Steve
10-11-2008, 07:45 PM
ABSA Currie Cup Premier Div | Fixtures: October 2008 25th: The Sharks v Vodacom Blue Bulls at The Absa Stadium Durban at 16:30hrs
Teams to be announced later...
SA Referees expressed their best wishes to Jonathan Kaplan for the final and to Mark Lawrence (Sharks v Xerox Lions) and Craig Joubert (Vodacom Blue Bulls v Vodacom Free State Cheetahs) for the semi finals.
It was also announced that Shaun Veldsman has been appointed as the television match official for the final
Experience a Bulls trump card
by Morris Gilbert | 15 October 2008 (00:44)
http://images.supersport.co.za/vanHeerdenWikus080712HandoffGLbg.jpgWikus van Heerden © Gallo Images
Applicable experience could be one of the Bulls’ best trump cards in the Currie Cup final against the Sharks in Durban next week.
Check out the video clips from this past weekend’s Currie Cup match between Blue Bulls and Cheetahs!! Log onto TopFan.com (http://www.topfan.com/) and share the fun!.
If coach Frans Ludeke makes only the one expected change – Akona Ndungane in for John Mametsa on the right wing – to the team that beat the Cheetahs in their semifinal, fullback Zane Kirchner and flank Deon Stegmann will be the only Cup final debutants in their starting lineup.
Flank Wikus van Heerden and prop Gurthrö Steenkamp have not played in a final for the Bulls, but have done so for other provinces.
Van Heerden played for the Lions at Ellis Park in 2002, when the Bulls won 31-7. Steenkamp was a substitute for the Cheetahs in the 2004 final, which the Bulls won 42-33.
Bulls captain Victor Matfield played in his first Currie Cup final in 2002. Now he, scrumhalf Fourie du Preez and flyhalf Morné Steyn are preparing to play in their fourth final.
The Bulls won two of the three finals in which Matfield has played (in 2002 and 2004). They lost in his other final, in 2005.
Du Preez was in the winning team in 2003 and 2004 and on the losing side in 2005.
Steyn’s first Cup final was in 2004, when he came on as a substitute. He was at flyhalf in 2005 when the Cheetahs beat the Bulls, and also came on as a substitute in 2006. If Ndungane fails a fitness test, Mametsa will bring some Cup final experience to the team. He was in the squad in 2003, when the Bulls beat the Sharks 40-18.
More of the same for Sharks
by Liam Del Carme | 15 October 2008 (00:34)
http://images.supersport.co.za/BashfordGrant081015StandingGbg.jpgGrant Bashford © Gallo Images
The Sharks have no plans to fix something that’s not broken. What has worked for them since the start of this year’s Currie Cup rugby competition will have to do in next week’s final.
Check out the video clips from this past weekend’s Currie Cup match between Blue Bulls and Cheetahs!! Log onto TopFan.com (http://www.topfan.com/) and share the fun!.
That is the approach the Durban team have adopted for the battle against the Blue Bulls.
“We’re going to try to keep things the same,” assistant Sharks coach Grant Bashford said on Tuesday.
“In terms of mental preparation we also do everything the same way. But we have not discussed specifics for the final. We may make adjustments next week,” he said.
The Sharks are clearly comfortable with whatever enabled them to finish on top of the log after the league phase and with whatever helped them win their semifinal.
“The players don’t like changes. It’s about routine; keeping things the same,” Bashford explained.
Before the semifinal against the Lions, the Sharks called on three victorious captains from the 90s – Craig Jamieson, Wahl Bartmann and Gary Teichmann – to help motivate the players. A similar ploy is not being planned for the final.
THREE CAPTAINS
“It was a very special occasion to get the three captains together. We had similar events earlier in the season.
“I must add that we prepared very hard for the semifinal. We approached it as if it were a final because what’s the use if you don’t give everything and then you don’t get into the final?” The Sharks will take a break on Friday after getting through a tough week. Their workload will also be eased next week. “We’ll use next week to work out finer details for the final,” Bashford said. “We’ll decide then exactly how to approach the game.” The Sharks are not saying, but they are unlikely to make more than a slight change or two to the team that eliminated the Lions.
Teams to be announced later...
SA Referees expressed their best wishes to Jonathan Kaplan for the final and to Mark Lawrence (Sharks v Xerox Lions) and Craig Joubert (Vodacom Blue Bulls v Vodacom Free State Cheetahs) for the semi finals.
It was also announced that Shaun Veldsman has been appointed as the television match official for the final
Experience a Bulls trump card
by Morris Gilbert | 15 October 2008 (00:44)
http://images.supersport.co.za/vanHeerdenWikus080712HandoffGLbg.jpgWikus van Heerden © Gallo Images
Applicable experience could be one of the Bulls’ best trump cards in the Currie Cup final against the Sharks in Durban next week.
Check out the video clips from this past weekend’s Currie Cup match between Blue Bulls and Cheetahs!! Log onto TopFan.com (http://www.topfan.com/) and share the fun!.
If coach Frans Ludeke makes only the one expected change – Akona Ndungane in for John Mametsa on the right wing – to the team that beat the Cheetahs in their semifinal, fullback Zane Kirchner and flank Deon Stegmann will be the only Cup final debutants in their starting lineup.
Flank Wikus van Heerden and prop Gurthrö Steenkamp have not played in a final for the Bulls, but have done so for other provinces.
Van Heerden played for the Lions at Ellis Park in 2002, when the Bulls won 31-7. Steenkamp was a substitute for the Cheetahs in the 2004 final, which the Bulls won 42-33.
Bulls captain Victor Matfield played in his first Currie Cup final in 2002. Now he, scrumhalf Fourie du Preez and flyhalf Morné Steyn are preparing to play in their fourth final.
The Bulls won two of the three finals in which Matfield has played (in 2002 and 2004). They lost in his other final, in 2005.
Du Preez was in the winning team in 2003 and 2004 and on the losing side in 2005.
Steyn’s first Cup final was in 2004, when he came on as a substitute. He was at flyhalf in 2005 when the Cheetahs beat the Bulls, and also came on as a substitute in 2006. If Ndungane fails a fitness test, Mametsa will bring some Cup final experience to the team. He was in the squad in 2003, when the Bulls beat the Sharks 40-18.
More of the same for Sharks
by Liam Del Carme | 15 October 2008 (00:34)
http://images.supersport.co.za/BashfordGrant081015StandingGbg.jpgGrant Bashford © Gallo Images
The Sharks have no plans to fix something that’s not broken. What has worked for them since the start of this year’s Currie Cup rugby competition will have to do in next week’s final.
Check out the video clips from this past weekend’s Currie Cup match between Blue Bulls and Cheetahs!! Log onto TopFan.com (http://www.topfan.com/) and share the fun!.
That is the approach the Durban team have adopted for the battle against the Blue Bulls.
“We’re going to try to keep things the same,” assistant Sharks coach Grant Bashford said on Tuesday.
“In terms of mental preparation we also do everything the same way. But we have not discussed specifics for the final. We may make adjustments next week,” he said.
The Sharks are clearly comfortable with whatever enabled them to finish on top of the log after the league phase and with whatever helped them win their semifinal.
“The players don’t like changes. It’s about routine; keeping things the same,” Bashford explained.
Before the semifinal against the Lions, the Sharks called on three victorious captains from the 90s – Craig Jamieson, Wahl Bartmann and Gary Teichmann – to help motivate the players. A similar ploy is not being planned for the final.
THREE CAPTAINS
“It was a very special occasion to get the three captains together. We had similar events earlier in the season.
“I must add that we prepared very hard for the semifinal. We approached it as if it were a final because what’s the use if you don’t give everything and then you don’t get into the final?” The Sharks will take a break on Friday after getting through a tough week. Their workload will also be eased next week. “We’ll use next week to work out finer details for the final,” Bashford said. “We’ll decide then exactly how to approach the game.” The Sharks are not saying, but they are unlikely to make more than a slight change or two to the team that eliminated the Lions.