The Currie Cup needs a shake-up — and it needs it quick

It was fantastic seeing all the fans returning in their numbers to the local URC matches last weekend and I’m sure we’ll see more of that on Saturday in Cape Town and Durban.

How disappointing though that the same cannot be said of the Currie Cup matches.

In fact, how sad that the Currie Cup really is now no longer the competition it once was and can hardly be called South Africa’s premier rugby competition.

It is of course extremely difficult to run two rugby competitions concurrently and expect to have both get the same kind of attention and focus. One has got to ask though whether there is not another way of putting on the Currie Cup without it clashing so badly with the URC, where all the focus seems to be.

While it is understandable that the Currie Cup has moved to the first half of the year and matches are played on Wednesdays now, too, there is little doubt the United Rugby Championship is the money-maker for SA Rugby.

But how worthwhile is it for the franchises to have to open up their stadiums on Wednesday nights and on some weekends and for very few fans to pay their entrance at the gates? While the Currie Cup has actually dished up some good rugby, it’s sad to see so little interest in the competition.

I can’t help but think back to the big Currie Cup derby days, when every match mattered and the fans got involved and it was like a life and death situation each week. Bragging rights were a big thing and the rugby was good.

That prestige and hype is now gone. The love for the competition is fading.

The Currie Cup needs a boost, an injection, and it needs to happen quickly.

Maybe the time has come for rugby authorities to seriously consider different options. One thing that might work are festival days, where six teams play in three back-to-back matches at one venue on different weekends, in smaller, community stadiums.

The SuperSport Challenge of a few years ago was staged along these lines and maybe it is something worth revisiting.

There’s nothing to lose and everything to gain because right now there’s simply no connection between the fans and Currie Cup rugby. We live in an ever-changing world and perhaps it’s time to really shake things up.

Finally, with regards to this weekend’s local URC derby matches, your guess or prediction is as good as mine about who’s going to win in Cape Town and Durban.

The Stormers and Bulls are both teams on the up and are set for a mighty battle in Cape Town. The Bulls’ forwards have come good and they are winning their collisions now so it will be interesting to see if the Stormers can match them up front. Hopefully there will be a big crowd for what should be a cracker of a game.

In Durban, the Lions have an opportunity to show they’ve properly turned the corner when they face a Sharks team that still hasn’t fully fired. If the Lions get it right, they’ll leave Durban with the win.