Saturday's final at Newlands will hinge on the accuracy of the two flyhalves, in decision-making and goal-kicking, writes BRENTON CHELIN.
Demetri Catrakilis has been here before. In 2012, following a mediocre showing in the semi-final against the Golden Lions – where he was unceremoniously replaced by Louis Schreuder at flyhalf after 59 minutes – he turned in a match-winning performance against the Sharks in Durban.
His game-management that day was superb and his two drop goals, one off the left foot and one off the right, was enough to take the game and the Currie Cup away from home side. He may not get his backline flowing like Kurt Coleman or even Louis Schreuder, but he's deadly off the kicking-tee, accurate out of hand, and has shown in the past that he has the temperament to decide matches at this level.
Marnitz Boshoff is not too dissimilar a player to the Greek. Blessed with great tactical intuition and a boot to match, he is perfectly suited to play-off rugby. His greater presence on defence and tendency to take the ball a bit flatter gives him the edge in this personal duel, but he's still working his way back from the broken arm he suffered in early stages of the Currie Cup season.
Due to the nature of both these sides, there will be tries on Saturday. However, finals are often won with accurate goal-kicking and well-timed drop goals. Both have that in their locker, but it's Catrakilis who has delivered on this stage before.
The match, and this duel, could go either way, but one gets the impression that they aren't mutually exclusive.
Photo: Chris Rocco/Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
