The two leading teams in the Currie Cup Premier Division after three rounds of action, the Toyota Cheetahs and Airlink Pumas, go to head-to-head this weekend when the fourth round of the competition takes place on Friday and Saturday.
Kicking off at 17h05 in Bloemfontein, the match between the only two unbeaten teams in the Premier Division is bound to attract huge interest.
Three games, three bonus point wins – that the story so far for Hawies Fourie and his Toyota Cheetahs team as they lead the standings on 15 league points. That is one point more than Jimmy Stonehouse’s Airlink Pumas, who have also managed to win three out of three.
The Mpumalanga side have beaten the Free Staters three times and lost twice in their last five meetings, which includes last season’s pulsating semi-final in Bloemfontein, which the Airlink Pumas won 38-35 on their way to a historic first Currie Cup title.
In fact, the visitors also won last season’s regular league fixture against the Free Staters in Bloemfontein (29-28). The Toyota Cheetahs’ previous win over the pink jerseys was 28-17 win at the Mbombela Stadium in the fourth round last season.
Jimmy Stonehouse, Airlink Pumas head coach said that it is an opportunity for the Toyota Cheetahs to test their depth while “The players running out in Bloemfontein would like to show they deserve more regular starts in the Currie Cup.”
“We can’t afford to focus on which players other teams select,” the Pumas coach said, adding: “We look at improving ourselves in every outing and take some valuable points home.”
Teams
Airlink Pumas: 15. Devon Williams, 14. Etienne Taljaard, 13. Diego Appollis, 12. Wian van Niekerk, 11. Lundi Msenge, 10. Tinus de Beer, 9. Chriswill September, 8. Kwanda Dimaza, 7. Francois Kleinhans, 6. Andre Fouche, 5. Shane Kirkwood (c), 4. Deon Slabbert, 3. Ignatius Prinsloo, 2. Eduan Swart, 1. Corne Fourie. Replacements: 16. Llewellyn Classen, 17. Etienne Janeke, 18. Juice Gumede, 19. Malembe Mpofu, 20. Ruwald van der Merwe, 21. Giovan Snyman, 22. Brandon Thomson, 23. Stefan Coetzee.
Toyota Cheetahs: 15. Andell Loubser, 14. Siba Xamlashe, 13. Marcell Muller, 12. Evardi Boshoff, 11. Xolisa Guma, 10. George Lourens, 9. Branden de Kock, 8. Andisa Ntsila, 7. George Cronje (c), 6. Roelof Smit, 5. Jean Droste, 4. Ruan Janse van Rensburg, 3. Laurence Victor, 2. Janus Venter, 1. Wayrin Losper. Replacements: 16. Jacques Goosen, 17. Kevin Stevens, 18. Boeta Loubser, 19. Johnre Stopforth, 20. Paul Schoeman, 21. Dian Koen, 22. Zinedine Booysen, 23. Thoubaan Gabriels.
