The 2018 Currie Cup season will get underway on Friday the 17th of August, with the second fixture of the day seeing the Cheetahs take on the Bulls.
With the Super Rugby season now a thing of the past, the attention of South African rugby fans will now turn to the Rugby Championship and the Currie Cup. While the former tournament is sure to hog the limelight, the Currie Cup will still offer up some great rugby viewing.
South Africa’s oldest domestic competition gets underway this Friday evening with the first fixture seeing the Pumas take on the Griquas. The headline clash will follow that with the Cheetahs and Bulls set to do battle in Bloemfontein.
Free State Cheetahs v Blue Bulls
Friday 17 August
Toyota Stadium
19:00
To Win (80 Mins)
Cheetahs 13/10
Draw 25/1
Bulls 5/4
Handicap
Cheetahs (-3.5) 9/10
Bulls (+3.5) 9/10
Cheetahs
With two weeks left until the kick-off of the 2018/19 PRO14 season, the Cheetahs will be looking to rack up as many points as they can before their first stringers embark on their second trek North. As such, they will be looking for the full five-point haul when they take on the Bulls this Friday evening.
The hosts may have a solid squad for the opening two rounds of the campaign but they have lost a few of their seasoned pros with centre Francois Venter having moved to England and the controversial Johan Goosen returning to France to ply his trade with Montpellier.
The Free Staters enjoyed a solid if not spectacular start to the year as they made the semi-finals of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge.
Bulls
Once again, the Bulls find themselves headed into a Currie Cup campaign with a lot of uncertainty surrounding the union. Super Rugby head coach John Mitchell has all but left the Pretoria based side, with former Tuks coach Pote Human set to take over the reins for the Currie Cup.
Whilst the union is facing yet another mini-crisis, there is no doubting the quality of this Bulls side. They have a very handy backline which features wingers Travis Ismael and Jamba Ulengo as well as electric utility back, Divan Rossouw. They also have a solid pack who are capable of decimating opposition sides if they get their tales up.
Verdict: Cheetahs 13/10
This should be an absolute humdinger of a game with both sides set to run the ball at all costs. I suspect the Bulls will come up short against a full-strength Cheetahs outfit, however.
