Surprises in store
The results of the first weekend's games show that this will be a very competitive competition and that there will be many surprises during its course. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the smaller unions wins it. For that to happen they would need to get past the Sharks who, in this early stage, look like serious contenders. They managed to demolish a very young Bulls side because they have some old hands like Frederick Michalak, Stefan Terblanche, Keegan Daniel and Ross Skeate in the team. There are also a couple of up-and-coming youngsters that give the team a well-rounded look.
One good thing is that we supporters will be hearing many new names during this Currie Cup campaign. The fact that so many Springboks are injured and their places have now been filled by younger, less experienced players has also opened up more opportunity for young players to stake their claim. I have been very excited for a long time about the youngsters coming through the ranks at Western Province and this will be the year in which many of them will make their Currie Cup debut.
The draw against Griquas at Newlands was very disappointing, but I believe WP will have a good season. The WP academy in Stellenbosch has been running for a few years now and the results are starting to show. In the last two seasons our Under-19 and Under-21 teams have excelled and either won their respective competitions or played in the finals. The future really looks great for WP rugby, but we will have to look after our talent. I was shocked to hear that Johan Sadie, who played some magic rugby in his first Super Rugby season, is on his way to the Bulls. This guy will be a Springbok soon and it is a pity that his talents will be lost to the old foe. Having said that, I think that WP and the Stormers need to invest heavily in a big, strong tight five. With Rassie Erasmus at the helm I am sure that this weakness has already been identified and that they will be searching throughout the world for big strong props and a hooker.
Talking about strong props and a tight five: What happened to Australia when they played Samoa this weekend? Usually the Samoans are relatively weak in their tight five and, as a result, they struggle in the set phases of the game. This wasn't the case this weekend and they comprehensively outplayed the Australians. This is a very embarrassing loss, especially after President John O'Neil of Australia criticised P Divvy for picking an "under strength" team for the Tri-Nations. I bet he is eating humble pie this morning and even more so if the Boks pull off a win against the Wallabies this weekend. Don't be surprised if the young Springboks put in one hell of a display on Saturday. The problem is that the Wallabies will have learnt a hard lesson and they will be out for revenge. Let's hope our young team, under the strong leadership of John Smit, can poke another dagger into the hearts of the Australian supporters. And the president, of course!
