Currie Cup Team of the Week – Round 6 & 7

A double dose of action gave us plenty to ponder when it came to selecting our Currie Cup Team of the Week, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

After Round Five was blacked out by Covid and civil unrest, two rounds were crammed into a single week. There were big wins for Griquas and the Cheetahs on Wednesday, the Peacock Blues lashing the Lions 41-31 in Johannesburg and the Free Staters walloping Western Province 38-21 in Bloemfontein. The other scheduled Round Six clash between the Sharks and the Bulls was cancelled due to the anarchy in KwaZulu-Natal.

Round Seven kicked off with the Sharks smashing the Cheetahs 47-30 in Bloemfontein on Saturday, while Sunday saw Province bounce back with a 37-23 win over the Pumas in Nelspruit and the Bulls romping to a 40-21 win over the Lions in Pretoria.

Despite their mixed results, the Cheetahs lead the way with five representatives in our team. A trio of stars from both the Bulls and Lions cracked the nod, a pair of Province players made the cut, as did lone rangers from the Sharks and Griquas.

15: Clayton Blommetjies (Cheetahs)

“Flower Power” was in full effect in Bloemfontein. At his counter-attacking best, Blommetjies cut Province to pieces and set up a cracking try for captain Ruan Pienaar. Showed his value on defence as well, winning a turnover in his 22 in both halves. Solid against the Sharks, setting up a try for Duncan Saal with a perfectly weighted grubber.

14: Rosko Specman (Cheetahs)

Hit the ground running back in Bloemfontein after a stint with the Stormers and time away with the Springboks. Treated fans to pure “Specmagic”, slicing and dicing the Sharks as only he can to score a breath-taking brace (time-stamped below). Played on the left wing but we simply had to include both him and try-scoring machine Eduan Keyter in our team.

13: David Brits (Cheetahs)

Brilliant on all fronts in the Cheetahs’ big midweek win. Sparked the Free Staters’ opening and bonus-point tries with a brilliant long pass and clever kick respectively, scored one of his own and saved one with a great tackle on Marcel Theunissen. Created the opening try against the Sharks as well.

12: Harold Vorster (Bulls)

Siya Masuku had a good showing against the Sharks, which included a good break that laid the groundwork for the Cheetahs’ opening try. However, Vorster was fantastic against his former team, his leg-pumping rumble over the line summing up a powerful performance that saw him rack up a team-high 67 metres in 11 carries.

11: Eduan Keyter (Griquas)

The Griquas flyer had a field day at Ellis Park, scoring four tries in a Man of the Match performance. The first two touch downs, when the Lions were at full complement prior to EW Viljoen’s red card, were excellent, and he made a late try-saving tackle.

10: Curwin Bosch (Sharks)

Needed a big game after bombing against the British & Irish Lions and delivered in spades. Scored 22 points, created two of his team’s five tries and gained exceptional ground with his line kicks in a complete Man of a Match performance. Tim Swiel was in top form in Nelspruit, while Johan Goosen had a strong debut for the Bulls.

9: Ruan Pienaar (Cheetahs)

Scored 21 points in the win over Province through a try, four penalty goals and two conversions. More than that, though, the veteran scrumhalf marshalled his side superbly. Morne van den Berg, Grant Williams, Paul de Wet and Zak Burger all pushed Pienaar hard.

8: Evan Roos (Western Province) – Player of the Week

With Province dominating territory and possession but unable to breach the Cheetahs’ tryline, it was red-hot Roos who found a way, first by running a good support line off Theunissen and then busting through tackles for his brace. Continued rumbling against the Pumas, crossing the whitewash yet again and making an unrivalled 73 metres in a Man of the Match performance.

Would you like to see the Western Province No 8 included in a wider Springbok training squad in the coming months?

— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag)

7: Vincent Tshituka (Lions)

A charging, roaring Lion in the Jukskei Derby. Scored his team’s opening try and played a key role in a Try of the Tournament contender (time-stamped below), surging upfield, pulling two defenders and flinging a fantastic offload to Courtnall Skosan to run in.

6: Nama Xaba (Western Province)

Barnstorming back-to-back performances. Excellent output at home, making 11 carries and winning three turnovers, and a runaway freight train in Nelspruit, where a huge hand-off that sent Erich Cronje flying summed up a dominant display by the Province flank, which included a team-high 14 tackles.

5: Ruan Nortje (Bulls)

A terror wherever the action went. In his primary duty, he secured four takes and snatched one of the Lions’ lineout balls, while he emptied the tank in open play. Led the defensive effort with an unmatched 11 tackles and a trifecta of turnovers.

4: Rynier Bernardo (Cheetahs)

Ruben Schoeman, Le Roux Roets and Ernst van Rhyn were considered, but Bernardo got the nod for his blinder against the Sharks. The tall timber’s towering display included a match-high 12 hits, a turnover on the ground and supreme lineout jumping that significantly disrupted the Durbanites.

3: Carlu Sadie (Lions)

Smashed Griquas as an impact player off the bench, powering his way to a brace of scrum penalties, and produced a strong all-round effort back in the No.3 jersey against the Bulls, driving the ball up on eight occasions and making six tackles.

2: Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls)

Red-hot with his red scrum cap. Smart and skillful as he popped an offload to Burger to score instead of trying to outsprint the defence, powered over for a try of his own, seized a breakdown penalty in the 52nd minute and was strong in the set pieces to earn the Man of the Match award.

1: Sti Sithole (Lions)

Unstoppable against Griquas, both in general play and at set-piece. Broke a tackle to score his first Currie Cup try and won two massive scrum penalties straight after half-time. Grabbed another five-pointer off the bench against the Bulls.