DHL Western Province and the Vodacom Blue Bulls will be looking to bounce back from defeats last week as the 2014 Vodacom Cup enters its third round this coming weekend.
The Bulls, in fact, are still winless in 2014 and following two narrow defeats, the three-time Vodacom Cup champions from Pretoria are one of five teams in the competition still looking for their first win of the season.
The others are the Valke, the Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls, the Border Bulldogs and the Regent Boland Cavaliers.
On the flipside, five teams are still unbeaten; the Steval Pumas, GWK Griquas and Golden Lions in the North Section, as well as the Cell C Sharks XV and Toyota Free State XV in the South Section, who face each other in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.
DHL Western Province, meanwhile, have won one and lost one thus far and will head back to City Park this weekend where they began their 2014 campaign with a hard-fought 16-8 win over the Boland Cavaliers, before slipping up to the Sharks XV in Durban last weekend.
Province coach John Dobson has been forced into a few more injury-enforced changes this week, but the DHL WP mentor was looking forward to his team’s clash against the EP Kings XV on Saturday (kick-off 15h30).
Dobson told www.wprugby.com: “We really do enjoy playing at City Park and are always thankful for the amazing support we get there and to the organisers who always make us feel comfortable.
“The Kings are always a tough team to play against, no matter where, but we are determined to bounce back from last week and to get back to winning ways.”
The top-of-the-table South Section clash at the Clive Solomon Stadium in Heidedal is the pick of the action in Round Three, whilst there will be a lot of interest in the Jukskei Derby at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where the Bulls will be looking to get their season back on track against the defending champions, the Golden Lions.
The Vodacom Cup will also hit the very picturesque Overberg region of the Western Cape this weekend when the SWD Eagles host the Regent Boland Cavaliers in Swellendam, the fourth oldest town in South Africa.
Vodacom Cup competition format for 2014:
South Africa’s 14 provincial unions, as well as the Limpopo Blue Bulls and Kenyan debutants, the Tusker Simba XV, will play in two sections, North and South, with eight teams each of the groups. All the teams will play in a single round within their own section after which the top eight sides, four from each section, will progress to the play-offs.
Northern Section: Vodacom Blue Bulls, Golden Lions, Down Touch Griffons, GWK Griquas, Leopards XV, Steval Pumas, Valke, Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls.
Southern Section: Regent Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs, EP Kings, Toyota Free State XV, Sharks XV, SWD Eagles, Tusker Simba XV, DHL Western Province.
Round Three fixtures:
Friday, March 21
Down Touch Griffons v Steval Pumas
Kick-off: 14h00
Venue: North West Stadium, Welkom
Referee: Christie du Preez
Toyota Free State XV v Cell C Sharks XV
Kick-off: 15h00
Venue: Clive Solomon Stadium, Heidedal, Bloemfontein
Referee: Quinton Immelman
GWK Griquas v Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls
Kick-off: 16h00
Venue: GWK Park, Kimberley
Referee: Marius Jonker
Saturday, March 22
Valke v Leopards XV
Kick-off: 15h40
Venue: Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park
Referee: Pro Legoete
Border Bulldogs v Tusker Simba XV
Kick-off: 15h00
Venue: Buffalo City Municipality Stadium, East London
Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
DHL Western Province v EP Kings
Kick-off: 15h30
Venue: City Park, Cape Town
Referee: Rodney Boneparte
SWD Eagles v Regent Boland Cavaliers
Kick-off: 16h00
Venue: Swellendam
Referee: Tahla Ntshakaza
Vodacom Blue Bulls v Golden Lions
Kick-off: 16h30
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Craig Joubert