This weekend is crunch time for the two candidates still in the race for promotion to the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division, namely Eastern Province and Touch Down Griffons, who are both in action during this round.
With only matches between the local South African teams counting for barometer league points, EP currently sits atop this ladder with 25 points from six games. Their remaining matches are against the Zimbabwe Goshawks on Sunday in Port Elizabeth and then six days later against the Kenyan Simbas in Cape Town, which won’t count towards promotion.
The Down Touch Griffons’ match, and also their last clash against a fellow-SA side of the season, is on Saturday in Brakpan against the Valke. The permutations are straightforward – victory for the Northern Free Staters will see them clinch promotion, while EP must hope the Valke do them a huge favour by beating the visitors and prevent them from collecting a bonus-point.
The SWD Eagles and Black Lion get the action underway on Friday when they clash from 16h00 in George. The game at Outeniqua Park is followed by two match-ups on Saturday – the Valke host Down Touch Griffons at 15h00 in Brakpan, while the Kenyan Simbas and Leopards clash the same time in Nairobi, Kenya.
Sunday’s fixtures between Border and Boland in East London, and EP against the Zimbabwe Goshawks in Port Elizabeth, both start at 15h00 to round off the weekend’s important fixtures.
Carling Currie Cup First Division fixtures:
Friday, 3 June
16h00: SWD Eagles vs Black Lion – Outeniqua Park, George
Saturday, 4 June
15h00: Valke vs Down Touch Griffons – Bosman Stadium, Brakpan
15h00: Kenya Simbas vs Leopards – Nairobi, Kenya
Sunday, 5 June
15h00: Border Bulldogs vs Boland Kavaliers – Police Park, East London
15h30: Eastern Province vs Zimbabwe Goshawks – Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Nelson Mandela Bay
