Super15 National Conference System- Replaces Curry Cup?

The decision to revert to the strength-versus-strength format will boost the sustainability and authenticity of the Currie Cup this season.

The opening round of the ‘new’ six-team Currie Cup Premier Division is in the book and how refreshing it was to see the oldest rugby competition in the world return to its glory days with three intriguing games kicking off the 2012 season. 

The strength-versus-strength format is what Currie Cup rugby should be - the six top unions in the country battling it out for the crown jewel of South African rugby. No squash matches, no formalities, simply exciting, competitive matches week in, week out.

I have fond memories watching Uli Schmidt help Transvaal capture the Sir Donald Currie Cup; speedsters like Cobus van der Westhuizen, Deon Oosthuizen and Chris Badenhorst score scorching tries and future legends Os du Randt, John Smit, Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez make a name for themselves in the Currie Cup.    

Granted, with the country’s leading players on Springbok duty, the ‘old lady’ of South African rugby has lost her greatest drawing card. This was evident at the weekend with three scarce crowds making the effort to watch the action live, although the inclement Cape Town weather played a major part in the low attendance for the main game between Western Province and the Sharks. 

However, it remains the ultimate stage for up-and-coming stars to announce themselves to the rugby-mad South African audience. It’s unfortunate that the lack of big-name players and the ever-increasing length of the Super Rugby season mean only die-hard supporters witness the emergence of the next generation of stars, with the casual fan having little interest in what they consider to be a watered-down version of the South African Super Rugby Conference.

A week into the 2012 campaign and already Jan Serfontein and Raymond Rhule, two key players in the IRB Junior World Championship-winning South African Under-20 side, have made their Currie Cup debuts.    

The talented duo will only further develop their skills this season and enhance their reputations while lesser-known players will come through the ranks in a similar manner Marcell Coetzee and Siya Kolisi, both included in the Springbok Rugby Championship squad, did in last year’s Currie Cup.

Its role may have changed since the advent of Super Rugby, but the Currie Cup remains an integral part of South African rugby that should forever be treasured. 
 
 

Comments (2)

Nice try Quintin but the reality it that our beloved "old lady" has turned into a glorified Vodacom cup up untill the time that the boks play a bigger role and this is fairly reflected by the crowd attendance

 The ‘old lady’ has become a feeder system for Super15 players.

To be honest we do not really need the Curry Cup anymore because of the Super15 national conference system- which is a league instead of a final play off final. So in theory the Stormers have won the "Curry Cup" this year as the conference winners of South Africa. The structure of the Super15 has changed to have more derbys- one home and away against each SA team. This is more than enough to be appointed as national champions. 

It is not worth having our best players(Springboks) play more games in the Curry Cup along with Test Rugby given the heavy demands of the tour. We get to watch them during the extended Super15 in many local derbies and also against international teams.

The public wanted more derbies in all 3 countries and this has increased the popularity of rugby in all 3 counties measured by viewership.  The viewership was also at record highs for local derbies this year- beating previous Curry cup records. 

In Summary, The boks typically should not play Curry cup bar injuries, loss of form etc.

Putting the boks into this tournament will unbalance it completely. Rather have more teams play to develop depth for the Super 15. Then the Super 15 is the feeder system for the boks. It is better to have a tiered system of strength vs strength to raise the levels for the internationals. 

I have nothing against taking the CC competition and integrating it into the S15. This will decrease player and spectator fatigue. We can even go one further to have a seperate log system for the Currie cup where onlt Derby games in the S15 count towards that log system.  This will obviously remove the Conferance winner cup for the South African teams out of the picture. Seems few people actually realise it exists and let alone know how it look liks. Replace this with the CC. Good Idea in theory.............

In practice, it is a monster however. Diffenrent sponsors for different events, Different teams for different events, this would mean that the Gqiquas don't take part as the Griquas but with the cheetahs, could mean the death of the smaller union totally. If this would work the whole franchise system should be thrown out the door and we should go back to a possible playoff event for the lower tipped teams. Alot of proplems from a practical point of view, and not so sure if the Smaller unions will go for a vote like that as it would mean them bieng shunned even more.

To these oaks we have won nothing. The SA Conference wins mean zip. However the egg has now landed!!   Enjoy.

Currie cup is not what it used to be so I wouldnt rate teams from there. I mean a 3rd string Sharks team beat a good province team in the Cape. Doesnt make sense. I would be interested to know what the points will be if you take out all the games each of the SA teams played against overseas opposition and just worked out the points they would have had after just playing the SA teams. Stormers may still be on top but it would interest me to know. I just dont have the time now to do it myself ;-)

Beeno will be happy to know after round robin play the table would have looked like this if scored only on derby games:

Stormers - 29

Sharks - 26

Bulls - 26

Lions - 10

Cheetahs - 7

If we take the last game between Sharks and Stormers and counted the points, Sharks 30, Stormers 30 ;-) Thats not fair though. Gota give Beeno his time to gloat here ;-)

Beeno will be happy to know after round robin play the table would have looked like this if scored only on derby games:

Stormers - 29

Sharks - 26

Bulls - 26

Lions - 10

Cheetahs - 7

If we take the last game between Sharks and Stormers and counted the points, Sharks 30, Stormers 30 ;-) Thats not fair though. Gota give Beeno his time to gloat here ;-)

 Ok I did it anyway.

Beeno will be happy to know after round robin play the table would have looked like this if scored only on derby games:

Stormers - 29

Sharks - 26

Bulls - 26

Lions - 10

Cheetahs - 7

If we take the last game between Sharks and Stormers and counted the points, Sharks 30, Stormers 30 ;-) Thats not fair though. Gota give Beeno his time to gloat here ;-)

To win a competition, you have to win the final. The final in this competition (the 2012 S15), in my eyes would have been the semi-final between the Sharks and the Stormers.................................

Need I say more?

The Currie Cup IS the oldest rugby competition in the world !!!

I will guarentee that every single team, player, coach and management person would rather have the Currie Cup trophy than the conference trophy.

Edit: Better ?

1. Chiefs

2. Sharks

3. Crusaders

4. Stormers

The Stormers (as usual) wasted every oppertunity the conference trophy gave them.

Stormers best ever finish was 2nd and they achieved it once, while the Sharks have achieved the same, but 4 times.

The Stormers are not a finals teams.

More than the rugby, I think its the ticket prices and crime around the stadiums that is affecting crowd numbers. I know that is some peoples reasons for not bothering but I cant see any other reasons people would want to stay away from such a great tournament. Currie cup is full of Springboks in a sense. I remember sitting in Kings Park watching Frans Steyn's first ever game for the Sharks. He was in the program at 15 and came out in the 10 jersey due to his big boot and the pouring rain against WP.  He scored a great try and was monumental on his debut in a great win for the Sharks. Who would not wana witness raw talent and up and coming players fighting to be noticed! We have Deon Fourie, Paul Jordaan, Pieter Steph Du Toit, Kolisi and others all playing there that have massive futures ahead of them.

its the oldest and proudest local comp in the world and looking at the level of the play last week will remain so for years to come. still the most sought after cup to win in world rugby.

its a major comp the conf cup is not even a registerd legtimate cup. RWC, Super rugby and cc are the most sought after and major cups to hold.

the vodacom cup serves no purpose in my view.