The Blue Bulls and Cheetahs will clash in an epic final on Saturday, and by seven o`clock every rugby fan in the world will know how the Currie Cup champions of 2009 is. The question is – Who will it be?
I, for one am going with my gut feeling – the Blue Bulls. Why not? The team is packed with Springboks; game breakers; they play on home soil (Loftus) and the Loftus crowd can even make Mugabe`s knees wilt.
The other side of the coin presents another view. The Cheetahs will be traveling to Loftus with nothing to loose. Up and till three weeks ago nobody gave them a chance of even making the play-offs, never mind the final. They have the best ball fetcher in the world; a scrum that could shift Table Mountain if the coach asks them to; and they can take comfort in the fact that they have won the Bulls in a final before.
Taking a closer look however makes a Cheetah upset very unlikely. The Bulls team that lost to the Cheetahs in 2005 is almost the same. I say almost, because now they are experienced, they have won the Super 14 title twice and is desperate to create history by being the first team ever to win the Super 14 and the Currie Cup in the same year. We all know the team has Bakkies, Victor and Habana. The Bulls have the best scrum half in the world in Fourie and most probably the deadliest kicker in world rugby in Morné Steyn.
Does the Cheethas have an answer to all of that? Maybe – they can boast with little Heinrich Brüssow. This ball fetcher can rob any team of forward momentum by stealing the ball in critical situations and no team can play without the ball. The Cheetah front row could also spell trouble for the men-in-blue. They demolished the Springbok front row just two weeks ago and if the Bulls have a weakness it is their scrum. Give them a sniff of the ball and they will spread it to the wings, hoping to run the Bulls of the field. And if you ask me, it is the only way the Bloemfontein favorites will ever win.
So yes, there might a slight, slight chance for the Cheetahs to do the impossible, but then again that experience of the Bulls to take charge, fight till the end and winning games in pressure situations….
My prediction: The Currie Cup is going to the Jacaranda boys
Blue Bulls 27- 23 Free State Cheetahs.
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