The weekend starts off with a top vs. bottom fixture in Cape Town. The Griquas travel south to take on WP in an attempt to move up the log. Last week, the Griquas lost to the Sharks at home (for the first time since '09) and will be looking to change things around. Full-back PJ Vermeulen is out with a broken ankle. Both Schoeman flankers are looking decent though and a lot will be expected from them in the battle against the loose forwards of the Cape province. WP beat the Blue Bulls at Loftus by a solid 11 points, but ended the game with 14 men after Michael Rhodes got a red card for stamping.
The first encounter in Kimberley ended in a 19-20 victory for Western Province.
On Saturday, the Free State Cheetahs will take on the Natal Sharks in Durban. The no's 2 and 3 on the log will need a win to stay in the hunt of WP and grab homefield advantage in the play-offs. The Sharks beat Griquas in a tight encounter (25-24) and have only lost to those same Griquas team at home so far this season. Can they win 2 in a row? The Cheetahs get Piet van Zyl back from Bok duty while Marcell Coetzee is released to play for the Sharks team. The addition of Coetzee will see Botes being rested after playing as a captain and doing great. Fans are not happy with Daniel getting back the captaincy but it's his job to prove the fans wrong. Van Zyl competes with Sarel Pretorius for the starting berth at 9.
The first encounter in Bloemfontein ended in a 15-18 victory for Natal Sharks.
The weekend ends with the Transkei derby. Both teams lost last week and the Bulls need a win to stay ahead of the Griquas and get into the top4. In 4th spot, however, are the Golden Lions who need to win to stay in 4th place. This game, with only 3 rounds to go after this, may decide the fate of the Bulls for the season. The Bulls can use Bjorn Basson, who was released by the Boks and can cause havoc on the day. The Golden Lions are the highest scoring team in the league so far, with 26 tries scored for a total of 208 points. Most of them though, were thanks to a imploding Bulls team at Loftus in round 3.
The first encounter in Pretoria ended in a whopping 23-62 victory for Golden Lions.
Round 7 Fixtures
Newlands, Cape Town (Friday, 17:10 GMT)
Newlands, Cape Town (Friday, 17:10 GMT)
Western Province:
15. Gio Aplon, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Cheslin Kolbe, 10. Kurt Coleman, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Rynhardt Elstadt, 6. Rohan Kitshoff, 5. De Kock Steenkamp ©, 4. Taz Fuzani, 3. Pat Cilliers, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16. Michael Willemse, 17. Brok Harris, 18. Gerbrandt Grobler, 19 Rayno Smid, 20. Josh Katzen, 21. Louis Schreuder, 22. Demetri Catrakilis
GWK Griquas:
15. Gouws Prinsloo, 14. Nico Scheepers, 13. Jean Stemmet, 12. Howard Mnisi, 11. Rocco Jansen, 10. Francois Brummer, 9. Jacques Coetzee, 8. Leon Karemaker, 7. Burger Schoeman, 6. Marnus Schoeman, 5. Jaco Nepgen, 4. Rory Arnold, 3. Nick Schonert, 2. Ryno Barnes ©, 1. Steph Roberts
Replacements: 16. Matt Dobson, 17. Brummer Badenhorst, 18. Patrick O'Brien, 19. RJ Liebenberg, 20. Marnus Hugo, 21. Du Randt Gerber, 22. Richard Lawson
Kings Park, Durban (Saturday, 13:00 GMT)
Natal Sharks:
15. SP Marais, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Tim Whitehead, 12. Heimar Williams, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Fred Zeilinga, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Keegan Daniel ©, 7. Tera Mtembu, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4. Peet Marais, 3. Wiehahn Herbst, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Dale Chadwick
Replacements: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Rayno Gerber, 18. Edwin Hewitt, 19. Brynard Stander, 20. Cobus Reinach, 21. Butch James, 22. Jaco van Tonder
Free State Cheetahs:
15. Hennie Daniller, 14. Riaan Smit, 13. Johann Sadie, 12. Robert Ebersohn, 11. Raymond Rhule, 10. Elgar Watts, 9. Sarel Pretorius, 8. Davon Raubenheimer, 7. Lappies Labuschagne, 6. Boom Prinsloo ©, 5. Waltie Vermeulen, 4. Lood de Jager, 3. Rossouw de Klerk, 2. Hercu Liebenberg, 1. Trevor Nyakane
Replacements: 16. AJ Le Roux, 17. Schalk van der Merwe, 18. Teboho Mohoje, 19. Freddy Ngoza, 20. Piet van Zyl, 21. Ryno Benjamin, 22. Willie du Plessis
Ellis Park, Johannesburg (Saturday, 15:05 GMT)
Golden Lions:
15. Marnitz Boshoff, 14. Andries Coetzee, 13. Deon Helberg, 12. Dylan Des Fountain, 11. Anthony Volmink, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Ross Cronje, 8. Derick Minnie ©, 7. Warwick Tecklenberg, 6. Jaco Kriel, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Stephan Greeff, 4. Ruan Dreyer, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. CJ van der Linde
Replacements: 16. Willie Wepener, 17. Jacques van Rooyen, 18. Chris van Zyl, 19. Lambert Groenewald, 20. Guy Cronje, 21. Lionel Cronje, 22. Ruhan Nel
Blue Bulls:
15. Clayton Blommetjies, 14. Akona Ndungane, 13. Ulrich Beyers, 12. Francois Venter, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Tony Jantjies, 9. Rudy Paige, 8. Jono Ross ©, 7. Jacques du Plessis, 6. Wiaan Liebenberg, 5. Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4. Paul Willemse, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Bandise Maku, 1. Morne Mellett
Replacements: 16. Callie Visagie, 17. Frik Kirsten, 18. Grant Hattingh, 19. Jacques Engelbrecht, 20. Lohan Jacobs, 21. William Small-Smith, 22. Jurgen Visser