Scarcely believable, isn’t it, after the doom and gloom of the last few years (and missing out altogether on Currie Cup semi-finals in 2015 and 2016)… but the 2017 Currie Cup final will take place at Kings Park this Saturday, kicking off at 16:00.
The Sharks and Western Province beat the Blue Bulls and Lions respectively in weekend semi-final action to set up a replay of a very familiar coastal derby fixture; it was, after all, Western Province that Natal faced in their first second ever Currie Cup final in 1984. It was not until 1995 that Natal played WP again in the showpiece, this time at Kings Park and this time to end up winners for the third time in six years. 2000 and 2001 saw a pair of finals between the two, with WP emerging victorious both times, home and away. More recently, in 2010, 2012 and 2013, it was the Sharks won won two of the fixtures against a lone – shock upset – win for Province at Kings Park.
That’s an interesting record; this will be the eighth final between these teams, with Province boasting four previous wins and the Sharks three. Of those seven previous finals, the away team has won on three occasions and with the last two fixtures going against the home-field rub, the Sharks will desperately be hoping to avoid a repeat. That said, 2012’s win by a young and hungry Western Province team at Kings Park came against a lethargic Sharks team packed full of Springboks whose hearts simply didn’t appear to be in it on the day. It’s hard to imagine a more different prevailing mood this weekend, with both teams seemingly desperate to pick up the trophy ahead of a grueling return to “proper” Super Rugby next year.
The Sharks will need to raise their game to taste victory, though; Province are the only team they’ve not really seemed to have an answer to this year, squeaking a narrow 1-point win in Cape Town before going down heavily at Kings Park in the return fixture just a fortnight ago. With Province boasting the best defence in the competition, the Sharks will not enjoy the sort of easy-peasy try-fest that the Bulls allowed them and with Robert du Preez in fine form with the boot as tactical general, it’s going to take an almighty effort from the home side to find a way to unlock the “wall of Cape Town” and ensure that the pressure stays on Province throughout.
Spare a thought for ace Sharks winger S’bu Nkosi, now looking all-but-certain of missing out on the showcase after an elbow dislocation at the weekend. An appearance in the Currie Cup Final would have been a fitting climax to a stellar debut season for the young man, but even if that’s not to be, we know that at just 21 years old, Nkosi will still play in many crucial knock-out games for the Sharks in years to come.
We’re not aware of any other injury concerns at this stage; Province, on the other hand, may be without EW Viljoen, JD Schicerkling and possibly also Jaco Coetzee.
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Who is the ref, hope to hell we get Stuart Berry but it will probably be one of the Hobbits,Peyper or Starving Marvin.
And Cheetahs u19 surprisingly beat WP at Newlands to progress to the final to face the table topping Lions. Bulls u21 demolished their Cheetahs opponents, and will face the WP.
@The hound (Comment 1) : I would assume it will be Rasta? Unless they look to give one of the test refs a run, but doubt it.
@KingCheetah (Comment 2) : Great result for your u19s. Well done.,
@SheldonK (Comment 3) : Rasta missed some pretty obvious stuff on Saturday. 😳
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 4) : Thanks, we have fallen off the bus in the CC, but the u19, and the Griffons have done well in their respective tournaments. Griffons defended their First Division title, and will play a promo/relegation match vs Griquas. Griffons u20 also defeated Limpopo Blue Bulls to win their tournament.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 5) : I must admit i didnt watch that game too closely
Sharks by 10+.
Natal’s first Currie Cup final was in 1956 vs N.Transvaal.
@Greg (Comment 9) : fuck me, so it was! Any idea of the history behind that?
Nice! Any tickets to be won?
@Poisy (Comment 11) : let me see
@robdylan (Comment 12) : Tickets for anyone with details on that 1956 final/season.
Good luck for the final Sharks faithful. Must say I am a bit surprised that WP disposed of the Lions relatively easily. Going to be a cracking match.
@Poisy (Comment 11) : 5 pairs baby!
@robdylan (Comment 12): Not much sadly. It was played at Kingsmead of course and by all accounts was gifted to N.Transvaal through some very dodgy decisions. Used to have one of the props who played in the Final as a colleague, Alf (forget his last name now). Real character, now sadly passed.
It can’t be that idiot Rasta surely, he had an absolute shocker on Saturday. Was pretty disgusting actually.
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 17) : Well then if it was between the to refs from the semi then Immelman will get the final.
@robdylan (Comment 15) : right! What do we have to do to get a pair?
@Poisy (Comment 19) : read the f*cking article dude. Help me out a bit? 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 20) : lol but I have!
@Poisy (Comment 21) : not this article, moegoe. The other one. The one that says “Currie Cup Final Tickets”
@Poisy (Comment 21) : THIS one : http://www.sharksworld.co.za/2017/10/23/currie-cup-final-tickets-fillthetank/
@robdylan (Comment 23) : sorry brain fart
@robdylan (Comment 22) : Sigh……is there a facepalm emoji?
@robdylan (Comment 22) : 😆 😆 😆
Although moegoe does do the trick….good dismount. …
@Poisy (Comment 24) : Dude I think you deserve those tickets just for that performance. For the most embarrassing category. ..
@coolfusion (Comment 28) : Agreed, for pure comedic value, the tickets should go to Poisy.
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees: Egon Seconds & AJ Jacobs
TMO: Marius Jonker
😐
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 30) : does anyone have stats of:
Sharks win %
WP win %
Sharks vs WP results when Toilet Peyper is the ref?
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 30) : Its interesting that of the refs appointed only AJ Jacobs was involved in the semi finals. Does that mean they thought majority of the semi final refs were rubbish? Surely like the teams the refs appointed to the semi would be hoping to make the final
Crickey, it’s only Tuesday and folks already bleating about the ref. 🙄
@Kabouter (Comment 31) : This season it’s 50/50.
Peyper hasn’t been fantastic with us in recent history but I feel Ruan conducts himself fantastically well with the ref and I’m sure with him at the head of the ship we’ll see a more neutral interpretation from Peyper.
My big worry is Marius Jonker in the TMO box. That oke seems to either not know the rules or when consulted ignores the TV completely. He’s a lottery and you never know whats going to happen, so if the Sharks score a try this weekend don’t celebrate until Jonker has reviewed the third pass, 85m away from the line after 10 minutes of play and 14 phases.
@Hulk (Comment 35) : Home final, marius still has to spend the night in Durban. If he values his facial features the way they are, he will wear glasses (if he needs them or not) when reviewing ????
@jdolivier (Comment 36) : 😉
Some interesting thoughts in this article:
https://www.alloutrugby.com/sa-needs-big-backs-not-mini-forwards/
I dont agree fully on his selections but his idea has merit