Rivalries resume at Newlands tomorrow when Western Province host the Blue Bulls in a mouth-watering finale to Round Six of the Currie Cup.

Allister Coetzee's side rubber-stamped their credentials as becoming the strongest province in South Africa with a mammoth 50-3 win last week.

However, this coming Saturday is expected to be their acid test when they go toe-to-toe with the side that dumped them out in the 2009 semis.

Other fixtures scheduled for today and tomorrow see the Leopards and Griquas host the Sharks and Pumas respectively before the Lions face the Cheetahs in Johannesburg. And a win for John Mitchell's charges could be vital as a negative could leave them fourteen points adrift of fifth spot.

Fixtures:

Friday, August 13

Leopards v Sharks
Griquas v Pumas

Saturday, August 14

Lions v Cheetahs
Western Province v Blue Bulls

Standings:

Western Province 23
Sharks 21
Blue Bulls 16
Griquas 15
Free

State Cheetahs 14
Lions 6
Pumas 5
Leopards 4

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Previews:

Friday, August 13

Leopards v Sharks

Potchefstroom will host two sides who will be confident in their own unique way when the Leopards line up in front of the second-placed Sharks.

Friday's hosts should no doubt be buoyed after the fightback they put on at Loftus Versfeld last week while the Durbanites are building very nicely. Such is the depth in John Plumtree's squad right now - even with the ongoing Tri-Nations seeing some players plucked - that the withdrawal of back-rower Ryan Kankowski before kick-off and Jean Deysel's early injury barely made a dent in the line-up. In came Willem Albert and Jacques Botes.

The Leopards have made only one change to their side that narrowly lost to the Blue Bulls last week for the match against one of the in-form sides.

On the flank Christo van Niekerk comes in for Danie Crous. Man-of-the-match against the Blue Bulls, Michael Bondesio, is in a race

against time with a groin injury while lock Anthonie Gronum and Brad Mockford have been bracketed with a final decision on the position to be taken later this week.

Meanwhile, the Sharks welcome JP Pietersen back into the starting line-up as well as Rory Kockott back to the number nine jersey, where he'll be serving Patrick Lambie.

Ryan Kankowski returns at the expense of Jacques Botes, while Ross Skeate is in at lock and international props Jannie du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira are rotated with Eugene van Staden and Patric Cilliers respecitvely.Also back on the bench is Bismarck du Plessis.

"We've been patchy, but when we've got it right, we've looked good. The challenge for us is continuity, because we haven't been able to name the same team twice and that's a concern, but you're always going to get that with Boks coming back and then going again," said coach John Plumtree.

"Patrick Lambie was the fourth fly-half we've selected this campaign and we've got Andre Pretorius coming back from injury. But we haven't been able to stick with combinations through injury and losing Jean Deysel was a blow."

The teams:

Leopards: 15 Danie Dames, 14 Deon Scholtz, 13 Jovan Bowles, 12 Walter Venter, 11 Dumisani Matyeshana, 10 Neill Jacobs, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Riaan Swanepoel, 7 Wilhelm Koch (c), 6 Christo van Niekerk, 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Anthonie Gronum/Brad Mockford, 3 Barend van der Walt, 2 Marthinus van der Westhuizen, 1 BG Uys.
Replacements: 16 Gavin Williamson, 17 Johan Coetzee, 18 Edrich Linde, 19 RW Kember, 20 Jean Tiedt, 21 Clayton Durand, 22 Jan van Zyl.

Sharks:15 Louis Ludik, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Stefan Terblanche (C), 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Keegan Daniel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Ross Skeate, 3 Eugene van Staden, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Patric Cilliers.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Michael Rhodes, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Monty Dumond, 22 Riaan Swanepoel.

Venue: Olën Park, Potchefstroom
Kick-off: 19:10 (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper

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Griquas v Pumas

The men from Witbank could be on the receiving end of a backlash from the Griquas on Friday as the latter look to hit back after defeat to Province.

Last week's performance on home soil was either a signal that this group is nowhere near the form of 2009 or that the Capetonians are way ahead this season. It was probably a bit of both. The Griquas were the surprise package twelve months ago with Naas Olivier, Sarel Pretorius and Riaan Viljeon their star players. However, that trio have yet to rediscover their top form and Round Six is arguably the perfect time for them to do so.

Meanwhile, there are six changes to the Pumas. In the forwards powerful scrummager Ronnie Uys returns from his shoulder injury to start at loosehead in place of Dawie Steyn, who drops to the bench. Willem Serfontein partners Andries Kruger in the second row, with Marius Coetzer providing cover.

Flank Corné Steenkamp leads the team for the second consecutive match, as Torsten van Jaarsveld is once again preferred at hooker to regular skipper Hannes Franklin.

Out wide there are three changes: Elgar Watts reverts back to the number ten jersey after playing full-back against the Cheetahs last week, and Carl Bezuidenhout and Tian Meyer climb off the bench to get starts at full-back and inside centre respectively. Du-Wayne Smart moves out to the right wing.

There is a five-two split on the bench, with a full front row available to contest against the tough Griquas scrum in the latter part of the second half.

The teams:

Griquas: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Matthew Rosslee, 12 Wilmaure Louw, 11 Richard Lawson, 10 Naas Olivier (c), 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Leon Karemaker, 7 Rohan Kitshoff, 6 Davon Raubenheimer, 5 Jacobie Adriaanse, 4 Frikkie Spies, 3 Cecil Kemp, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Steph Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Jean Botha, 18 Michael Passaportis/Johan van Deventer, 19 Burger Schoeman, 20 Marnus Hugo, 21 Barry Geel, 22 Rocco Jansen.

Pumas: 15 Carl Bezuidenhout, 14 Du-Wayne Smart, 13 Tiaan Marx, 12 Tian Meyer, 11 Shaun Venter, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Jacques Coetzee, 8 Christo le Roux, 7 Alwyn Bester, 6 Corné Steenkamp (captain), 5 Willem Serfontein, 4 Andries Kruger, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ronnie Uys.
Replacements: 16 Hannes Franklin, 17 Dee-Jay Terblanche, 18 Dawie Steyn, 19 Marius Coetzer, 20 Jaco Bouwer, 21 Ricardo Croy, 22 Bainon Willis.

Venue: GWK Park, Kimberley
Kick-off:19:00 (17:00 GMT)

Referee: Lourens van der Merwe

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Saturday, August 14

Lions v Free State Cheetahs

Just when the Lions were starting to show promise in patches against the Blue Bulls, they went and followed it up with a heavy defeat in Durban.

Free State know that an away victory would do their chances of cementing a position in the top four a power of good. They arguably do have the stronger team selection of the two running out in Johannesburg too, with Andries Strauss lining up alongside WP Nel and Coenie Oosthuizen up front. Further back and the return to form of running number eight Ashley Johnson has also been a welcome fillip for Head Coach Naka Drotske.

Lions coach John Mitchell has been forced into two changes for Saturday's Absa Currie Cup match against the Free State Cheetahs at Coca-Cola Park and also brought in Edgar Marutlulle at hooker for his first start. All three of the changes are up front while the backline remains unchanged from the unit that lost to the Sharks last weekend.

On the flank Renaldo Bothma gets his first start in place of Trevor Hall who is injured and at tighthead Ross Geldenhuys returns in place of injured Kevin Buys.

Marutlulle takes over at hooker from Martin Bezuidenhout who moves to the bench.

A feature of the 22-man squad is that the whole of last week's replacement bench has been changed with seven "new" faces now doing duty.

Player/coach Carlos Spencer makes way for Burton Francis who returns after a rather long injury lay-off and the former Maties' flank Joshua Strauss, another player from the Varsity Cup that is now producing talent throughout the country, finds himself on the bench. He has previously played for the Boland Cavaliers.

Wayne Swart provides prop cover after the elevation of Geldenhuys, and at lock big Johan Snyman returns after a long-term injury in place of David Bulbring. JP Joubert is the replacement scrumhalf in place of Chris Jonck and Jannie Boshoff is also back, replacing Marius Delport. And then there is the Marutlulle/Bezuidenhout swap

The teams:

Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Derek Minnie, 6 Renaldo Bothma, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 George Earle, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Wayne Swart, 18 Johan Snyman, 19 Joshua Strauss, 20 JP Joubert, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Jannie Boshoff.

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Philip Snyman, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Louis Strydom, 9 Tewis De Bruyn, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Francois Uys, 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Waltie Vermeulen, 4 Izak van der Westhuizen, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Skipper Badenhorst, 17 Kobus Calldo, 18 Philip van der Walt, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Tertius Carse, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 JW Jonker.

Venue: Coco-Cola Park (Ellis Park), Johannesburg
Kick-off:15:00 (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Sindile Mayende

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Western Province v Blue Bulls

Without doubt, the big one in South Africa this weekend comes from Newlands. Province have been electric in their opening five games and remain the only unbeaten outfit in the Currie Cup competition, a decent-looking seven points ahead of their third-placed rivals from

Loftus Versfeld.

Last week was in part a statement of intent from Allister Coetzee's side, as they brushed aside the Griquas by an impressive 50 points to 3 scoreline. The Blue Bulls meanwhile were struggling to hold off the Leopards on home soil so there's your yardstick upon which to go off this coming Saturday.

The defending champions have, however, secured eight wins over Province in their last twelve, which included that 21-19 victory over the hosts in last year's semi. They have played each other six times at Newlands since 2005 with both teams achieving three successes during the last five years.

But going back to that Kimberley effort of last week, the pack was immense - dominating from minute one to allow the backs to add the

six-try gloss.

And consistency in team selection might not help the Blue Bulls either. Included in the side are Springboks Zane Kirchner and Dewald Potgieter. The duo have been released from South Africa duty and were subsequently available for selection, with Frans Ludeke not hesitating to include them.

The vital Kirchner and Potgieter joined up with the holders on Wednesday. The solid full-back will start in place of experienced back

Jaco van der Westhuyzen while Potgieter was in the side last weekend before joining the Springboks at their training camp in Johannesburg.

In other changes, the whole front-row against the Leopards has been replaced. Loosehead Dean Greyling has recovered from injury and takes over from Jaco Engels, while rested forwards Gary Botha and Werner Kruger return after a rest to replace Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bees Roux respectively.

John Mametsa is back on the wing in place of Hayden Groepes while Wilhelm Steenkamp comes in for Flip van der Merwe, scrum-half Ruan Snyman returns in place of international call-up Francois Hougaard, with coach Ludeke looking for the Blue Bulls to contain the Western Province pack.

"This is the best team for us for this game," Ludeke said.

"We expect the forward battle to be a fierce one, especially amongst the tight five. We therefore opted to pick two front rows in an effort to stay with the pace with fresh legs."

Captain and hooker Botha was confident that the changes will not impact on their momentum when they run out at Newlands.

"We have a successful squad system going for a long time now, so it is no problem for any player coming back to slot in," he said.

"It showed at practice already."

The teams:

Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Fabian Juries, 13 Tim Whitehead, 12 Paul Bosch, 11 Frikkie Welsh, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw/Nick Koster, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Anton van Zyl (c), 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JD Moller, 18 Buhle Mxunyelwa, 19 De Kock Steenkamp, 20 Nick Koster/Pieter Myburgh, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Lionel Cronje.

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 John Mametsa, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Ruan Snyman, 8 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Derick Kuun, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Jeandre Kruger, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha (capt), 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Bees Roux, 18 Fudge Mabeta, 19 CJ Stander, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 22 Jaco Engels.

Venue: Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off:17:05 (15:05 GMT)
Referee: Marius Jonker. - rugbyworld.com