Must Win: Willie Engelbrecht and his Province must level up.
Currie Cup fans are in for a real treat this weekend with a triple header today, before Western Province take on the Griffons in Sunday’s final round three match in Welkom at 3pm.
The undefeated Lions get the action underway when they face the fourth-placed Griquas at Ellis Park at 3pm today.
The Blue Bulls and defending champions the Cheetahs then put their respective unbeaten starts on the line in a 5pm clash at Loftus Versfeld, while the Sharks will be looking for a first win of the season when they host the fifth-placed Pumas in Durban at 7pm to conclude tonight’s action.
The Kaapse focus, though, will be on Western Province, who are in search of a first win of the Currie Cup season when they face last-placed Gurshwin Wehr’s Griffons in the battle of the wooden spooners at Welkom’s North West Stadium.
After the first two rounds, Province captain Willie Engelbrecht and his manskappe have tasted two bitter defeats to the Bulls (30-25) and the Cheetahs (37-17).
Our squad spent some time on Mandela Day making sarmies with Blue Ribbon for those in need. #wpjoulekkerding #dhldelivers #MandelaDay pic.twitter.com/CwKoAc9FWm
— WP RUGBY (@WP_RUGBY) July 18, 2024
And it is the defeat to the Cheetahs – WP’s fifth in a row in against the Free Staters – that has stung the most, with Engelbrecht pointing the finger at himself and some fellow teammates for getting klapped hard in Bloem.
The 31-year-old flanker, who turns 32 next week, feels they did not execute the instructions of coach John Dobson in Bloem as they frustratingly conceded 27 second-half points after a 10-all half-time stand-off.
Moeg of going down, Engelbrecht says of the Cheetahs defeat: “It was small things, individual errors.
“Certain players, myself included, need to go back and look at themselves. We will take some time out for introspection and focus on doing our individual jobs well…
“[Initially] we did well to stick to the plan in the first half because we knew it was going to be fast and tough in the first 20 minutes.
“But we gave away possession unnecessarily at lineout time.
“It was very frustrating.”
Coach Dobson, meanwhile, named the team to play the Griffons today.
5⃣ players will earn their 🔵⚪️ stripes on debut for DHL WP in Welkom on Sunday.
— WP RUGBY (@WP_RUGBY) July 19, 2024
📢 Team announcement https://t.co/BxhHINx6fr#GRIvWP #wpjoulekkerding #dhldelivers #WhereChampionsRise pic.twitter.com/tsPniGCRe5
TODAY’S CURRIE CUP FIXTURES
Lions v Griquas (3pm), Bulls v Cheetahs (5pm), Sharks v Pumas (7pm)
Grab your match-day snacks and set those reminders for round three of the #CarlingCurrieCup 🍿⏰
— The Carling Currie Cup (@TheCurrieCup) July 19, 2024
Watch all the tries and tackles LIVE on @SuperSportTV 📺#WhereChampionsRise pic.twitter.com/MHmFPCY3lX
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