The Airlink Pumas kick off this weekend’s fifth-round action of the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division when they host the high-flying Sanlam Boland Kavaliers in Nelspruit at 17:00 (SA Time) on Friday
The clash between the Airlink Pumas and Sanlam Boland Kavaliers at the Mbombela Stadium has all the hallmarks of a cracking game of rugby. The hosts have won two of their league fixtures to date, against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria (41-7) and Griquas in Kimberley (49-28), while suffering losses against the Lions in Nelspruit (in their last outing, 36-25) and the Cheetahs in Bloem (42-28).
The Kavaliers, on the other hand, are having a superb return to the Premier Division and currently sit second on the table on 16 league points, which is the same tally as first-placed Cheetahs. The Bolanders have only lost one encounter so far in the campaign, a 48-39 reverse away against Griquas.
All three of Boland’s wins were achieved in front of their passionate supporters on a Sunday in Wellington, so this encounter in Nelspruit with the Pumas will be an acid test for the team coached by Hawies Fourie.
Although the Pumas won two of their matches compared to Boland’s three, Jimmy Stonehouse’s outfit has scored a total of 21 tries to date – nou doubt boosted by their recent romp over the Bulls – compared to the Kavaliers’ 19.
Interestingly, the two teams have conceded the same number of points, namely 113, in their four league games thus far, while the Pumas have scored 150 points and Boland 133 over this period.
The Kavaliers come into this game with the better form guide, thanks to their two previous wins (last week over the Bulls and the week before against the Lions). The Pumas, though, will be determined to rectify matters for their one-point loss last week to the team from Johannesburg, which has seen them slip to fifth on the log.
Pumas points machine Danrich Visagie is leading the overall competition points tally on 50 points, and the kicker is deadly with the boot from anywhere in their opponent’s half, as evident by his competition-leading five penalty goals and 15 conversions.
Unfortunately for the Bolanders, their Blitzbok speedster Donavan Don, who is leading the try-scoring charts with seven five-pointers, has been ruled out of this encounter with an injury.
The Airlink Pumas made two changes to their squad that lost 35-36 to the Fidelity ADT Lions a week ago. Up front, Jeandre Leonard replaces JJ Scheepers, while Andrew Kota replaces Tino Swanepoel at the back.
Fullback James Tedder returns for the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers after missing out against the side from Pretoria because of a back injury. Donovan Don, the leading try scorer in the Carling Currie Cup with seven tries in four matches, misses out due to injury and is replaced by Marcqwien Titus on the right wing.
The rest of the backline has a now familiar look to it with the midfield pairing of Lunathi Nxele and David Brits and the halfback duo of the experienced Louis Schreuder and Ashlon Davids. Left wing Xavier Mitchell completes the backline.
Up front, Fourie has opted for a brand-new front row. Regular starters Wayrin Losper and Dayan van der Westhuizen are back in the number 1 and 3 jerseys, respectively, with Mthokozisi Gumede and Laurence Victor on the bench. HP van Schoor starts in the number two jersey with Llewellyn Claasen providing cover from the bench. Sidney Tobias has been rested.
Michael Benadie and Jurie van Vuuren reunite in the second row, whilst Khwezi Mafu is back in the starting line-up after a sterling performance off the bench against the Bulls. He swaps roles with Ludio Williams. Mafu teams up with Sibusiso Sangweni and captain Thurlow Marsh to form the rest of the loose trio.
Teams
Airlink Pumas: 15 Andrew Kota, 14 Stefan Coetzee, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Darren Adonis, 10 Danrich Visagie, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Willie Engelbrecht (c), 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Ntsika Fisanti, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 Jeandre Leonard, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Etienne Janke. Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Zuki Sali, 18 Dewald Maritz, 19 Hanno Theunissen, 20 Andre Fouche, 21 Russwill Fredericks, 22 Tiaan Pretorius, 23 Dalvon Blood
Sanlam Boland Cavaliers: 15 James Tedder, 14 Marcqwien Titus, 13 David Brits, 12 Lunathi Nxele, 11 Xavier Mitchell, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Thurlow Marsh (c), 7 Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Khwezi Mafu, 5 Jurie van Vuuren, 4 Michael Benadie, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 HP van Schoor, 1 Wayrin Losper. Replacements: 16 Llewellyn Classen, 17 Mthokozisi Gumede, 18 Laurence Victor, 19 Ameer Hendricks, 20 Ludio Williams, 21 Chriswill September, 22 Juan Mostert, 23 Erik Lambrecht.