Vodacom Cup Preview – Round Five
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The current North Section log leaders, GWK Griquas, will try to inflict a first defeat of the 2011 Vodacom Cup on DHL Western Province when these teams collide at DHL Newlands in round five action on Saturday at 12h40.
The Kimberley team conceded a narrow 32-29 home loss against the Pampas XV last Friday. However, GWK Griquas have scored the most tries (28) this season after beating the SWD Eagles (33-0), Border Bulldogs (84-9) and the Boland Cavaliers (42-25). That is an average of seven five-pointers per match for the team from the Northern Cape.
Along with their opponents this weekend, DHL Western Province, and the EP Kings, GWK Griquas also boast the best defensive record in the 2011 Vodacom Cup. These teams have each conceded only five tries in their previous four matches this year.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls, still winless in 2011, will field a new halfback combination for their clash against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs at Shimla Park on Friday at 18h00. Scrumhalf Ruan Snyman will partner flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff, while Juandre Kruger will continue to captain the defending Vodacom Cup champions.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls are currently in sixth position on the North Section log with two points. They have already lost to DHL Western Province (32-29), Pampas XV (27-22), Boland Cavaliers (20-17) and The Sharks XV (30-19) and will need to win in Bloemfontein if they are to keep their slim play-off chances alive.
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs, after victories against the Welwitschias (29-13), Platinum Leopards (38-24) and Valke (55-19), are in fourth position on the South Section log with 16 points. Only an inferior points‘ differencial seperate the Bloemfontein team from DHL Western Province, who are in third place following their victories over the Vodacom Blue Bulls (32-29), Welwitschias (56-9) and the Valke (86-14). The Cape team and the Golden Lions played out an 18-18 draw at DHL Newlands during round one’s action of the 2011 Vodacom Cup.
Meanwhile, local schools in the George region are set to participate in the next round of Community Rugby Matches at Outeniqua Park when the SWD Eagles host the Welwitschias on Friday at 19h10.
SARU and competition sponsor, Vodacom, together with the development officers of the South Western Districts Rugby Union, will be presenting its fourth basic rugby training sessions for schools at these games. Aspiring rugby players will be put through their paces at Outeniqua Park in George on Friday and will participate in a basic rugby obstacle course where they will be able to apply their passing, catching, kicking as well as side-stepping skills.
These sessions will continue during the 2011 Vodacom Cup competition, where 140 schools representing several provincial unions will participate in these programmes which promises to provide rugby education and skills to aspiring rugby players.
In the other Vodacom Cup matches of the weekend, the EP Kings host the Golden Lions at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday at 19h00, while the Boland Cavaliers are at home Wellington for their clash against the Ford Pumas at 16h30, also on Friday.
The undefeated Pampas XVs take on the Platinum Leopards at Profert Olën Park on Saturday 18h00, while the Sharks XV host the Tasol Solar Griffons at Mick Kelly Park in Empangeni at 15h30. The Valke are in East London on Saturday for their clash against the Border Bulldogs at 19h00.
Vodacom Cup Round Five – Fixtures:
Friday 25 March 2011
16h30 Boland Cavaliers v Ford Pumas at Boland Stadium, Wellington
18h00 Toyota Free State Cheetahs v Vodacom Blue Bulls, Shimla Park, Bloemfontein
19h00 EP Kings v Golden Lions at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
19h00 Border Bulldogs v Valke at BCM Stadium, East London
19h10 SWD Eagles v Welwitschias at Outeniqua Park, George
Saturday 26 March 2011
12h40 DHL Western Province v GWK Griquas at DHL Newlands, Cape Town
15h30 Sharks XV v Tasol Solar Griffons at Mick Kelly Park, Empangeni
18h00 Pampas XV v Platinum Leopards at Profert Olën Park, Potchefstroom
Vodacom Cup Logs (as at Thursday 24 March 2011):
| North Section | |||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | B | Pts |
| GWK Griquas | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 188 | 66 | 122 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| Ford Pumas | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 152 | 98 | 54 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 14 |
| Golden Lions | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 82 | 58 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 12 |
| Platinum Leopards | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 123 | 98 | 25 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 11 |
| Tasol Solar Griffons | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 123 | 150 | -27 | 15 | 21 | 5 | 9 |
| Vodacom Blue Bulls | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 66 | 93 | -27 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Valke | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 59 | 259 | -200 | 9 | 40 | 1 | 1 |
| Welwitschias | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 39 | 157 | -118 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| South Section | |||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | B | Pts |
| Eastern Province Kings | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 152 | 45 | 107 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 18 |
| Pampas XV | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 89 | 37 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 17 |
| DHL Western Province | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 176 | 49 | 127 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 16 |
| Toyota FS Cheetahs | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 157 | 92 | 65 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 16 |
| Sharks XV | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 137 | 73 | 64 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 15 |
| Boland Cavaliers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 93 | 131 | -38 | 12 | 18 | 2 | 6 |
| SWD Eagles | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 153 | -78 | 11 | 22 | 2 | 6 |
| Border Bulldogs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 63 | 200 | -137 | 7 | 29 | 1 | 5 |
Leading Points’ Scorers (as at Thursday 24 March 2011):
| Player | Team | T | C | P | D | Pts |
| Lionel Cronje | DHL Western Province | 3 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 58 |
| Tiaan van Wyk | Tasol Solar Griffons | 0 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 53 |
| André Pretorius | Golden Lions | 0 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 42 |
| Nicolas Sanchez | Pampas XV | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 40 |
| Coenie van Wyk | Ford Pumas | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 38 |
| Louis Strydom | Toyota FS Cheetahs | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 37 |
| Kobus de Kock | Sharks XV | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| Ricardo Croy | Ford Pumas | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 31 |
| Earl Rose | GWK Griquas | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 30 |
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