Preview - Currie Cup Final

A Final farewell

Finals, by nature, are emotional affairs. It is, after all, the big event of the year and it turns the victors into instant heroes. Legends are made in finals.

When the Blue Bulls host the Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, in the 2005 Currie Cup Final, it will be no different. In fact in the build-up this week the atmosphere has steadily become more electric and emotionally charged.

But there are a couple of things that ensures the 2005 Final will not be an ordinary occasion. It will not be just another Final.

Firstly there is the fact that the Bulls will be out to honour the memory of centre Ettienne Botha, who died tragically in a car accident earlier this year.

As Bulls fullback Johan Roets said: "This one is for Ettienne."

"Shortly after the accident we did say we wanted to win it for him," Roets said. "It will place more emotion on the match, which is not always a good thing so obviously we will try and channel that. In our hearts when we run out on Saturday it will be for Ettienne - he meant so much to me and the whole team that I'm sure we will dedicate the day to him."

But there is another reason why the Bulls will be charged up.

No.8 and captain Anton Leonard will retire after the game. The Bulls would like to give him a golden send-off ... three consecutive Currie Cup triumphs as a captain.

He was of course a member of the Bulls team in all three their previous Finals - this being their fourth consecutive appearance in the Final - but Leonard was not captain when they won it in 2002.

The Cheetahs will also have enough reason to be "emotional" about the game, since this is their second consecutive crack at the formidable Blue Bulls - having lost at the same Loftus last year.

But emotion can also be a problem. The players are professional enough to know there needs to be some balance between being "charged up" and being focussed.

Blind fury can only get you into trouble.

But if you look past all the emotion and study the team sheets, you can understand why the Bulls have been installed as clear favourites.

Yes, the Cheetahs have run them close twice this season (10 points and four points), but the Bulls appear to have a greater desire.

They also have class all over the field.

From Johan Roets at fullback (No.15), through Fourie du Preez at scrum-half (No.9), to prop Kees Lensing (No.1) they have players who will not be a disgrace on the international stage (with quite a number of them regularly performing on the world stage).

But the Bulls' real quality is their strength in depth.

With a bench that includes Danie Coetzee, Wessel Roux, Danie Rossouw, Johan Wasserman and Derick Hougaard (all Springboks), you know that you can't relax for one minute.

It will take 80 minutes of unyielding pressure to beat this bunch.

The Cheetahs certainly have plenty of class in their line-up as well, perhaps not as renowned as their counterparts from the north, but they have true match-winners as well.

It is not for nothing that the Bulls have tagged fly-half Willem de Waal as the biggest threat in the Cheetahs side.

Among the forwards the Cheetahs will look to captain and hooker Naka Drotske (who is also retiring after Saturday) and current Bok loose forward Juan Smith for inspiration.

And they can also bring a few internationals off the bench - Ollie le Roux, CJ van der Linde and Kabamba Floors (in Sevens).

Key match-ups:
Johan Roets (Blue Bulls) versus Bevin Fortuin (Cheetahs)
Bryan Habana (Blue Bulls) versus Eddie Fredericks (Cheetahs)
Morné Steyn (Blue Bulls) versus Willem de Waal (Cheetahs)
Pedrie Wannenburg (Blue Bulls) versus Juan Smith (Cheetahs)
Victor Matfield (Blue Bulls) versus Barend Pieterse (Cheetahs)
Gary Botha (Blue Bulls) versus Naka Drotske (Cheetahs)

Prediction: It is Loftus. There will be a sea of Blue facing the Cheetahs and that does not even take into account the noise the boisterous fans in stand will make. It is hard to see the Cheetahs stop the Bulls from taking the title again. The Bulls to win by 10 to 15 points.

Teams:

Blue Bulls: 15 Johan Roets, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Anton Leonard (captain), 7 Pedrie Wannenburg, 6, Jacques Cronjé, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Andries Human, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Kees Lensing.
Replacements: 16 Danie Coetzee, 17 Wessel Roux, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Johan Wasserman, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Derick Hougaard, 22 Riaan van der Bergh

Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 Eddie Fredericks, 13 Chris Kruger, 12 Barry Goodes, 11 Alwyn Hollenbach, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Ryno van der Merwe, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Barend Pieterse, 4 Corniel van Zyl, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Naka Drotskè (captain), 1 Wian du Preez
Replacements: 16 Ollie le Roux, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Darron Nel, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Falie Oelschig, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Phillip Burger

Date: Saturday, October 22
Kick-off: 16.30 (14.30 GMT)
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Conditions: Partly cloudy. High 31°C, low 13°C
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (SARU)
Touch judges: Mark Lawrence (SARU), JC Fortuin (WP)
Television match official: François Veldsman (Boland)
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel (SARU)

By Jan de Koning