Can the Free State Cheetahs be caught?
That is the big question that seems to haunt all of the sides in the chasing pack fighting for places in the semi-finals of this year’s Currie Cup competition.
The men from Bloemfontein have secured their place in the play-offs after a pulsating come-from-behind win against the Golden Lions on Thursday night.
Not only did Franco Smith’s men cement their place at the top of the log but they continued on their unblemished run in the competition, winning six games on the trot and will now go into their two remaining fixtures needing one more win to secure themselves a home semi-final berth and a home final, if they get there.
In their 37-29 win over Johan Ackermann’s men, the Cheetahs were able to mix up their traditional brand of running rugby with enough game management intelligence to be able to close out a game they looked certain to lose.
For the Lions, the loss in Bloemfontein spelt disaster as they are now in serious danger of missing out of the semi-finals and losing their title without putting up a real fight for it.
The Lions have a fairly easy encounter against the Eastern Province Kings in Port Elizabeth on Saturday but face a tough and unpredictable clash when they play against the Sharks in two weeks’ time.
Ultimately, the Lions' fate is not in their hands and they will now be hoping that Western Province or Griquas drop points in their upcoming game in Kimberley.
The biggest winners of the weekend, though, were the Blue Bulls and Sharks as they recorded bonus point wins that got them one foot into the semi-finals.
The Bulls seem to have hit their straps at the right time in the competition and blew away Griquas with a seven-try blitzkrieg on Friday night at Loftus Versfeld.
All the Bulls will need to do this coming weekend against the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington is to ensure that they record another bonus point win and then wait for the Sharks to play their match against the Lions before knowing if they will secure a second successive home semi-final.
The Sharks will go into this week’s bye on the back of a comprehensive 53-0 win over the Kings at a waterlogged King’s Park Stadium on Saturday.
The win for Robert du Preez’s men helped them bounce back from a defeat at the hands of the Cheetahs the week before and it also kept them firmly in the hunt for a home semi-final.
Western Province kept their slim chances of making the semi-finals alive through a spirited 31-23 win over the hapless Pumas at Newlands but they will need a Herculean effort this coming weekend when they face Griquas in Kimberley in a game that will go a long way in determining both sides' fate in the competition.
The Star