The Sharks face the Griquas in a crucial Currie Cup clash on Saturday, but John Plumtree will be sweating over the fitness of some key Springbok players.
While there is every chance that Springbok captain John Smit might be fit to face Griquas, it looks unlikely that Bok lock Johann Muller will join him in the squad.
“John is getting better, he’s had a bruised nerve in his neck and had some strength loss down one arm, but it’s coming back and I’m hoping he might be ready for this week,” the Sharks coach told a media briefing.
“However, Johann is getting frustrated with his arm [fractured back in Week One].
“It just doesn’t seem to be coming right, every time he takes a knock, it flares up.”
The Sharks need to take a full-house of five points from their final league match, in Kimberley, if they hope to keep alive their dream of a home Final.
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Potchefstroom’s main road through town on the way to Cape Town could aptly be renamed Luke Watson Drive after the Western Province captain set up his team’s 37-3 Currie Cup victory over the Leopards on Friday night. Watson scored two vital tries in the second half, tailing behind the Western Province drives, and set up a third in similar fashion for centre Juan de Jongh. Province scored five tries, three as a result of their forward drives and two by their quick backs Joe Pietersen and Gio Aplon, but the Leopards deserve much more credit than their single penalty goal might indicate.
Griquas came from behind in a hard-fought match on Saturday to beat the Lions 36-31 and keep their Currie Cup playoff hopes alive with flyhalf Naas Olivier contributing 26 points in a faultless display of goal kicking. It was a tough encounter on the hard field of Hoërskool Diamantveld where the match had to be moved because of the GWK Stadium being used for a soccer fixture. Although the commitment of the two sides cannot be faulted, too many handling mistakes and some poor options distracted from making it an outstanding match.
The Blue Bulls ran the Boland Kavaliers off their feet on Saturday, beating the home team 72-16 after leading 22-16 at halftime. The Bulls, who took total control in the second half, scored 10 tries to one and got their bonus point try in the 49th minute when replacement flanker Derick Kuun dotted down his first of three tries. With a well-deserved victory and an easy five points the Bulls are firmly in contention for a place in the play-offs. The Bulls scored 50 unanswered points in the last 40 minutes and destroyed the Boland defence.
The Sharks returned to the top of the Currie Cup log when they beat the Free State Cheetahs 24-13 in a fast-moving match in Durban on Saturday, also bringing an end to the Cheetahs’ six-match winning streak.
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