the MTN Golden Lions on Saturday in their quarter-final at Wits University at 14h30.

Scrumhalf Ruan Snyman, centre Stefan Watermeyer, flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff, flanker Okkie Kruger, lock Fudge Mbeta and prop Morne Mellet have been named in the starting line-up of the Pretoria team, while Cornell Hess (lock) will warm the bench.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls qualified for the knock-out stage after ending the league phase of the Vodacom Cup in fourth position. They lost five games during the competition, while the MTN Golden Lions – along with GWK Griquas the most successful team in Vodacom Cup history – topped the Northern Section after winning six of their seven league fixtures.

The only games the team from Johannesburg didn’t win, were against the two top sides from the Southern Section. The MTN Golden Lions lost to the Pampas XV (15-9) and drew with DHL Western Province (18-18) in round one.

John Dobson, coach of DHL Western Province, has selected nine players with Vodacom Super Rugby experience in his team that host the Sharks XV at DHL Newlands on Saturday at 16h20.

Winger Danie Poolman, centres Johan Sadie and Paul Bosch, prop JD Moller, as well as locks Adriaan Fondse and Anton van Zyl have been included in to the Cape team who will be aiming to maintain their undefeated run in the competition, while Tiaan Liebenberg (hooker), Hilton Lobberts (lock) and Tim Whitehead (centre) are on the bench.

The Pampas XV, the only team that have finished the league phase of the competition having won all their games, “host” the Toyota Free State Cheetahs at Profert Olën Park in Potchefstroom on Friday at 16h30.

The Argentineans ended the league phase in first position on the South Section log with 37 points, four clear of the second placed DHL Western Province, the only other team in the competition that has not conceded a defeat this season.

The Pampas XVs beat the Vodacom Blue Bulls (27-22), MTN Golden Lions (15-9), GWK Griquas (32-29), Ford Pumas (46-20), Platinum Leopards (38-20), Welwitschias (52-10), Valke (57-15) and the Tasol Solar Griffons (52-29) this season.

The Toyota Free State Cheetahs, coached by SA U20 assistant coach Pine Pienaar, notched up four victories and conceded four defeats this year.

In the other Vodacom Cup quarter-final of the weekend, the GWK Griquas host the Ford Pumas at GWK Park on Friday at 19h00. The team from Kimberley, four time Vodacom Cup champions, ended the season in second position on the North Section log – five points behind the MTN Golden Lions.

Vodacom Cup quarter-final fixtures:

Friday 29 April 2011

16h30  Pampas XV v Toyota Free State Cheetahs at Profert Olën Park, Potchefstroom

19h00  GWK Griquas v Ford Pumas at GWK Park, Kimberley

Saturday 30 April 2011

14h30  MTN Golden Lions v Vodacom Blue Bulls at Wits University, Johannesburg

16h20  DHL Western Province v Sharks XV at DHL Newlands, Cape Town

Vodacom Cup Leading Points’ Scorers (2011):

Vodacom Cup Previous Winners: