Coastal sides in brawl for winning the Currie Cup

In 2017 Cell C Sharks played hosts for DHL Western Province in the Currie Cup finals in Durban and in front of a packed crowd their dreams were shattered losing out to win some silverware.

This year the 2018 Currie Cup finals is a rematch, same teams, Cell C Sharks and DHL WP will meet again. The only difference is that it will be played at Newlands, Cape Town. The big question is if the Sharks will revenge their defeat in front of the home crowd or will the WP remain unbeaten and successfully defend their title on home soil?

The Currie Cup will reach a thrilling conclusion in Cape Town on October 27 when the unbeaten WP will set their sights on a fairy-tale finish to the season against the Sharks side.

The match, which marks the ninth time the sides battle it out for the title since 1984, will be the last of three finals played at DHL Newlands on Saturday. Kick-off in the final of the Currie Cup Premier Division is at 4pm.

All the matches played on Saturday will most probably go down in the history books as the last of the code of rugby played on Newlands. The rugby matches will most probably move to the Cape Town stadium in the new season.

The day’s action will kick off at 11am with the SA Rugby u-19 Championship final between the Vodacom Blue Bulls and Cell C Sharks, which will be followed by the SA Rugby u-21 Championship final between the Vodacom Blue Bulls and Xerox Golden Lions at 1pm.

DHL Western Province, who will be hunting back-to-back titles, will enter the match on a seven-match winning streak, although their 100-minute extravaganza in the semi-final against the Vodacom Blue Bulls will undoubtedly serve as a stark reminder that anything can happen in finals rugby.

The Cell C Sharks, meanwhile, have suffered only one defeat this season, and that was a 28 – 50 loss against DHL Western Province in the Mother City.

This, combined with the fresh memories of their home defeat in last year’s Currie Cup final, in which they allowed a 21-15 halftime lead to slip out of their hands, will fuel the Durbanites’ determination to topple the hosts this weekend.

The teams have met in three Currie Cup finals at DHL Newlands since 1984, and the hosts won two of those, although they went down 19 – 33 in the last one in 2013.

The Capetonians have been superior on attack and defence this season, but only marginally, with 40 tries scored and 145 points conceded to 32 tries scored and 157 points conceded by the Cell C Sharks, which will set the scene for an entertaining clash.

The Springbok duo of Sikhumbuzo Notshe (Number 8) and Jano Vermaak (scrumhalf) will both return from injury for the final and will start the match for DHL WP.

The only other change sees Josh Stander come into the starting XV at flyhalf, with Damian Willemse shifting to inside centre. Dan Kriel will join Hersel Jantjies on the bench, while Juarno Augustus and Paul de Wet drop out of the match-23.

The Cell C Sharks team show just two changes to the team that defeated the Xerox Golden Lions last week. Tyler Paul shifts into Jacques Vermeulen’s position on the side of the scrum, allowing an opening for Jean-Luc du Preez to gain his first start for the Cell C Sharks in this year’s competition. In the other change, Aphelele Fassi replaces Lwazi Mvovo, who was concussed in last week’s match.

The battle between the place-kickers, DHL Western Province wing SP Marais, and Cell C Sharks flyhalf Robert du Preez, is expected to be decisive. Marais is the top points scorer in the competition with 121 points, which includes 15 penalty goals and 28 conversions, but du Preez has also been effective with the boot kicking six penalty goals and 20 conversions for a total of 58 points.

From the eight previous finals between these two coastal giants, DHL WP has won five (1984, 2000, 2001, 2012 and 2017), while the Cell C Sharks have been victorious three times (1995, 2010 and 2013).

Currie Cup promotion-relegation game confirmed

The Toyota Free State Cheetahs will host Currie Cup First Division champions, the SWD Eagles, in a promotion-relegation match on October 30, to determine which side will feature in the Currie Cup Premier Division next season.

The match will be played at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein at 6pm.

The Free Staters finished the pool stages of the Currie Cup Premier Division as the last-place team, while the SWD Eagles completed the league stages of the Currie Cup First Division as the best-placed team and thus qualified for the promotion/relegation match.

SWD reaffirmed their status as the top team in the competition by defeating the Hino Valke 36 – 27 in a nail-biting final in George last Friday, which marked their first Currie Cup First Division title in over a decade.

The winner of the match will automatically qualify for a Currie Cup Premier Division spot next season, while the losing team will play in the Currie Cup.

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