Cape Town — The Sharks and Free State Cheetahs have both secured a home semi-final in the Currie Cup after picking up hard-fought wins on Saturday.
Now, the final round-robin matches will determine which one of the two team will be in pole position to host a possible final should they progress past the semis.
The Sharks, facing Western Province this Saturday in Cape Town, currently sit atop the Currie Cup standings after picking up a bonus point win of 29-21 over the Lions in Durban on Saturday.
They need a win from their final game to secure top spot.
Meanwhile, the Cheetahs scored a 29-14 win over defending champions, the Pumas, and will need a favour from Province if they want to end top after the final round of matches.
The rest of the log is congested as four more teams are still within a shot to claim the third and fourth spots.
That will be a dog fight come Friday and Saturday with the Pumas, Blue Bulls, Griquas and Western Province still able to make it.
After the loss against the Free State side, the defending champions know only a win against Griquas (3pm kickoff in Kimberley on Friday) will secure their spot in the semis. The same goes for Griquas and the Bulls who face the Cheetahs in Pretoria.
After the Loftus team thumped the Griffons 64-33, turning their campaign around after a bad start, they will be full of confidence at Loftus in search of the win.
The good news for Jake White’s Bulls is that come Saturday (3pm kickoff), they will know exactly what they have to do to qualify for the semi-finals.
WP, playing at home, has the most to do to reach the last four. They can, of course, only do this if there are favours from other teams, with their sixth straight loss in Kimberley last Friday effectively ending their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals on their own.
They play the final match this Saturday (5pm kickoff) and will know by then if they still have a chance of qualifying or if they are only playing for pride in front of their fans.
For the Sharks, top spot is what they will aim for in Cape Town, and coach Joey Mongalo will hope for a similar testing game for his team as the one they had from the Lions in Durban.
“They gave us the perfect preparation for a semi-finals. I don’t think things can be tougher, being 14-0 down and playing against a very desperate team playing to stay alive in the competition. It’s probably the best practice, and I say it respectfully, that we could’ve had for the semi-final,” Mongalo said.
“We understand the group needs almost like that stepping stone going into the playoffs, so momentum will be important ahead of the final group stage match.”
The Lions and Griffons, coming off losses, will play for nothing more than pride on Friday (2pm kickoff), although the Lions can still mathematically sneak into the semis if several other results go their way.
IOL Sport