You know the drill people – Clear the diary, make sure the ladies and little ones are safely picnicking on a far away field or wine farm, remind the mates to get to your place at least 20 minutes BEFORE kickoff, print that predictions spreadsheet, and pay your DSTV subscription!

And then lets all hope that there is no extra time in the Lions vs Sharks game, because that gap between games is just absolutely perfect for a braai. Light the fire at half time, sit back and enjoy the second half, then ease out after the game to a sensational bed of red coals …. Perfect

In a crazy twist of fate, it was the Lions, Sharks, Cheetahs and Blue Bulls who also made up the four semifinalists last season. The Lions won away (19-12) to the Sharks and the Cheetahs won at home (11-6) against the Bulls.

But I see the complete opposite happening this year. The Bulls will be far too good for the Cheetahs, who seem to have imploded at a really bad time in the season, and while the Lions might provide resistance in the first half, that Sharks side, with four Boks on the bench, will rule the roost in Durban. Making for an absolute cracker final on the 25^th …

But first the semis. I cannot wait for the front row battles. In the first game we have the true pleasure of eyeballing the two top looseheads in the country, Beast Mtwarira and Heinke van der Merwe, in action. How the respective tightheads handle these two monsters will go a long way to deciding the outcome of the match, hence me being so confident of a Sharks win. Ross Geldenhuys was exposed badly in the previous encounter between these two sides, and I do not see anything changing on that front. Jannie du Plessis will certainly have his work cut out for him, but he is in a different league to Geldenhuys …

And in the later game, I see it unfolding slightly differently. Contrary to public belief, the Bulls actually do not have a great front row. Ryno Gerber, at best, is a journeyman tighthead prop who often goes to ground or worms his way inwards in order not to go backwards. It is actually amazing that he is the best the Bulls can produce. And on the loosehead side, strangely, they have gone for Gurthro Steenkamp ahead of Jaco Engels, who is the better scrummer. Kobus Calldo and Wian du Preez will eat these guys for breakfast, which traditionally would decide the outcome of the match. But such is the quality of the 5 men behind the front row in the Bulls side, that they get to buck this tradition each week! Amazing actually, and if you do not believe me – take a closer look this weekend …

Semifinal fixtures:

Saturday, October 11:

Sharks v Xerox Lions - The Absa Stadium, Durban
Kick-off: 2.30pm, Live on SuperSport 1/MNet

Vodacom Blue Bulls v Vodacom Free State Cheetahs - Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 5pm, Live on SuperSport 1/MNet

Weekend teams:

Sharks v Lions:

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche; 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen; 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Ruan Pienaar; 8 Ryan Kankowski,
7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (captain), 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Albert van den Berg/Nikolai Blignaut, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Bradley Barritt, 22 Waylon Murray.

Lions: 15 Earl Rose; 14 Louis Ludik, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Trompie Nontshinga; 10 Louis Strydom, 9 Jano Vermaak; 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Justin Wheeler, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (captain), 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Lawrence Sephaka, 18 Jannes Labuschagne, 19 Derick Minnie. 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Michael Killian, 22 Jaco van Schalkwyk

Blue Bulls v Cheetahs:

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 John Mametsa, 13 Marius Delport, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Wikus van Heerden, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Rayno Gerber, 2 Derick Kuun, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Juandre Kruger, 19 Dewald Potgieter, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Tiger Mangweni.

Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 JW Jonker, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Juan Smith (captain), 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Barend Pieterse, 4 David de Villiers, 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Nico Breedt, 19 Hendro Scholtz, 20 Jandré Blom, 21 Hennie Daniller, 22 Kabamba Floors

Facts of the week, courtesy of SA Rugby:

Currie Cup semifinals were played for the first time in 1954 when the then Northern Transvaal beat the then Free State 9-8 in Bloemfontein. Semifinals having taken place intermittently since then; with breaks in the 1960’s, the 70’s, the 80’s and the 90’s. The last time a semifinal did not take place in the 21st century was in 2003 – a Rugby World Cup year.

Of the four teams in the semifinals this weekend, the Bulls and the Cheetahs have won the Absa Currie Cup six times between them since the 2002 season. The Cheetahs, of course, are the defending champions, with the Bulls sharing the title with the Free Staters in 2006. The Sharks last won the Currie Cup in 1996, with the Lions triumphing the last time in 1999 when they beat the Sharks in Durban in the Final

This proposed fixture list for next year's Super14 makes for a pretty interesting read ...

Things to make one think:

• Semi finalists are to be determined by playoffs between the top six sides and not the top four as has been the case until now . The new proposed play-off structure will see the third to sixth teams on the log playing to determine which two will go in to the semi-finals against the top two log finishers,
• As it stands most matches on the draft fixture list are scheduled for Friday
• The Waratahs will have to make two trips to South Africa - a first for any side from Australia or New Zealand since the inception of the competition in 1996!
• It has not been decided under which rules the tournament will be played. South Africa will of course be strongly favouring the international ELVs in order to be prepared for the British and Irish Lions tour just after the Super 14.
• The Stormers that get the short end of the stick regarding crossing the Tasman. They play Crusaders in New Zealand, head to Australia for matches against the Waratahs and Brumbies, before another trans-Tasman trip to play the Hurricanes and Highlanders in New Zealand.
• Sharks and Bulls are set for a re-enactment of their epic Super 14 final last year in round 1
• The Cheetahs are the first South African side to play overseas - They meet the Force on February 20

All of the above to be reviewed and revised when the Sanzar committee meets in Sydney on October 15 to discuss the competition.

Round 1 (Feb 6):

Blues v Crusaders, Auckland
Cheetahs v Stormers, Bloemfontein
Sharks v Bulls, Durban
Reds v Hurricanes, Brisbane
Chiefs v Brumbies, Hamilton
Lions v Waratahs, Johannesburg
Force v Highlanders, Perth

Round 2 (Feb 13):

Bulls v Reds, Pretoria
Stormers v Sharks, Cape Town
Lions v Cheetahs, Johannesburg
Hurricanes v Waratahs, Wellington
Highlanders v Brumbies, Dunedin
Force v Blues, Perth
Crusaders v Chiefs, Christchurch

Round 3 (Feb 20):

Stormers v Reds, Cape Town
Sharks v Lions, Durban
Brumbies v Crusaders, Canberra
Bulls v Blues, Pretoria
Force v Cheetahs, Perth
Waratahs v Chiefs, Sydney
Hurricanes v Highlanders, Wellington

Round 4 (Feb 27):

Stormers v Blues, Cape Town
Lions v Bulls, Johannesburg
Waratahs v Highlanders, Sydney
Chiefs v Sharks, Hamilton
Reds v Cheetahs, Brisbane
Crusaders v Hurricanes, Christchurch
Brumbies v Force, Canberra

Round 5:

Bulls v Stormers, Pretoria
Waratahs v Reds, Sydney
Blues v Sharks, Auckland
Highlanders v Crusaders, Dunedin
Chiefs v Force, Hamilton
Hurricanes v Cheetahs, Wellington

Round 6:

Brumbies v Waratahs, Canberra
Stormers v Lions, Cape Town
Redsv  Sharks, Brisbane
Highlanders v Chiefs, Dunedin
Blues v Cheetahs, Auckland
Crusaders v Force, Christchurch

Round 7:

Lions v Brumbies, Johannesburg
Waratahs v Crusaders, Sydney
Chiefs v Blues, Hamilton
Hurricanes v Bulls, Wellington
Highlanders v Cheetahs, Invercargill
Force v Sharks, Perth

Round 8:

Lions v Hurricanes, Johannesburg
Sharks v Brumbies, Durban
Reds v Chiefs, Brisbane
Crusaders v Stormers, Christchurch
Highlanders v Bulls, Dunedin
Blues v Waratahs, Auckland

Round 9:

Sharks v Hurricanes, Durban
Cheetahs v Brumbies, Bloemfontein
Waratahs v Stormers, Sydney
Crusaders v Bulls, Christchurch
Force v Reds, Perth
Chiefs v Lions, Hamilton

Round 10:

Cheetahs v Sharks, Bloemfontein
Waratahs v Bulls, Sydney
Blues v Lions, Auckland
Force v Hurricanes, Perth
Brumbies v Stormers, Canberra
Highlanders v Reds, Dunedin

Round 11:

Sharks v Crusaders, Durban
Reds v Lions, Brisbane
Brumbies v Bulls, Canberra
Hurricanes v Stormers, Palmerston North
Cheetahs v Chiefs, Bloemfontein
Blues v Highlanders, Auckland
Waratahs v Force, Sydney

Round 12:

Cheetahs v Crusaders, Bloemfontein
Bulls v Chiefs, Pretoria
Force v Lions, Perth
Blues v Reds, Auckland
Highlanders v Stormers, Dunedin
Hurricanes v Brumbies, Wellington

Round 13 (May 1):

Sharks v Highlanders, Durban
Lions v Crusaders, Johannesburg
Cheetahs v Waratahs, Kimberley
Hurricanes v Blues, Wellington
Reds v Brumbies, Brisbane
Stormers v Chiefs, Cape Town
Bulls v Force, Pretoria

Round 14 (May 8):

Bulls v Cheetahs, Pretoria
Brumbies v Blues, Canberra
Crusaders v Reds, Christchurch
Sharks v Waratahs, Durban
Stormers v Force, Cape Town
Chiefs v Hurricanes, Hamilton
Lions v Highlanders, Johannesburg

*To be followed by a Six team playoff to determine the semi finalists

**Matches not yet official and therefore subject to change

So we all know the deal – Province have to beat the Lions by 19 points and prevent them from getting a bonus point in order to sneak into the final four. It’s the only game worth watching on the weekend with the other 3 teams that make up the “Big 5” playing the 3 teams that make up the numbers in the Currie Cup. Snore …

If you are like our columnist, JJ Harmse, and believe WP do not deserve a spot in the semis, then I think you are probably safe. There has been a lot of talk about this game, and with Jean de Villiers, Adriaan Fondse, and Dronkie Januarie back in the mix, WP will be a very different side at home to the one that hardly turned up in Wellington last weekend. But with Jacque Fourie back in their midfield, Jano Vermaak playing like a man possessed, and scrumming sensation, Heinke van der Merwe, doing his best to maul recent Bok, Brian Mujati, I reckon the Lions will have enough firepower to probably win the game, but if not, at least not lose by 19 points.

That’s if Earl Rose does not play like last week, though! My word, but that was a shocker, and one has to presume that coach Eloff has had strong words re thinking before putting boot to ball! The Lions are also short a tighthead, as was made so painfully visible by the Beast last weekend, but Van der Merwe is strong enough to cover both sides of the scrum, especially given that Wikus Blaauw is no Beast Mtwarira – yet!

Not sure if I am going to go with the Lions to win in my SuperBru predictions yet, but I would be pretty damn amazed if they were to go down by 19 points!

And against the Valke, hooker Derick Kuun, lock Victor Matfield, No.8 Pierre Spies, scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, flyhalf Morne Steyn, winger Bryan Habana and centre Wynand Olivier will all take a complete break this weekend, with a host of fringe players getting an opportunity to make their mark.

Coach Frans Ludeke, had this to say: “The Bulls would like to honour Peter de Villiers’s request to give the Springboks a break during the Absa Currie Cup”

Do me a favour, Frans … This is the same guy that put Matfield and Spies on against Boland when they were 60 points up!!! Where was your allegiance to the national coach, then?

It would be a great weekend to be at Newlands, but I accepted an invite to a birthday braai out in the winelands ages ago. And given that my host is one of the biggest WP supporters in the history of the game, the big screen will be out, as will the several bottles of excellent chilled crispy white. All I need to do now, is not sip too heavily during the afternoon … Ah heck, is that not why they invented PVR’s …

Some salient Currie Cup facts, then …

Weekend fixtures:

Friday, October 3:

Vodacom Blue Bulls v Valke
Kick-off: 7.10pm, Live on SuperSport 1/CSN

Saturday, October 4:

Vodacom Free State Cheetahs v Boland Cavaliers
Kick-off: 3pm, Live on SuperSport 6

Sharks v Wildeklawer Griquas
Kick-off: 3pm, Live on SuperSport 1/Mnet

Vodacom Western Province v Xerox Lions
Kick-off: 5.05pm, Live on SuperSport 1/Mnet

Absa Currie Cup log:

Sharks 52
Vodacom Blue Bulls 49
Xerox Lions 41
Vodacom Free State Cheetahs 37
Vodacom WP 36
Wildeklawer Griquas 19
Boland Cavaliers 13
Valke 13

Weekend teams:

Vodacom Blue Bulls v Valke:

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Tiger Mangweni, 13 Stephan Dippenaar, 12 Wayne Julies, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Burton Francis, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Dewald Potgieter, 7 Pedrie Wannenburg, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp (captain), 4 Juandre Kruger, 3 Ruan Vermeulen, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Jaco Engels.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Fudge Mabeta, 19 Jacques Burger, 20 JP Joubert, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Stefan Watermeyer.

Valke: 15 Jeffrey Perkins 14 Frank Wagenstrom, 13 Johan Jackson, 12 Franco Booysen, 11 Poerie van Rooyen, 10 Hanno Coetzee (captain), 9 Gerrie Odendaal, 8 Sean Plaatjies, 7 Thabo Mamojele, 6 Gert Lubbe, 5 Nico Luus, 4 Wouter Moore, 3 Dewald Coetzee, 2 Jody Jeneker, 1 Zane Killian.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Gavin Whittingham, 18 Dupi du Preez, 19 Reg Muller, 20 Freddie van Zyl, 21 Daan-Roux van Coller, 22 Dewald Pretorius.

Vodacom Free State Cheetahs v Boland Cavaliers:

Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 Eddie Fredericks, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Duanne Vermeulen, 7 Juan Smith (captain), 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Barend Pieterse, 4 David de Villiers, 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 PW van Vuuren, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Nico Breedt, 19 Schalk van der Merwe, 20 Jandre Blom, 21 Hennie Daniller, 22 Kabamba Floors.

Boland: 15 Justin Peach, 14 Deon Scholtz, 13 Piet van Zyl (captain), 12 Dewey Swartbooi, 11 Danwel Demas, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 David Hendricks, 7 Josh Strauss, 6 Zolani Mofu, 5 Nico Esterhuyse, 4 Cecil Kemp, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Pieter Wium, 1 Janro van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Clemen Lewis, 17 Jean Botha, 18 Johan Peacock, 19 Angelo Brinkhuis, 20 Neil Papier, 21 Hein Myburgh, 22 Lionel Cornelius.

Sharks v Wildeklawer Griquas:

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Keegan Daniel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (captain), 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Bradley Barritt, 22 Waylon Murray.

Griquas: 15 Conrad Barnard, 14 Egon Seconds, 13 Alwyn Hollenbach, 12 Riaan Viljoen, 11 MJ Mentz, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Gareth Krause (captain), 7 Stephan Gerber, 6 Rohan Kitshoff, 5 Jacques Lombaard, 4 Wayne van Heerden, 3 Bees Roux, 2 Hans van Dyk, 1 Steph Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Dean Hopp, 17 Ruaan du Preez, 18 Brendon Snyman, 19 Tyrone Holmes, 20 Dougie Helmuth, 21 Wouter Watermeyer, 22 Gavin Passens.

Vodacom Western Province v Xerox Lions:

Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Joe Pietersen, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Wylie Human, 10 Peter Grant/Percy Montgomery, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Luke Watson, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 Schalk Ferreira, 19 AJ Venter, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Montgomery/Gio Aplon, 22 Morgan Newman.

Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Michael Killian, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Trompie Nontshinga, 10 Earl Rose, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Justin Wheeler, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (captain), 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Lawrence Sephaka, 18 Jannes Labuschagne, 19 Wilhelm Koch, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Louis Strydom, 22 Jaco Van Schalkwyk.

That said, WP certainly cannot blame the pitch for their inept display. And I cannot even blame Rassie’s pension boy, AJ Venter, as he played quite well at lock. Yes WP missed Adriaan Fondse, who has been excellent for the mountain goats this year, but AJ did the hard graft and did not even get yellow carded!

Some reports in Sunday papers and websites suggested that Luke Watson had a good game. Not sure if they watched the same game I did? He was brutally selfish after worming over for his controversial try, and I reckon, the main reason for WP’s lack of continuity. I think he might have forgotten how to pass!

But in general, WP just did not play as team. The individual stars seemed intent on either doing something fancy themselves, or failing that, just spinning the ball wide and hoping. This while the muddy, wet conditions called for some hard graft up front, as seen by the Pommy sides in the middle of winter. This was not a field for pretty rugby

It was very exciting to see a bunch of young front rankers going hard at each other, though. There is some real talent amongst those six guys. And top of that class was Deon Fourie. The WP hooker was in sensational form – and it is patently clear to see why Schalk Brits is pulling splinters at the moment! Yet when given a chance, Brits looked like he did not want to be there.

Also - Why play him on the flank? For this, I obviously cannot blame the player, and given that it was something Rassie messed around with (unsuccessfully, in my book) in the Super14, it might not even be Alistair Coetzee’s fault. But it is something that is NOT working. If the guy is not good enough to play hooker, do not go scrounging around looking for a place to play him.

Speaking of the loose trio. Watson is a poor number 8. I have said it before, surely the answer is to play Koster at 8, Watson as a second fetcher with Schalk and have one of the Louw’s on the bench?

Losing Jean de Villiers was a massive blow to the visiting side. WP without de Villiers are a very different side. And they miss him not only as a player but also as a captain. There are certainly question marks over Burger’s ability as a captain, that’s for sure … Not decisive at all, and no tweaks in game plan to suite the awful field …

I see Monty was the only fellow on the bench who did not even get on the park! Because the coach reckoned he would not ad value, or because the player was not that keen to play in the mud? I wonder …

The win sees WP end the weekend in fifth place with 36 log points, one point behind the Cheetahs and 5 points behind the Lions.

So they now have three chances of sneaking a semi final spot – all pretty slim it has to be said. One - Take the Cheetahs game out of the equation by ending ahead of the Lions on the log. For this they will need to score 4 tries in beating the Lions at home on Saturday by 19 points or more, while denying the Lions scoring 4 tries of their own. Two - earn the 5 point win against the Lions and win by a sufficient margin to negate the points-differential separating the Cape Town team from the Cheetahs, who will have to fail to score four-tries against Boland in Bloemfontein. This will probably mean that option one is then also accomplished, though, and WP would end third on the log! And three, the most unlikely of them all – earn two bonus points against the Lions through scoring 4 tries and losing by less than 7 points, while relying on Free State losing their home game against Boland!

I am told the pigs are busy growing wings right now …

The Lions vs Sharks game is proof enough that we need to stay with a strength vs strength Currie Cup. This made for good entertainment, while the other games on the weekend were only good for the stuff I put on my lawn at home

Fantastic to see Jacque Fourie back in action – he looked sharp, breaking the line by running top angles and using his great strength

Also good to see our national skipper, John Smit, back in action - even if he has been on the pies instead of the protein shakes. Can’t really blame the fellow though – recovering from a groin op is grim, and requires you to do nothing at all for long periods of time. He will drop those extra kg’s and be fit again soon, though.

This game also made for some tremendous front row viewing. Watching the Beast and Heinke van der Merwe in action is actually the reason I love this game. Sheer bloody poetry. Without doubt the two best looseheads in the country – not even a debate, my friends. And while Lions tighthead, Ross Geldenhuys, seems to have been able to fool a few troops this season, it was the Beast who exposed him quite brutally in this game.

How classic to see the old warhorse, Janus Labuschagne, back on park. Not sure where he has been spending his interim retirement but those are the whitest pins I have seen in a long time!

Ryan Kankowski was another player in top nick, which will make the national coach pretty happy. Pierre Spies seems in good enough form when his side is going forward, but tends to go silent when his pack is taking a little heat. Great to have two number eight’s of this quality in the national mix.

Cheers,
Tank