All eyes will be on Pretoria tonight when the first Carling Currie Cup semi-finals play out at Loftus Versfeld in what promises to be a high-octane match with no room for error.
Tonight at 19h00 in Pretoria, a North-South derby between the defending champions and the men from Cape Town, who snuck into the top four last weekend courtesy of a brilliant victory in Durban last Saturday.
The smart money will be on the Vodacom Bulls, who boast a brilliant record at Loftus Versfeld since Jake White took over as Director of Rugby last year. The men from Pretoria have only lost once at their home fortress, but that was with a weakened team against John Dobson’s DHL Western Province in the opening round.
The Vodacom Bulls underlined their power in the return game, when they recorded a convincing 34-13 victory over DHL Western Province at Newlands in Cape Town just over a month ago, outscoring their hosts on the day by four tries to one.
The last time these two giants of the local game met in a Carling Currie Cup semi-final was in 2018 when the Vodacom Bulls travelled to Cape Town only to be denied by DHL Western Province winger SP Marais, who scored 30 points as he steered the Capetonians to a 35-32 victory in a titanic 100-minute thriller.
Two years before that, DHL Western Province faced their arch enemies in a top-four clash in Pretoria, with the Vodacom Bulls eking out a 36-30 win to progress to the Carling Currie Cup final.
Marcell Coetzee will return to lead the Vodacom Bulls. The Vodacom Bulls captain last featured in the side’s 56-33 win over the Tafel Lager Griquas in the round stages of the competition.
Coetzee’s inclusion, as he replaces WJ Steenkamp, is one of four changes to the starting XV that beat the Toyota Cheetahs in the final round match last weekend. These changes include the rotation of Schalk Erasmus, who will wear the No.2 jersey this week, and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who will provide hooker cover from the bench.
In the backline, Harold Vorster makes a return and partners up with Lionel Mapoe for the midfield pairing. Cornal Hendricks, who played at centre last week, shifts to wing where he replaces Kurt-Lee Arendse. At scrumhalf, Zak Burger will earn a starting berth in the semi-final to form what has been a familiar halfback pairing with Johan Goosen.
Vodacom Bulls director of rugby, Jake White, said ahead of the semi-final encounter: “The knockout stages of the Carling Currie Cup are always a notch or two higher in intensity and competitiveness. That will certainly be the case against a determined DHL Western Province side this week.
“This week our group of players have been working hard to ensure that we are prepared physically and mentally for what lies ahead. Thankfully, we have several players in this group who have been at this stage of the competition before. We will rely on each of them to put their bodies on the line this week against quality opposition.”
Hooker Scarra Ntubeni will make his return from injury for DHL Western Province. Ntubeni comes in as one of two changes to the starting team for the play-off match.
Both changes are in the front row, with tighthead Sazi Sandi joining Ntubeni up front and Neethling Fouche set to make an impact in the second half from the replacements bench.
Also on the extended replacements bench are hooker Andre-Hugo Venter and fullback Warrick Gelant.
DHL Western Province Head Coach John Dobson said that it is fantastic to have some continuity in selection ahead of the semifinal.
“We were pleased with the way the team stood up last week and we will need to show the same pride in the jersey up in Pretoria on Friday, so we are very happy to be going in with most of the same combinations.
“We know that we will have to be accurate in all areas of our game and every player in our matchday squad is ready to give everything they have to get the result we need and book a place in the final,” he said.
Prediction: The Vodacom Bulls must be the favourites, however, if there is a team that could upset their march to the championship it must be DHL Western Province. A nail-biter until the last seconds.
Vodacom Bulls: 15. David Kriel, 14. Cornal Hendricks, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Harold Vorster, 11. Madosh Tambwe, 10. Johan Goosen, 9. Zak Burger, 8. Elrigh Louw, 7. Arno Botha, 6. Marcell Coetzee (c), 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Janko Swanepoel, 3. Mornay Smith, 2. Schalk Erasmus, 1. Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Jacques van Rooyen, 19. Jacques du Plessis, 20. WJ Steenkamp, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Stravino Jacobs, 24. Joe van Zyl, 25. Reinhardt Ludwig, 26. Jaco Labuschagne, 27. Marco Jansen van Vuren, 28. Stedman Gans.
DHL Western Province: 15 Sergeal Petersen, 14 Ruhan Nel, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Johan du Toit, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Leon Lyons. Replacements (from): 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Rikus Pretorius, 23 Tristan Leyds, 24 Warrick Gelant.