Currie Cup

Currie Cup
Current season or competition:
2018 Currie Cup Premier Division
Sport Rugby union football
Instituted 1891
Inaugural season 1892
Number of teams Premier Division: 7
First Division: 8
Country South Africa and
Namibia
Holders Western Province (2017)
Broadcast partner SuperSport, Setanta Sports Asia, Fox Sports
Related competition Rugby Challenge
For the cricket competition originally known as the Currie Cup, see Sunfoil Series.

The Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, South African teams also compete in the international Super Rugby and Pro14 competitions.

Steeped in history and tradition, the Currie Cup dates back to 1891. The tournament is regarded as the cornerstone of South Africa's rugby heritage, and the coveted gold trophy remains the most prestigious prize in South African domestic rugby.

History

The Currie Cup is one of the oldest rugby competitions,[1] with the first games played in 1889 but it was only in 1892 that it became officially known as the Currie Cup. The competition had its humble beginnings as an inter-province competition in 1884, but when the South African Rugby Board was founded in 1889 it decided to organize a national competition that would involve representative teams from all the major unions. The original participating unions were Western Province, Griqualand West, Transvaal and Eastern Province. The first tournament was held in Kimberley and was won by Western Province. For a prize they received a silver cup donated by the South African Rugby Board, now displayed at the SA Rugby Museum in Cape Town. The story of how the Currie Cup came to be comes from the first overseas rugby team to tour South Africa in 1891, The British Isles, who carried with them a particularly precious bit of cargo. Among the bags, boots and balls was a golden cup given to them by Sir Donald Currie, owner of Union-Castle Lines, the shipping company that transported them to the southern tip of Africa. Sir Donald was clear with his instructions – hand this trophy over to the team in South Africa that gives you the best game; and after a spirited display where the unbeaten British Lions narrowly won 3-0, Griqualand West became the first ever holders of the Currie Cup. They then handed the trophy over to the South African rugby board and it became the floating trophy for the Currie Cup competition. The inaugural Currie Cup tournament was thus held in 1892 with Western Province earning the honour of holding it aloft as the first official winners.

The competition missed a few years here and there for reasons such as war and the like, but in 1968 it became a fully fledged annual showpiece. Western Province dominated the competition's early years, and by 1920 the team from Cape Town had already secured the trophy 10 times. Only Griqualand West could halt the rampant WP side and win the trophy in 1899 and 1911. In 1922 the Transvaal won the competition for the first time, however Western Province would continue to dominate the Currie Cup throughout the 1920s and 1930s, winning the trophy a further 4 times and sharing it twice with Border. In 1939 the trophy returned to Johannesburg for only the second time after Transvaal defeated Western Province in Cape Town. This was the first time WP had lost a final at their home ground Newlands. The Currie Cup went into hiatus during the Second World War but resumed in 1946 when Northern Transvaal claimed their first ever trophy by beating Western Province 11-9 in the final at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. The late 1940s and early 1950s were dominated by Transvaal who would win the trophy in 1950 and 1952, however in 1954 the Currie Cup would finally return south following Western Province's narrow 11-8 victory over Northern Transvaal in the final at Newlands in Cape Town.

At the end of the 1980s, South African rugby supporters were treated to two of the most memorable Currie Cup finals. In 1989 winger Carel du Plessis scored a last-minute try as WP managed to draw with Northern Transvaal 16-all, Riaan Gouws missed the conversion which would have given WP its 6th title of the decade a feat which has never been achieved. The following year the Blue Bulls slipped up, though, and Natal sneaked home 18-12, inspired by fly-half Joel Stransky. The 1990s saw further improvement by Natal and the rise of Francois Pienaar’s Transvaal. Since the age of professionalism in rugby union in the early 1990s, the Currie Cup has become much more competitive with no team able to carve out an era of dominance like that of WP in the early years or Northern Transvaal in the 1970s and 1980s. All five of the so-called 'big unions' have won the Currie Cup on at least one occasion in the last 20 years; the Golden Lions (formerly Transvaal) have won the trophy 3 times in 1999, 2011 and 2015; Western Province have won the trophy on six occasions in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2012, 2014, and 2017;[2] the Blue Bulls (formerly Northern Transvaal) have wom the trophy 5 times in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2009; the Free State Cheetahs have won the trophy 3 times in 2005, 2007 and 2016 and the Sharks have won the trophy 3 times in 2008, 2010 and 2013. In 2006 the trophy was shared by the Free State Cheetahs and Blue Bulls following their 28-28 all draw in a tense final in Bloemfontein. Whilst these days the competition lags behind Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship (previously the Tri-Nations) in the order of importance, the Currie Cup still holds a special place amongst South African rugby supporters and players, with the trophy very much still the holy grail of the South African domestic rugby scene.

The Currie Cup trophy

Teams

Map of South Africa displaying the borders of the 14 teams in the Currie Cup

From 1996 to 2015, the following 14 provincial unions participated in the Currie Cup:

Currie Cup teams
Team Home base Region
Blue BullsPretoria The Pretoria metropolitan area and the entire Limpopo province
Boland CavaliersWellington Northern and central districts of the Western Cape province
Border BulldogsEast London Eastern districts of the Eastern Cape province
Eastern Province KingsPort Elizabeth Western districts of the Eastern Cape province
FalconsKempton Park The East Rand and other municipalities to the east and south of Johannesburg in Gauteng province
Free State CheetahsBloemfontein Central and western districts of the Free State province
Golden LionsJohannesburg Johannesburg and the West Rand
GriffonsWelkom Northern and eastern districts of the Free State province
GriquasKimberley The entire Northern Cape province
LeopardsPotchefstroom The entire North West province
PumasNelspruit The entire Mpumalanga province
SharksDurban The entire KwaZulu-Natal province
SWD EaglesGeorge Eastern districts of the Western Cape province
Western ProvinceCape Town Cape Town metropolitan area

In 2016 and 2017, the Currie Cup added Welwitschias, a team from Namibia.[3][4]

Champions and Finals

Between 1892 and 1920, the competition was held as a centralised tournament, with the team with the best record crowned as the winner. Between 1922 and 1936 (as well as in three tournaments between 1957 and 1966), the winner was the team with the best record following a round-robin competition. In all the other seasons, a final was played to determine the champion.

Currie Cup Champions and Finals Results
Season Champions Runner-Up Score Final Venue
1892 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1894 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1895 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1897 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1898 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
18991 Griqualand WestN/AN/AN/A
1904 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1906 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1908 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1911 Griqualand WestN/AN/AN/A
1914 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1920 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1922 TransvaalN/AN/AN/A
1925 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1927 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1929 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1932 Border & Western Province (shared)N/AN/AN/A
1934 Border & Western Province (shared)N/AN/AN/A
1936 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1939 Transvaal Western Province17–6Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1946 Northern Transvaal Western Province11–9Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1947 Western Province Transvaal16–12Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1950 Transvaal Western Province22–11Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
1952 Transvaal Boland11–9Wellington
1954 Western Province Northern Transvaal11–8Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1956 Northern Transvaal Natal9–8Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1957–19592 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1964 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1966 Western ProvinceN/AN/AN/A
1968 Northern Transvaal Transvaal16–3Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1969 Northern Transvaal Western Province28–13Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1970 Griqualand West Northern Transvaal11–9De Beers, Kimberley
1971 Northern Transvaal & Transvaal (shared)N/A14–14Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
1972 Transvaal Eastern Transvaal25–19Pam Brink Stadium, Springs
1973 Northern Transvaal Free State30–22Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1974 Northern Transvaal Transvaal17–15Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1975 Northern Transvaal Free State12–6Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
1976 Free State Western Province33–16Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
1977 Northern Transvaal Free State27–12Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1978 Northern Transvaal Free State13–9Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
1979 Northern Transvaal & Western Province (shared)N/A15–15Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1980 Northern Transvaal Western Province39–9Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1981 Northern Transvaal Free State23–6Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1982 Western Province Northern Transvaal24–7Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1983 Western Province Northern Transvaal9–3Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1984 Western Province Natal19–9Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1985 Western Province Northern Transvaal22–15Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1986 Western Province Transvaal22–9Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1987 Northern Transvaal Transvaal24–18Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
1988 Northern Transvaal Western Province19–18Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1989 Northern Transvaal & Western Province (shared)N/A16–16Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1990 Natal Northern Transvaal18–12Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1991 Northern Transvaal Transvaal27–15Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1992 Natal Transvaal14–13Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
1993 Transvaal Natal21–15Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1994 Transvaal Free State56–33Springbok Park, Bloemfontein
1995 Natal Western Province25–17Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1996 Sharks6 Golden Lions333–15Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
1997 Western Province Free State Cheetahs414–12Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1998 Blue Bulls5 Western Province24–20Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1999 Golden Lions Sharks32–9Kings Park Stadium, Durban
2000 Western Province Sharks25–15Kings Park Stadium, Durban
2001 Western Province Sharks29–24Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
2002 Blue Bulls Golden Lions31–7Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
2003 Blue Bulls Sharks40–19Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2004 Blue Bulls Free State Cheetahs42–33Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2005 Free State Cheetahs Blue Bulls29–25Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2006 Blue Bulls & Free State Cheetahs (shared)N/A28–28Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
2007 Free State Cheetahs Golden Lions20–18Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
2008 Sharks Blue Bulls14–9Kings Park Stadium, Durban
2009 Blue Bulls Free State Cheetahs36–24Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2010 Sharks Western Province30–10Kings Park Stadium, Durban
2011 Golden Lions Sharks42–16Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
2012 Western Province Sharks25–18Kings Park Stadium, Durban
2013 Sharks Western Province33–19Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
2014 Western Province Golden Lions19–16Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
2015 Golden Lions Western Province32–24Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
2016 Free State Cheetahs Blue Bulls36–16Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
2017 Western Province Sharks33–21Kings Park Stadium, Durban

In addition to the winners above, Western Province also won the South African Rugby Board Trophy in 1889. This tournament was effectively the precursor to the Currie Cup, which started in 1892.

1 Western Province and Transvaal did not compete.
2 Contested over two seasons.
3 Transvaal were renamed the Gauteng Lions; now known as Golden Lions.
4 Orange Free State were renamed the Free State Cheetahs.
5 Northern Transvaal were renamed the Blue Bulls.

6 Natal were renamed the Sharks.

Overall winners

Team Number of wins Notes Most recent
Western Province 34 Four shared 2017
Northern Transvaal/Blue Bulls 23 Four shared 2009
Transvaal/Gauteng Lions/Golden Lions 11 One shared 2015
Natal/Sharks 7 2013
Orange Free State/Free State Cheetahs 5 One shared 2016
Griqualand West/Griquas 3 1970
Border/Border Bulldogs 2 Two shared 1934

Since the competition became established as an annual competition in 1968 (see History above).

Team Number of wins Notes Most recent
Northern Transvaal/Blue Bulls 21 Four shared 2009
Western Province 13 Two shared 2017
Natal/Sharks 7 2013
Transvaal/Gauteng Lions/Golden Lions 7 One shared 2015
Orange Free State/Free State Cheetahs 5 One shared 2016
Griqualand West/Griquas 1 1970

Records and statistics

  • Most career matches
Name Team/s Seasons Games
Jacques Botes Pumas/Sharks 2002–2014
156
Helgard Müller Free State Cheetahs 1983–1998
142
Rudi Visagie Free State/Natal/Mpumalanga 1980–1996
141
Chris Badenhorst Free State Cheetahs 1987–1999
136
Burger Geldenhuys Blue Bulls 1977–1989
128
André Joubert Free State/Natal 1986–1999
126
  • Most career points
    • 1. 1699 Naas Botha (Northern Transvaal) 1977–1992
    • 2. 1412 Willem de Waal (Leopards/Free State/WP) 2002–2010
    • 3. 1402 Eric Herbert (Northern Free State(Griffons)/Free State) 1986–2001
    • 4. 1210 De Wet Ras (Free State/Natal) 1974–1986
    • 5. 1165 André Joubert (Free State/Natal) 1986–1999
  • Most career tries
    • 1. 74 John Daniels (Golden Lions/Boland Cavaliers)
    • 2. 66 Breyton Paulse (Western Province)
    • 3. 65 Chris Badenhorst (Free State)
    • 4. 58 André Joubert (Free State/Natal)
    • 5. 51 Gerrie Germishuys (Free State/Transvaal)
    • 5. 51 Carel du Plessis (Western Province/Transvaal)
    • 5. 51 Niel Burger (Western Province)
    • 5. 51 Jan-Harm Van Wyk (Free State/Pumas)
  • Most individual points in a season
  • Most team points in a season
    • Sharks (792 in 1996)
  • Most individual tries in a season
  • Most team tries in a season
    • Sharks (112 in 1996)
  • Most points in match
  • Most tries in a match
    • Jacques Olivier – 7 v SWD in 1996
  • Most final appearances

Broadcasting rights

  • SuperSport broadcasts live Currie Cup matches in South Africa.
  • Setanta Sports Asia broadcasts live Currie Cup matches in Asia.
  • Sky Sports broadcasts live Currie Cup matches in the United Kingdom.
  • WatchESPN airs live Currie Cup matches in the Americas via online streaming.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ABSA Currie Cup Records" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  2. ↑ http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/CurrieCup/wp-rock-sharks-to-lift-currie-cup-title-20171028
  3. ↑ "Namibia to compete in enlarged Currie Cup". The Namibian. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "Rugbybase wil Curriebeker-reeks nou tot 15 spanne beperk". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 18 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  • Currie Cup records (correct to the end of 2006)
  • Thau, Chris (6 November 2006). "100 years of South African rugby: Part one". irb.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  • "History of the Currie Cup". sarugby.com. 11 October 2006. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
  • "Good news for Currie Cup". sarugby.com. 30 November 2006. Archived from the original on 17 May 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
  • SA Rugby - Currie Cup News
  • Official site
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