Article by Gavin Rich ex Supersport
The Currie Cup may not be as important as it used to be, but if anyone doubted the passion that goes into winning the old trophy, it was evident for all to see when the Western Province players were joined by their fans in celebrating when Marnitz Boshoff’s attempted penalty kick flew wide.
It has been 13 years since WP won a home final and, with the memories of last year’s “choke” plus the Super Rugby crisis of not so many months ago still fresh in many minds, it was easy to understand the elation that greeted the second major title for the WP union in the space of three seasons.
The emotion of the final was a fitting way for the South African season to end, and perhaps this is the right time to look back at how the franchises and provinces have done in 2014 - and how well placed, or otherwise, they are for next year. As it is only in Super Rugby that the South African teams play against each other in a double round of full-strength matches, it is the local conference that should be recognised as the medium that determines the South African champion team. In that sense, the Sharks, as winners of the conference this year, should be acknowledged as the best local team of 2014, even though they are no longer the domestic champions.
However, enough has changed since the end of Super Rugby to change the perception we may have had in mid-year that it is at the Durban union that everything is happening. In fact, with Jake White having moved on from his position as director of rugby and yet another change of direction for the KZN team being announced, that appears far from the case, and Sharks CEO John Smit and Bulls coach Frans Ludeke should be seen as the SA rugby personalities who are most under pressure as we go into the summer recess.
Ludeke hasn’t won a trophy with the Bulls now since the 2010 Super Rugby final against the Stormers at Orlando Stadium. More disturbingly, he hasn’t guided his Blue Bulls team into a Currie Cup final since 2009. That is quite a long gap for a union that was racking up the trophies at a rapid rate for most of last decade.
As always, the Blue Bulls were on the money in the age-group competitions, making both finals, but that shouldn’t ease the pressure on Ludeke as the youth coming through only serves to draw attention to some of the selection mistakes being made at senior level. For the record, the Bulls won the under-21 final, where they do tend to profit from the senior team’s habit of not making the final as it means they can field Currie Cup players, and lost the under-19 decider. Both were against WP.
For the Sharks, the reality is that although they did profit from a good draw and having most of the top players fit for the duration of the Super Rugby competition, this most recent Currie Cup was their worst in ages. Whereas, when John Plumtree was coach they invariably finished top of the log, the league finishes have gotten systematically worse since his departure, with last year’s second being followed by a third place in 2014.
The way the Currie Cup team was outplayed by the Lions in the semifinal also sent out disturbing messages about the depth, or lack of it, available to the Sharks at a time when the age-group teams have also struggled.(KZN dont reall produce rugby players. Threy are ateam of imports much like the bulle) Yes, they will have Springboks back for next year’s Super Rugby, but those players will probably have to be used sparingly in a World Cup year.
There was a lot of talk at the Sharks about changing their game during Super Rugby, and by the end of it they had improved, but in my view not nearly enough and Brendan Venter has a lot of work to do in his new role as consultant technical director.(If anyone can hlep the hapless guppies its Brendon Venter)
There will be a great deal of pressure on Venter and director of rugby Gary Gold to get it right next year, for Smit has already presided over too many changes of regime. Although Smit promised an “exhaustive process” to find White’s replacement, the public favourite for the position, John Mitchell, wasn’t even sounded out.(John is an amateur running the show)
Certainly the mood in Durban rugby circles at the moment is a far cry from the optimism with which the 2014 season was greeted (A pall of gloom decended when Jake departed), and it is surely the same at the Cheetahs, where last year’s rare appearance in the Super Rugby play-offs was followed by them bombing in this year’s tournament. The Free State part of the franchise then followed that up with an abjectly poor challenge in the Currie Cup, where they failed to make the semifinals. (Their perenial problem is that their best palyers are looted by the sharks and bulle)
In the past the Lions and Cheetahs were always expected to do well in the World Cup years, when the Currie Cup was played without Springboks, and now that the Bok removal from the competition is likely to be permanent, there really isn’t any excuse for those teams not to feature.
Of course, the Lions did do well this year, and the defeat in the Currie Cup decider should not detract from the enormous growth that has been made under the coaching of Johan Ackermann. However, while the Lions do play a pleasing brand of rugby, they were caught short because of a lack of variety in their approach to the final, and the decider may have exposed some naivety.(I called it helter sckelter rugby - just abit overdone? we are after all NOT kiwi netballers but rugby bplayers!!))
With the gifted Boshoff at flyhalf, the Lions do have the ability to mix up their game more than they did at Newlands. Interestingly, they kicked a lot in Super Rugby, when Boshoff was present, and embarked on a more possession orientated approach in the Currie Cup, when Boshoff was out for most of it injured (A fact ignored by those unfairly lambasting Marnitz - for once snaspter got thgis one right!!!). You suspect if they get a better balance between the two, they will be more of a factor in Super Rugby, for they do have a strong set-piece platform to work off.
Talking of set-piece, that is something that WP, who now morph back into the Stormers for the purposes of Super Rugby, need to work on – at least the scrums (there is nothing wrong with their lineout). Looking ahead at next year, a lot hinges on who they sign up as the tighthead back-up for Frans Malherbe, as Pat Cilliers and Brok Cilliers, who wore the No 3 jersey in the Currie Cup, are both headed overseas. (A point noted by Beeno)
If Gert Smal can make a good signing or two there, the Stormers should be favoured to win the SA conference in Super Rugby next year, as it shouldn’t be forgotten that the team that won the domestic final was without several experienced Boks and other injured players. (Another point made by Beeno)
The Currie Cup served its intended purpose by widening the WP depth while also giving some of the new and fringe players the invaluable experience of playing in and winning a major final. Some of the WP players that won the Currie Cup decider are still eligible for the under-21 team and they will have benefitted immeasurably from being part of a winning effort in the big occasion final that this last Saturday's event at Newlands was. (Probably meaning that WP have the strongest under 21 side as well)
WP contested all three finals on finals day, which means that new director of rugby, Smal, is presiding over a system that is working. Right now, and until the Bulls bosses make the change of coaching personnel that could galvanise that team, the Cape seems to be where it’s all happening.
Rooitwit will remain a brighter shade of green next year again it seems.
