Round six saw the Lions close the gap on Western Province at the top of the table by inflicting their first defeat of the season, in a humdinger of a game at Ellis Park. What’s in store in round seven?
Game of the round: Blue Bulls vs Sharks
This is a really tough game to call. The Sharks started their season with a bang, winning their opening three games on the bounce and looked set for a strong title challenge, but have since completely fallen off the wagon having not won in their last three, including a jarring home defeat to the Griquas – a result just 1.2% of the SuperBru community picked.
The Bulls’ season has taken almost the opposite trajectory. Their only victory in the first four rounds was a shaky home win against the Kings, but they then managed to back that up with an impressive win over the title-chasing Lions, as well as a much more comfortable win against the Kings away from home.
One potentially decisive factor is recent history between the two sides – something that has been completely dominated by the Sharks. They have won the last four encounters between the two sides in the Currie Cup, although potentially crucially only one of those has been at Loftus Versfeld – last year’s game that they won by just two points. The Bulls have beaten the Sharks just three times in their last 16 matches.
So what does all that mean for this weekend? It’s very difficult to say. Usually the Sharks would have the psychological edge given their dominance of this fixture in recent history, but they are in such an ordinary run of form that that might not be the case this week.
Loftus Versfeld is rarely an easy place to win, and if there is a hint of doubt amongst the Sharks ranks it could be their undoing. The home side to sneak it – just. Bulls by 2.
Other SuperBru predictions
Lions vs Pumas: Lions by 9
Eastern Province Kings vs Cheetahs: Cheetahs by 15
Western Province vs Griquas: Western Province by 12
How do you see the weekend going?
By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43
2 replies on “Currie Cup 2014 Predictions: Round 7”
Have the bulls to win easily. Rest of the picks the same
As the biggest lion supporter, I say the cup is comming home.