So Super Rugby is over – at least from a South African point of view. Nevermind chaps – do you realise that the Currie Cup starts in less than two weeks?
There’s been little fanfare and attention given to our oldest and most prestigious local competition given the hype around Super Rugby this year, but it remains a great competition and – most importantly for Sharks fans – one for which we have a trophy that needs defending. Let’s have a look at how the Currie Cup will be contested in 2011.
SARU has announced that, from 2012 onwards, the Currie Cup will revert to a 6-team format in the Premier section, meaning that two teams will drop down to the lower First Division after 2011. While the details have yet to be finalised, one would think that the spectre of looming relegation would make it absolutely critical for each side in this year’s competition to perform as well as they possibly can in the last year of the 8-team format.
The team lineup is no different this year, with neither the Eagles nor the Kings managing to secure promotion last year. That means the Pumas and Leopards will live to fight another day and the competition takes on a familiar format this season, with last year’s double round-robin league stage retained. Each team plays every other team home and away, with the top four progressing to the semi-finals. Adding interest and spice to the competition this year is the matter of the 49 Boks players who are likely to be missing for at least some of the season (with the lucky 30 who make the final World Cup squad withdrawn for the entire competition). Team badly affected by Bok call-ups will need to dig deep and unearth new talent in order to compete with the other sides on a far more level playing field. This should, in short, be a hell of a Currie Cup season, with the field wide open.
The first round will dish up some intriguing matches, starting with the Lions up against the Pumas in Johannesburg on Friday. The Lions will look to build on some better play in the Super Rugby competition, but might be hampered by the ongoing political nonsense happening in the boardrooms at Coce Cola Park. They should have much the same squad as, with only Butch James and Elton Jantjies lost to the Boks, with John Mitchell one of the best coaches in the business at this level. The Pumas, under Jimmy Stonehouse, beat them in Joburg last year, though and will want to continue their giant-killing exploits this year with much the same squad as in 2010.
Moving to Saturday 16 July, Province take on Griquas in the first match that could lead to a real upset. The Kwas were good last year and will only be better in 2011, having had the benefit of so much extra time to prepare. Province will be short of a lot of man-power too and Sarel Pretorius will look to inspire the peacock-blues to a rousing performance in Cape Town. Look for new forwards coach Pote Human to have a few things up his sleeve against a Province pack that will be smarting after their Super Rugby annihilation at the hands of the Crusaders. They too have a former Bulls stalwart coaching in Matt Proudfoot, though and it should be an intriguing tussle up front.
The Cheetahs will be strong this year, as always, but will need their young halfbacks to really step up and dominate against the Leopards in the opening round. You have to back them to get a good win under their belts here, although the Leopards got off to the best possible start under new coach Leon Boshoff when they annihilated an under-strength Bulls side at Loftus in a warmup game this past weekend. Right them off at your peril!
The big one will, of course, be the Sharks against the Blue Bulls at Kings Park. Both sides will be almost unrecognisable from the outfits that played to a thrilling result at Loftus in Super Rugby three weeks ago, with 29 out of the 49-man Bok squad coming from these two teams alone. The real test for the Bulls here will be to see how well they can gel under new coach Pine Pienaar, given that this will be his first big match at the helm. The Sharks will be coached by John Plumtree again, but he will be forced to bring through a lot of new blood in this year’s competition too.
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Prooovince Proooovince Prooooooooooooooooooovince die Currie Cup kom weer!
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 1) : write us an article on who you guys have lost and who’s gonna replace them?
Is it this weekend or next?
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 1) : Prooovince Proooovince Prooooooooooooooooooovince die Currie Cup kom weer! Weer nie die keer! 😆
Is Michalak going to play for the Sharks in the Currie Cup? If so then the flyhalf or scrumhalf berths are well covered. There has been debate on who will play scrumhalf with McCleod at the Boks and Hoffman injured. Michalak is the answer and JL Potgieter, or Meyer Bosman (he is a flyhalf as well remember) can play in the number 10 jersey.
The Currie Cup this year will definitely not create as much hype as usual, but it still has great value in that new players can be bread, increasing squad depth for next year.
@Morné (Comment 3) : 16th, which would be in two weekends time.
@robdylan (Comment 2) : I have a half written article laying around but finding out who the hell the final Currie Cup squad is is proving a pain.
It is interesting.
The Stormers have said in the past that although the CC is still important, it has now become a medium to build towards Super Rugby. The Bulls last week in announcing their new structures, has said the same thing.
Obviously a tournament is a tournament and a cup is there to be won.
But if we consider that in Super Rugby, with all Springboks available to our top 5 teams (franchises if you will), I predict that the Currie Cup will not only turn into a Vodacom Cup type of competition, but the conference winners in Super Rugby will be a more realistic yardstick for teams in claiming bragging rights…
In fact, thinking about that and the problem SA Rugby has to convince the small unions to play in a 8-team second division, why not just award the Currie Cup to the top team in the SA Conference from next year and create a whole new competition for our domestic teams who will not field Springboks at all anymore in future.
superxv.com is reporting that the Crusaders could build a whole new stadium next year! 😯 This to aviod being on the road again and to play most of their games in Christchurch.
Check it out: http://www.superxv.com/news/super15_rugby_news.asp?id=31022
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 6) :
Tx.
@Morné (Comment 3) : WP play Griguas at Newlands.Looks like the great flyhalf battle on the day will be between Isma-eel Dollie vs Monty Dumond. One for the history books.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 9) :
I think we should invite the Crusaders to base themselves in SA – give them soccer city!
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 11) :
Oh dear.
@Morné (Comment 8) : shhhh…. please don’t! Not yet 🙁
@Morné (Comment 8) : That last piont has caused mixed feelings for me. While I think it is a good idea to award the Currie Cup to the SA conference winners, as it is basically a 5 team Currie Cup format within Super Rugby, it is a little bit difficult giving up the oldest tournament in SA!
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 9) : Sorry if that was a bit off topic, just thought I should mention it.
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 11) : if Monty manages to crack a starting berth ahead of EArl Rose, that is…
Dollie v Rose could be VERY interesting too.
@Morné (Comment 12) : Todd Blackadder has already said they thought about moving to the “nice stadium just down the road from here (Newlands)” (referring to the Greenpoint stadium in Cape Town). Well at least they will have a loyal support base there! 😆 😆 😆
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 15) :
Look I agree, this year I fear is the last year anyone can claim any sort of bragging rights on winning the Currie Cup.
Following that, our great competition will slowly go down the tubes.
@Morné (Comment 18) : What if they change the format of Super Rugby though – which I think SANZAR desperately need to consider doing – the Currie Cup could still survive then. Remember that in a decade or two we could very well see a 20 team Super Rugby competition, where they will then need to definitely change the format. The USA, Pacific Islanders and Argentina are all potential sleeping giants and if the money was investing in the right places by the IRB we could see the inclusion of teams from those regions. The Currie Cup may yet survive.
The demise of the Currie Cup has been touted for years now and every year it starts off slowly and ends with massive intensity and chest beating. So what if every 4 years it is not so intensely contested in its final stages, it remains a great competition.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 19) :
We are talking 5, 10 years down the line here, by then the damage would have been done I think.
@Salmonoid (Comment 20) :
The difference now is that the Currie Cup will not smell any Springboks this, and next year and beyond.
The only reason the CC picked up steam in the past, is because the top Boks returned – that will not be the case anymore.
Has John Plumtree actually named a Currie Cup squad?
@Morné (Comment 21) : Why wont the Boks play the later stages of the CC in non world cup years.
Personally, I wish they would change the system so that only the 4 semi-finalist from the Currie Cup gets to compete in Superrugby, with excess players being made available to the 4 squads via a central draft system, but that is a total pipe dream
@robdylan (Comment 16) : Hehehe VERY interesting indeed. You sort of have to back Dollie to make the least mistakes.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 22) : I don’t think anyone has.
@Salmonoid (Comment 23) :
From next year the Super Rugby format (length/schedule) changes. After 16 Rounds there will be a break in the competition to cater for incoming tours, in our case, England will come to SA for 3 tests.
Following this, Super Rugby will complete its 6 remaining Rounds (3 league matches, 3 week of play-off matches).
2 Weeks following the conclusion of Super Rugby, the now ‘Four’ Nations will start (including Argentina) as well as the Currie Cup with the Boks involved in Super Rugby going on a mandatory 2-week break (inbetween competitions).
The addition of Argentina will mean more matches, each team will play 6 matches (each nation, NZ, Aus and Arg) home and away.
What you will have effectively is the Super Rugby competition only concluding (final) in August in a non-World Cup year. Four Nations will run from end August, through September into October (CC final is played in October). Following the Four Nations, you will have the End of Year Tours.
So the answer quite simply, is that there is no time for the Boks to play in Currie Cup rugby anymore – calendar is jam-packed.
@Culling Song (Comment 24) : That would be the ideal but with the Boks missing out on so much of the tournament it could be very unfair to the major contributors.
I love the Currie Cup and wish it could be contested to its fullest. They can rather cut down on the super sized Super competition and the money spinning Internationals which will start taking on overkill proportions.
@Morné (Comment 27) : Aaarghhhh overkill.
I presume there is an article in the pipeline.
@war1 (Comment 26) : Well in that case… Here is what we have (this is the Super Rugby squad that was named on http://www.sharksrugby.co.za):
Hookers:Craig Burden
Props:Sabelo Nhlapo; Eugene Van Staden
Locks: Anton Bresler; Gerhard Mostert; Ross Skeate; Steven Sykes
Loose Forwards: Jacques Botes; Marcell Coetzee; Keegan Daniel; Jean Deysel;Lambert Groenewald
Scrumhalves: Conrad Hoffman (injured)
Flyhalves: Frederic Michalak; JL Potgieter
Centers: Meyer Bosman; Stefan Terblanche
Wings: Luzuko Vulindlu (plays center as well)
Fullbacks: Louis Ludik
Meyer Bosman can play flyhalf, Michalak can play scrumhalf and Potgieter can play center. We are thin on wing depth, though what has happened to that u21 player Mark Richards??
Of course there are more players to choose from than above, but that is just the players left from the Super Rugby squad.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 30) : We’re well covered in the loose forward department!
@Morné (Comment 18) : I really hope you’re wrong on this! The CC remains my favourite annual rugby competition and I really hope it finds a way to continue influencing and defining SA rugby even if it that means that it turns into the ultimate rugby development competition.
@Salmonoid (Comment 29) :
Like Rob said, not yet, let’s enjoy the Currie Cup while it is still here in a way we can appreciate it! 😆
@vanmartin (Comment 32) :
That is what it will ultimately become – let’s hope that even if it does, they somehow manage to keep its prestige!
@Morné (Comment 34) : I for one don’t care if I see Springboks in the CC or not. To me it’s about tradition, history, unearthing exciting new talent and even seeing ex-Springboks given one final chance at glory. Hope a lot of other South Africans feel the same way about this.
@vanmartin (Comment 35) : Exactly my thoughts and feelings. Unfortunately the Currie Cup has been under threat for a while now and with the expanded Super 15 tournament the threat has only gotten worse. Especially in the next few years where the Boks won’t return to spice up the competition…
Go Sharks! 😛
@vanmartin (Comment 35) : @Morné (Comment 34) : @The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 36) : Sad times are approaching SA rugby… 🙁 🙁
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 30) : A few of those players will not play Currie cup for the Sharks this year.
@war1 (Comment 39) : Then we really are going to be breeding a whole new blood of Sharks rugby players! At least a few more u/21, and even u/19, players will get there chance on the big stage… well not so big stage any more unfortunately…
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 40) : You do realise that Plum is still the coach?
@war1 (Comment 41) : Your point being?
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 42) : He is not exactly known for giving young players playing opportunities.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 30) :
Hookers:Craig Burden, Kyle Cooper
Props:Sabelo Nhlapo; Eugene Van Staden, Dale Chadwick, Julian Redelinghuys, Wiehahn Herbst
Locks: Anton Bresler; Gerhard Mostert; Ross Skeate;
Steven Sykes, Jandre MaraisLoose Forwards: Jacques Botes; Marcell Coetzee; Keegan Daniel; Jean Deysel;
Lambert Groenewald, Daniel AdongaScrumhalves: Conrad Hoffman (injured), Ross Cronje
Flyhalves: Frederic Michalak; JL Potgieter, Guy Cronje
Centers: Meyer Bosman; Stefan Terblanche, Marius Joubert
Wings:
Luzuko Vulindlu, Sbura Sithole, Mark Richards, Rosco SpeckmannFullbacks: Louis Ludik
@war1 (Comment 43) : Doesn’t matter. He’s going to need to trust a couple of youngsters in this years competition. Patrick Lambie was trusted last year with the no10 jersey and look at the rewards! There is no way he is going to buy enough players to plug all the holes…
@robdylan (Comment 44) : Whats happened to Sykes? Gone to europe?
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 45) : are you suggesting that sharks don’t have money. hehehe. I almost wish, then at least we would see some youngsters.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 45) : it’s a very valid comment that… there is simply no way the Sharks can buy in replacements for 13 people
@rekinek (Comment 47) : They can buy one or two players but there are going to be injuries and some youngesters will get a chance.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 46) : yes… Steven is going to play for Leinster in Ireland. Or so we believe
The problem with the ever expanding Super Rugby Competition and Tri Nations means that the Currie Cup is basically a repeat of the Vodacom Cup plus a few extra players. The increase of local derbies in Super Rugby means that a Sharks/Bulls game in the Currie Cup will carry less interest than it has in the past as they would have played each other so many times already. Will be interested to see what happens…especially the crowd sizes!
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 49) : i just learnt not to get overexcited in this department.
@robdylan (Comment 44) : Whats the deal with Vulindlu?
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 53) : Oh shit… I wasn’t meant to let that particular cat out of the bag, was I?
I don’t believe he’ll stick around
@robdylan (Comment 54) : Nooit, thought this year or next he would come through nicely.
@robdylan (Comment 50) : Yes I remember reading something about that now, my bad. 😳
@rekinek (Comment 52) : Maybe with the great success Plum enjoyed with Lambie he might be a little more open this time around?
@SheldonK (Comment 51) : CROWD sizes? I hardly think there are going to be ‘crowds’ (I hope I am wrong).
But lets face the facts. Of the 49-man Bok squad, 19 are coming back to the Currie Cup. Some of those will be Sharks. I won’t be surprised if Alistair Hargreaves, Charl McCleod, Lwazi Mvovo, Odwa Ndungane and even Ryan Kankowski or Willem Alberts return to the Sharks rugby team.
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 56) : but WHEN are those 19 coming back? There’s a good chance some or all of them will be involved in the 3N, particularly if an under-strength squad is selected for the away leg.
I think it’s safe to assume that for at least the first month of Currie Cup, none of those 49 players will be involved.
@robdylan (Comment 57) : Good point. But that just means that no matter how conservative Plum is he is gonna have to pick some youngsters in the side. If they prove themselves then that will make it an even more successful Currie Cup!
Any news on mostert?
Hope the sharks give a new backline coach a shot at coaching (or was that uncalled for?)
I definitely think the Cheetahs are the team to beat in the Currie Cup as they lose no players to the Boks and only a couple to Griquas. I think the Sharks will have a solid core side but we wont have the same quality bench as we did for Super rugby. Im hoping the public go and support the games as there should be sum good contests.
@SheldonK (Comment 61) : i’m not sure i agree… I reckon Griquas could end higher than the Cheetahs
@bergshark (Comment 59) : not yet… will try get an update
What happened in that under 21 game in White River?
@SheldonK (Comment 61) : Have you looked at the Bok prelimanery World Cup squad at all? There are definitely some Cheetahs players in there, who they will lose for some time.
The Cheetahs are likely to completely lose the services of near garunteed Bok flanks Juan Smith and Heinrich Brüssow
Furthermore Coenie Oosthuizen, Adriaan Strauss and Ashley Johnson will all be gone for at least the first few weeks of the Currie Cup.
@SheldonK (Comment 61) : The extent of each team’s player loss will not be fully known though until the away squad of the Tri-Nations is announced. There could be a whole lot of second-stringers in there!
@Salmonoid (Comment 64) : boys won by about 70 points
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 66) : The RWC squad of 30 is scheduled to be announced on August 23. Anyone not in it will return to Currie Cup.
So. The big question – who do you reckon will be the 19 players to drop from the Preliminary Rugby World Cup Springbok Squad of 49 below on August 23?
Shall we open up the books? 😆
Willem Alberts The Sharks
Gio Aplon DHL Western Province
Bjorn Basson Vodacom Blue Bulls
Andries Bekker DHL Western Province
Bakkies Botha Vodacom Blue Bulls
BJ Botha Ulster
Heinrich Brüssow Toyota Free State Cheetahs
Schalk Burger DHL Western Province
Juan de Jongh DHL Western Province
Jean de Villiers DHL Western Province
Bismarck du Plessis The Sharks
Jannie du Plessis The Sharks
Fourie du Preez Vodacom Blue Bulls
Jaque Fourie DHL Western Province
Dean Greyling Vodacom Blue Bulls
Bryan Habana DHL Western Province
Alistair Hargreaves The Sharks
Francois Hougaard Vodacom Blue Bulls
Adrian Jacobs The Sharks
Butch James MTN Golden Lions
Elton Jantjies MTN Golden Lions
Charl McLeod Sharks
Ashley Johnson Toyota Free State Cheetahs
Ryan Kankowski The Sharks
Zane Kirchner Vodacom Blue Bulls
Werner Kruger Vodacom Blue Bulls
Patrick Lambie The Sharks
Francois Louw DHL Western Province
Victor Matfield Vodacom Blue Bulls
Tendai Mtawarira The Sharks
Johann Muller Ulster
Lwazi Mvovo The Sharks
Odwa Ndungane The Sharks
Wynand Olivier Vodacom Blue Bulls
Coenie Oosthuizen Toyota Free State Cheetahs
Ruan Pienaar Ulster
JP Pietersen The Sharks
Chiliboy Ralepelle Vodacom Blue Bulls
Danie Rossouw Vodacom Blue Bulls
John Smit The Sharks
Juan Smith Toyota Free State Cheetahs
Pierre Spies Vodacom Blue Bulls
Gurthrö Steenkamp Vodacom Blue Bulls
Deon Stegmann Vodacom Blue Bulls
Frans Steyn Racing Metro
Morné Steyn Vodacom Blue Bulls
Adriaan Strauss Toyota Free State Cheetahs
Flip van der Merwe Vodacom Blue Bulls
Duane Vermeulen DHL Western Province
@SharonvanWyk (Comment 68) : but does that mean all 49 not playing now…. I suppose that, that is what u are saying..
Drop both flip vd merwe and hargreaves.
Hope duane vermeulen is ready .
@franshark (Comment 70) : Yup. Until the final squad is announced, all 49 are out of CC.
Ashley johnson -really like to see what he can bring to the bok jersey.hope he gets starters in 3N.
All 49 out till final squad is announced??! Going to make things interesting.
@bergshark (Comment 73) : Me too. I guess the real question is whether PDiv will use the TriNations as a proving ground for the fresh meat in the Bok squad and to rest the “old guard” or whether he will seek to use the TriNations to get a team together to “gel” for RWC.
@SharonvanWyk (Comment 75) : The TriNations is going to be a good form indicator as well.
Seems like there might be lots of combinations and players tested in 3N then.guess resting the front line.
But what if there is a lot of resting the best players on the away leg from all 3 nations(meaning they only really look to win their home games)?
Bekker,matfield,bakkies,rossouw,muller or both as locks.with rossouw as aditional cover no7,no8.
@bergshark (Comment 78) : I guess everyone involved in 3N is in the same boat… with the same conundrum – do we rest players, field the B-team and risk a TriNations disaster but have a better shot at the RWC or do we put a “dream team” together for TriNations to get it to gel for RWC and risk some players getting injured?
I think it will be an interesting time coming up. PDV has to weigh up playing a 2nd string side and possibly losing and getting heavily critised for not having depth or he plays his top players and perhaps still loses and get even more critised for not resting the top guys. Its tough at the top hey! Persoanlly i think he will go with the tried and tested with mayb 1 or 2 “surprises”!
@sharonvanwyk:care to work out how many k’s the sharks have traveled this season?include their trip back after losing against saders ,please.
@SheldonK (Comment 81) : Surprises, definitely.
And please, someone correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Butch James effectively out of the mix for TriNations because of his ban following the Sharks v Lions game and that high-tackle on Keegan…???
@bergshark (Comment 82) : Eish. A fair few indeed, especially with that detour to London. But the Saders have done more than anyone thanks to not having a home ground, and having to travel extensively for every “home” match.
Think he received 2 weeks? Writing under correction.not sure.
@bergshark (Comment 85) : Thought it was four?
@sharonvanwyk:you counting ct as away games???!
😉
OK. It was four weeks, but because the Lions had a bye in the final round of the competition, the “punishment” was delayed till Monday June 20, meaning he will be eligible to play from Monday July 17, irrespective of the fact that there has been no rugby in between those dates for the Lions, so James will have missed no games!!! 😯
@SharonvanWyk (Comment 89) : As an aside to that, not even Currie Cup because as part of the Bok squad he wouldn’t have been eligible for CC anyway. So basically James gets zero punishment. GOOD ONE SANZAR!!! 👿
That’s like expelling a kid on the last day of school. 🙁
@sharonvanwyk:was writing under correction,before you get the firing squad out for me ..!
Yes,you right.
The way things are looking,it be good to have butchie in the mix.maybe have the same 2007 wc 10,12,13 and 14.fb and left wing up for grabs.and 9.
Hougaard on left wing,aplon at fb? Ruan or fourie at 9?
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 1) : Kom weer DURBAN toe.
@Morné (Comment 12) : No dude if they want sellout 😛 crowds every week then they should play at greenpoint Stadium.
World Cup Starting XV wil be
1. Beast
2. John Smit c
3. Jannie du Plessis
4. Bakkies
5. Matfield
6. Burger
7. Juan Smith
8. Spies
9. Fourie du Preez
10. Morne Steyn
11. Habana
12. De Villiers
13. Jaque Fourie
14. JP Peterson
15. Frans Steyn
16. Bismark
17. Steenkamp
18. Bekker
19. Alberts
20. Ruan Pienaar
21. Butch James
22. De Jongh
@Mutley (Comment 97) : i hear rumours that Butch is number 1 flyhalf 🙄
@robdylan (Comment 44) : Hi Rob, where is old Lambert Groenewald heading?
@beet (Comment 99) : nothing is confirmed yet… all I know is he’s back home in the Cape at the moment without a Sharks contract.
@robdylan (Comment 100) : Thanks Rob. This kind of info is only available here at SW thanks to your tiredless efforts. Much appreciated.
@robdylan (Comment 100) : Rob I heard that the young Talent JP du Plessis is back in RSA, and was going to sign with the lions…and now is also without a contract with all this lions stuff…can’t you send a message about this to the powers that be, he is a fine talent?
@BoerSeun (Comment 102) : ha ha… they don’t read my emails, boet!
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 56) : me wish. with the successful academy we should have no need to buy players. Sharks have enough of experience already to mentor newcomers. I really do not see point in buying guys like JLP, Bosman or Joubert (not even Freddy – but I will keep quiet because I like him
@KSA Shark © (Comment 95) : i would love headlines “Currie Cup stays put” 😀
@rekinek (Comment 104) : I dont care if we develop or buy, but we seriously need a good center pairing again! Too long has that been our weak point…
@rekinek (Comment 104) : Freddy is different… I see him as a true “marquee signing”… the others, well… not as much
@The Sharks Sharkie (Comment 106) : agree – the problem is I can’t see Stef being dropped or moved back to fullback (where I liked him).
@robdylan (Comment 107) : i like the way you think 😎