Round 3 of the 2019 Currie Cup will get underway on Friday the 26th of July with a clash between the Pumas and Bulls.
Despite only being two rounds in, this season’s Currie Cup has been full of surprises with major upsets occurring over the past fortnight. These shock results have seen the overall log take a very unexpected shape with the Griquas sitting on the top of the standings.
The men from Griqualand will need to put in a masterful display if they are to maintain their unbeaten run as they face a solid looking Cheetahs outfit this Saturday.
Prior to that fixture, the winless Pumas and Bulls square off in a Friday evening game, while the Round 3 action comes to a close down in Cape Town where Western Province will be looking to bounce back from their loss to the Sharks when they take on the youthful Lions.
Pumas v Blue Bulls
Friday 26 July
Mbombela Stadium
19:15
To Win (80 Mins)
Pumas 16/10
Draw 25/1
Bulls 5/10
Handicap
Pumas
Bulls
*Handicap to be added on release
We kick proceedings off with the competition’s two winless sides going head-to-head in Nelspruit. The hosts followed up their one-point opening round defeat to the Lions with another solid effort in a losing cause as they went down 37-29 to the Griquas. The game was a lot tighter than the scorelines suggests with the two teams having been level (29-29) with ten minutes of the fixture remaining.
The Bulls woeful start to their domestic campaign continued last weekend as they were hammered 27-43 by the Cheetahs. The results, coupled with their Round 1 20-5 defeat to Western Province, has left the Bulls rooted to the foot of the log with only a solitary point to their name.
Verdict: Bulls 5/10
The return of Bulls skipper Burger Odendall should help the Bulls greatly. The men from Pretoria have lacked a solid midfield presence with Sevens specialist Dylan Sage struggling on both attack and defense. I can see the return of their captain seeing an upswing in fortunes for the Bulls.
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Cheetahs XV v Griquas
Saturday 27 July
Toyota Stadium
15:00
To Win (80 Mins)
Cheetahs 7/20
Draw 28/1
Griquas 22/10
Handicap
Cheetahs
Griquas
*Handicap to be added on release
The Griquas will be looking to make it three wins on the trot when they take on a Cheetahs side who had little trouble putting away the Bulls last weekend.
The Free Stater’s 27-43 victory was one to savor as every single one of their players put in a solid shift out at Loftus. Their forward pack must come in for special praise here as they dominated the setpiece winning numerous penalties at scrum time. They could well be without one of their front row powerhouses as Ox Nche was forced off the field with what looked to be a hamstring injury.
This will be the Griquas second away game of the season with their first away date seeing them beat the Sharks 13-37. This game is likely to be a much tougher affair than their open or last weekend’s clash against the Pumas as the Cheetahs look a far more solid unit than the Griquas previous two opponents.
Verdict: Griquas (+)
I think the Griquas may well run the Cheetahs close here. The men from Griqualand know how to score tries and this contest is likely to be an end to end affair with both teams running in five-pointers at will.
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Western Province v Golden Lions
Saturday 27 July
DHL Newlands
17:15
To Win (80 Mins)
Western Province 1/8
Draw 30/1
Lions 5/1
Handicap
Western Province
Lions
*Handicap to be added on release
Western Province were brought crashing back down to Earth last with their 27-32 defeat to the Sharks going a long way in undoing the Champions-elect tag that they were given by many pundits after their opening round 20-5 victory over the Bulls. They have been handed a rather nice game to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat as the Lions do not look o be the same force they were a few year’s ago.
While the Lions did get their campaign off to a winning start, they looked defensively porous against the Pumas in the opening round and were lucky to scrape that one-point win. They won’t be gifted as many tries this time around as Western Province will be looking to sure up their defence after conceding a number of soft tries against the Sharks last Saturday.
Verdict: Western Province
Province were well bellow par last weekend and I suspect that coach John Dobson will have been in their ear after that five-point defeat o their coastal rivals. I’m expecting a far more polished display from last season’s runners-up this coming Saturday.
