There are no foregone conclusions about tomorrow’s semifinals

The popular prediction of a Sharks vs Blue Bulls final is the only way you would go if you were betting your house on the results of tomorrow’s Currie Cup semifinals.

But you have to go back only 12 months to know that league positions, home-ground advantage and popular sentiment go out the window when it’s playoff time in the grand old lady of competitions.

The Bulls’ opponents, the Free State Cheetahs, have won the last three Currie Cups, and two of those semifinals were away from home. They also won the 2005 final at Loftus.

The Lions, who meet the Sharks at King’s Park in tomorrow’s second semi, triumphed at the same venue and at the same stage last season. In theory then, any result is possible.

But taking sentiment out of the equation for the moment, besides home-ground advantage, the Sharks and the Bulls also have more fire power than their opponents as individuals and as collective units.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has the luxury of choosing World Cup-winning Springbok No8 Danie Rossouw at lock for tomorrow’s big clash, while the Sharks are able to leave World Cup-winning skipper John Smit on the bench.

If that doesn’t suggest two teams with depth, nothing does.

The Sharks also bring impressive form into the semifinals. Nine consecutive wins, only two defeats in the entire campaign and victories over fellow semifinalists the Bulls, Cheetahs and Lions in the last month point to a side comfortable with itself.

In 14 league outings the Sharks racked up 450 points and conceded 243, while the Bulls topped the points-scoring stats with 482 and were best in defence, conceding 235 points.

The Bulls lost one more game than the Sharks in league play, but they still look solid and will remember with fondness their 23-5 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein just three weeks ago.

It was a result that highlighted the slight difference in class between the teams, although the Bulls were restricted to only three points in the second half then.

It’s a statistic that Cheetahs captain Juan Smith is clinging to as he rallies his men for a massive encounter in the Bullring.

Smith told a Bloemfontein newspaper: “They have the names and the reputation, but we want to defend and play the way we did in the second 40 minutes of that game.

“We have to use our chances, defend well and stick to our pattern because good structure wins matches.”

Lions coach Eugene Eloff hasn’t veered from his belief that to upset the Sharks he needs to drag them into a close-quarters battle, which will curb the effectiveness of their dangerous runners.

Another thing that will be at the back of the Sharks’ minds is the knowledge that it’s been 12 years since they won a major trophy.

Craig Ray

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