Can the Airlink Pumas break Suzuki Griquas' incredible unbeaten run in the SA Cup when the two top teams on the log – and last year’s finalists – clash in Nelspruit on Friday evening, and who between the Toyota Cheetahs and Valke will prevail on Saturday in Bloemfontein?
These questions – and a few others – will be answered in an intriguing seventh round of the competition this weekend, when the action returns after a bye over the Easter Weekend, with the race for the four qualifying places for the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division going down to the wire.
The round kicks off on Friday afternoon in East London, where the Border Bulldogs host Eastern Province from 16h00 at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in a big Eastern Cape Derby, and is followed by the big clash in Nelspruit between the Airlink Pumas and defending champions Suzuki Griquas at the Mbombela Stadium, starting at 19h00.
Three games are scheduled for Saturday, with the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers and Leopards involved in the early kick-off at 14h00 in Wellington, followed by the two remaining games, both of which start at 15h00 in the Free State.
The Toyota Cheetahs entertain the Valke at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, while the NovaVit Griffons welcome the Phangela SWD Eagles to the Down Touch Investments Stadium in Welkom.
The Pumas and Griquas have swept all opponents aside so far this season and both are unbeaten with a perfect 30 log points after six rounds, with the team from Kimberley first courtesy of a better points differential, by only two points, followed by the Mpumalanga outfit.
Suzuki Griquas are also defending an unbeaten run built since the inception of the tournament last year. They beat their Nelspruit rivals by 31-26 in the league phase last year and then went on to lift the inaugural SA Cup title with a 46-24 victory over the Airlink Pumas in a pulsating final in Kimberley.
These two rivals are most likely to finish in the top two positions, which will secure passage to the semifinals as well as qualification to the prestigious Carling Currie Cup Premier Division.
Only points’ difference separates the two at the top of the standings and the winner of Friday evening’s crunch encounter in Nelspruit will have a firm grip on the No 1 ranking and the inside line for home ground advantage in the final.
BORDER TAKE ON EP
In Friday’s earlier match in East London, the Bulldogs will be hoping to gain their first victory when they tackle provincial neighbours EP, who have won two games to date and came close in some of their other league encounters, while Border have struggled to assert themselves although they have played good rugby in patches.
EP won last year’s corresponding fixture comfortably at the Wolfson Stadium, however, one can expect a huge arm wrestle in this Eastern Cape Derby as the Bulldogs go in search of their first win of the season.
The Kavaliers will fancy their chances in Saturday's early fixture against the Leopards in Wellington as they look to step up their quest for a top-four finish and Currie Cup qualification.
With the race to the top four heating up, the Bolanders – currently in fourth spot on the log – cannot afford a slip-up against the outfit from Potchefstroom as they still have their destiny in their own hands.
The Valke – also on 20 points like the Kavaliers and the Griffons – are just two points below the Toyota Cheetahs, who they face on Saturday in Bloemfontein in another important clash in the race for Premier Division qualification.
Both sides secured good wins two weeks ago before the Easter break – with the Bloemfontein outfit easily outplaying the Eagles while the Valke had to grind for a hard-fought victory over the Griffons.
Last year, the Free Staters clinched a comprehensive victory when the two sides met on the East Rand, but current form suggests this will be a much closer affair.
Two weeks ago, the NovaVit Griffons came unstuck against the Valke in Kempton Park and they face another tricky encounter on Saturday against the Eagles in Welkom. The Northern Free Staters have the better form in their favour – they’ve lost only two compared to the Eagles’ five games – and they should be able to make home advantage count in this meeting.
In Andrew Kota, the side from Welkom have the joint second-highest points scorer to date with 67 points to his name from six games and the Eagles will have to keep him in check if they want to spring a surprise.
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