The third and final fixture of the weekend features the Sigma Lions at home against the Cell C Sharks in Johannesburg, where the action is set to start at 17h00.
It was a youthful Sigma Lions team that suffered back-to-back losses to DHL Western Province (36-48) in the opening round before suffering a 50-9 defeat to the Airlink Pumas in their second match and with just one log point, prop up the Currie Cup table in the seventh position.
The Cell C Sharks are still unbeaten after a close win (24-23) over Griquas followed by a 35-20 win over DHL Western Province.
The Cell C Sharks, who easily won the corresponding fixture 56-14 last year courtesy of eight converted tries, will be the hot favourites for today's match.
Although everybody is waiting for the home team's extremely talented squad to "click" one have to admit that the quality of the visitor's squad will make it extremely difficult for the host to surprise us all.
Following a break of almost a month since their first home match (they had a bye in the previous round), the Sigma Lions has named a reshuffled side for their home encounter with
Sigma Lions head coach, Mziwakhe Nkosi has named an exciting match-23.
Their team has been bolstered by URC players and they will not want to slip up for a third consecutive game and face the prospect of playing catch-up over the remainder of the tournament.
Nkosi believes his troops will be eager to have a crack at the Cell C Sharks this weekend a month after their opening home game against the Airlink Pumas in Johannesburg.
“We’ve had four weeks to reflect and work on quite a few aspects of our game which we felt needed attention.”
“As management, we believe the hard work the guys put in over the past four weeks will reap rewards as we resume our campaign,” he concluded.
The starting XV boasts three players fresh from Vodacom United Rugby Championship duty, namely prop forward, JP Smith and both the Tshituka brothers.
The backline compilation promises to deliver a few exciting runs with Jurich Claasens and Vaughen Isaacs tasked to marshal the attack for the Lions.
After two wins and in particular, a really commanding victory over the DHL Western Province a fortnight back, the Cell C Sharks is building a good head of steam at this early stage of the competition and will hope to continue the momentum this week.
For head coach Etienne Fynn, the recipe for success is fairly simple.
“As always, you’re looking for improvement in the areas that you lacked a little in the previous game and building on those areas where you were strong,” he explains.
“It’s like a trifle, if you put too many ingredients in it, it becomes a mess, so for us, it’s about keeping it as simple as possible and getting better and better in the execution of what you know works.”
The Cell C Sharks will look to continue the momentum they have been building and this means executing and executing well.
The opportunities afforded to eighthman Sikhumbuzo Notshe, flyhalf Curwin Bosch and centre Marius Louw at the URC level has opened the door for the likes of Thembelani Bholi and Murray Koster to get starts this weekend.
The opportunities for players to move up to the URC squad also has a positive knock-on effect for promising youngsters to get a chance at Currie Cup level, with young Bradley Davids, the 2021 SA Under 20 player, getting a call-up into the senior ranks.
Weather: 21° Celsius, partly cloudy with light rain and a moderate westerly wind expected.
Prediction: Cell C Sharks by 13.
Sigma Lions: 15. Quan Horn 14. Boldwin Hansen 13. James Mollentze 12.Matt More 11. Divan Rossouw 10. Vaughen Isaacs 9. Jurich Claasens 8. Emmanuel Tshituka 7. Vincent Tshituka 6. Sibusiso Sangweni 5. Simon Dinisio 4. PJ Steenkamp 3. Asenathi Ntlabakanye (c) 2. Dameon Venter. 1. JP Smith. Replacements: 16. Morne Brandon 17. Banele Mthenjane 18. Chergin Fillies 19. Lunga Ncube 20. MJ Pelser 21. Ginter Smuts 22.Fred Zeilinga 23. Tyler Bocks.
Cell C Sharks: 15. Yaw Penxe, 14. Werner Kok, 13. Jeremy Ward, 12. Murray Koster, 11. Marnus Potgieter, 10. Boeta Chamberlain, 9. Cameron Wright, 8. Celimpilo Gumede, 7. Thembelani Bholi, 6. James Venter (Captain), 5. Reniel Hugo, 4. Le Roux Roets, 3. Khutha Mchunu, 2. Fez Mbatha, 1. Khwezi Mona. Replacements: 16. Dan Jooste, 17. Dian Bleuler, 18. Wiehahn Herbst, 19. Emile van Heerden, 20. OJ Noa, 21. Sanele Nohamba, 22. Inny Radebe, 23. Bradley Davids