ABSA Currie Cup Semi Final: Sharks v Bulls

Match is shown on FoxSport from 8:25 Perth Time

Expect a hum dinger of a match as the Bulls travel down to the Shark Tank to face the Sharks in a semi final match that will have us all watering at the mouth. This is the fight for a spot in the coveted Currie Cup Final to be played in two weeks time.

The Sharks have called back their big guns after being in the position to give them some time off. The Springboks have also had a game to get back into the swing of things. Expect the du Plessis brothers to want to make up for the poor game they had against WP last weekend, and we can expect much the same from most of the players in the team.

The Bulls come into this match as nation wide favourites, with everybody including Jake White tipping them as winners. They have a magnificent team filled with match winners, all of whom have done this semi final winning thing a few times.

It is going to be a hard battle up front with both teams wanting to gain the upper hand early in the game. Let us just hope the referee does not have to dig into his pocket at any time during the game. May the best team win!

The teams:

Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Stefan Terblanché (captain), 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Jacques Botes, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 André Pretorius, 22 Odwa Ndungane.

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Danie Rossouw, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Derick Kuün, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling.

Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Pierre Spies, 20 Ruan Snyman, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Deon Stegmann.

Date: Saturday, October 16
Venue: Absa Stadium, Durban
Kick-off: 14.30 (12.30 GMT)
Expected weather: Showery, mostly cloudy and cool. High of 20°C, low of 16°C. Chance of precipitation 58 percent.
Referee: Marius Jonker
Assistant referees: Jonathan Kaplan, Christie du Preez
TMO: Johann Meuwesen