Bulls and Cheetahs to play in Currie Cup 2009 Final
South African rugby fans were treated to 2 very close matches this past weekend. The result is that we’ll see a repeat of the 2005 and 2006 final. The Bulls will face the Cheetahs on their home ground, Loftus Versveld on the 31st of October in the 2009 Currie Cup Final. Both the teams will be out to perform at their best. The 2006 final between the Bulls and Cheetahs ended in a 28 all draw which meant that the 2 teams shared the trophy in that year. I remember watching that game in my local Pretoria pub and the difficulty I had explaining why the 2 teams had to share the 2006 Currie Cup to German & Belgian exchange students. They could not understand why.
This past weekend in Durban, the Sharks played against the Cheetahs in a 2009 Currie Cup Semi Final match. The Sharks lead by 15 points to 3 at half time. Sharks flyhalf Hernades kicked over a penalty early in the 2nd half putting the Sharks ahead by 18 points to 3. The Cheetahs scored 2 unanswered tries (1 by WP Nel in the 45th minute and 1 by Jacques-Louis Potgieter 14 minutes later) resulting in taking the lead in the match (20 – 18). The Sharks managed to get back into the match, kicking over another penalty putting them in the lead again (21 – 20). However, in the dying moments of the match, Jacques-Louis Potgieter kicked over a drop goal ensuring the Cheetahs passage to the 2009 Currie Cup Final. The Cheetahs won the game by 23 points to 21.
At Newlands in Cape Town, Western Province hosted a North / South derby against their age old rivals, the Bulls. 7 penalties by Bulls flyhalf Morne’ Steyn secured the Bulls passage to a home final at Loftus Versveld Stadium in 2 weeks time. Steyn scored all the points for the Bulls. The Bulls led 12 – 6 at half time. Western Province did make a comeback in the 2nd half, Gio Aplon scored the only try of the match for them. At one stage Western Province we’re leading by 16 points to 15, but the Bulls managed a comeback and holding on for the last 3 minutes for a victory. The Bulls narrowly won the game by 21 points to 19.
Only time will tell which team will be victorious at Loftus Versveld on the 31st of October, 2009 in the Currie Cup final. Being a Pretoria boytjie my money is on the Bulls (even though I don’t bet on sports). The Bulls are a hard team to beat on their home ground. Judging by the fighting spirit of both the Bulls and the Cheetahs displayed this past weekend, the final should be a very exciting display of rugby. Bulls fans have already started queing for tickets at the stadium last night. The Loftus ticket offices opened at 8 AM today. Tickets for the final should sell out as it promises to be a humdinger of a match. Hopefully there will be tickets for sale in Bloemfontein for Free State supporters, otherwise Loftus Versveld Stadium will be a sea of Bulls supporters on the 31st of October.
