Both teams are determined to secure a victory and climb the steps of the Currie Cup log. The Griquas are currently sitting in 4th place with 11 points, while the Bulls are in 7th place with only six points.
THE WINDHOEK Draught Griquas and the Vodacom Blue Bulls are set to clash in what promises to be an epic encounter on Saturday afternoon at 3pm at Griquas’ Windhoek Draught Park fortress in Kimberley.
Both teams are determined to secure a victory and climb the steps of the Currie Cup log. The Griquas are currently sitting in 4th place with 11 points, while the Bulls are in 7th place with only six points.
The Griquas will have the advantage of playing on their home ground, which will give them a boost of confidence knowing that they have the support of their loyal fans. They have been in good form this season and are looking to continue their winning streak.
Their massive defence in last week’s match against the Lions should have alerted the Bulls, because they proved that they can defend really well while also getting the ball out to their wings, who are blindingly fast this season.
🏈 Windhoek Draught Griquas
vs. Vodacom Bulls
📌 Windhoek Draught Park
📅 13 May. 2023 – 15:00
🎟 Tickets- https://t.co/YXVZqjvvru
➡️ 10:00 SPU Ladies
vs. Prieska Ladies
12:00 SPU vs. Black Warriors
🍺 👇 pic.twitter.com/KMQWixOAhE— Griquas Rugby (@GriquasRugby) May 9, 2023
Griquas would, however, not have forgotten the 40-3, six-try rugby lesson they received when visiting Loftus Versfeld last month. In that game, the Bulls bullied the Griquas who seemed to have no answer to the Pretoria side’s firepower.
Although Griquas dominated the territory battle 58% to the Bulls 42%, and just edged their hosts in the possession stakes 51% to 49%, the Bulls who had been on an extended losing streak up to that point, broke the shackles and obliterated the Griquas.
🔵TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT !
Not available due to injury:
Andrew Beerwinkel
Malcolm Jaer
Alex-Zander du Plessis pic.twitter.com/UhpYvlOu1Y— Griquas Rugby (@GriquasRugby) May 11, 2023
So far from the Bulls being intimidated, they will come into the game fired up, even after coming back from a disappointing United Rugby Championship campaign and a run of disappointing Currie Cup results.
The Bulls Currie Cup side will be looking to pick themselves up again and upset the home team with their strong forward pack that is known for their physicality and ability to win turnovers.
At this stage of the competition, both teams have a lot to play for, and it promises to be a tightly contested match.
Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, Griquas flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela said that being 10 weeks into the Currie Cup, they are starting to focus on all the finer details now, and taking every opportunity they can with both hands because every point is going to count from here on out.
Griquas assistant coach, Barend Pieterse said that their game against the Lions last week saw the Griquas play their best rugby of the season in the first 30 minutes of the game, and the way the team defended was a dog fight to the end. He said the players are taking a lot of heart from how they played that last bit of rugby.
“In all honesty, we have not played to our full potential in any of the games during this Currie Cup season so far, and the first 30 minutes of the game between the Lions showed what we are capable of,” Pieterse said. “We have lots of improvements we can make to better the team. The last time we played against the Bulls, they didn’t give us a chance to get into our game plan and put us under pressure physically, but we have cards that we haven’t shown yet this season,” he added.
The assistant coach said that decision-making is something they are always paying attention to, and it was vitally important for them to make better decisions if they want to go further in this competition.
Saturday’s match is sure to be a thriller, and fans can expect to see some high-quality rugby from both teams. The game kicks off at 3pm, and though fans can tune in to watch the action live on SuperSport, it would be far, far better to get down to the Windhoek Draught Park stands and let the home boys know that they have an enthusiastic and vocal support structure, while as for those Blue Bulls, they need to know that this is Griqua territory.
Griquas (15-1): Ashlon Davids, Rosko Specman, Jay-Cee Nel, Tertius Kruger, Lubabalo Dobela, Johan Mulder, Carl Els, Hanru Sirgel (captain), Thabo Ndimande, Dylan Sjoblom, Deril Pretorius, Janu Botha, Janco Uys, Kudzwai Dube. Bench (16-23): Gustav du Rand, Eddie Davids, Cebo Dlamini, Johan Retief, Stephan Smit, Raegan Oranje, George Whitehead, Sango Xamlashe
