A brief history of SA’s most loved rugby competition, the Currie Cup

The Cheetahs and Pumas will contest this year’s Currie Cup final in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon, with kick-off at 4pm.

It is a competition steeped in history and among the oldest in the world. The Cheetahs have won the title six times, the Pumas once — last year when they edged Griquas in the final in Kimberley.

Here is a brief history of the competition.

Origins

The first rugby matches in South Africa were played between regions around 1889 but it wasn’t until 1892 that a competition was formally organised and called the Currie Cup.

It came about when Sir Donald Currie, the owner of Union Castle Lines, the shipping company which brought the touring British Isles (nowadays Lions) to South Africa in 1891, told the tourists to hand over a golden cup to the team that performed best against them. It happened to be Griquas who lost 3-0.

Griquas then handed the trophy to the SA Rugby Board and it became the country’s most sought-after rugby prize, handed to the winners of the annual domestic competition between province or regions.

The first official winners were Western Province, who won the first competition in 1892.

History

Western Province and Griquas dominated the early years of the competition and they shared the Currie Cup between them until 1922 when Transvaal (Lions) won the competition for the first time.

In 1932 and 1934 Border shared the Currie Cup with Western Province, while Northern Transvaal (Bulls) joined the party later on in 1946, with their first win.

Western Province, Northern Transvaal and Transvaal then dominated the competition until 1970 when Griquas triumphed with a famous 11-9 win against Northern Transvaal in Kimberley.

The Free State (Cheetahs) won for the first time in 1976 and then in 1990 Natal (Sharks) won for the first time, when they shocked Northern Transvaal (the Bulls) in Pretoria.

In 2022, with the so-called big boys more focused on the newly established United Rugby Championship, the final was contested between Griquas and the Pumas in Kimberley, with the visitors from the old Eastern Transvaal winning 26-19 for a first, and famous, win.

Winners

Western Province are by some margin the country’s top Currie Cup team. They have won the trophy on 34 occasions and been runners-up 13 times.

Next on the list are Northern Transvaal/Bulls with 25 wins and nine runners-up places.

Then, some way down the order, follow Transvaal/Lions and Natal/Sharks and Free State/Cheetahs.

Transvaal/Lions have won the trophy 11 times and been beaten finalists on 12 occasions, while Natal/Sharks have been winners eight times and runners-up 12 times.

Free State/Cheetahs are six-time winners and nine-times runners-up, while Griquas are three-time champions and once runners-up. Border are two-time winners (both shared) and the Pumas have won once.

First Division

SA Rugby bosses launched a second tier Currie Cup competition in 2000, called the First Division (as opposed to the Premier Division) which is contested between the smaller unions in the country.

The Griffons and Boland are the most successful teams in the competition, having both won it five times. The Griffons are also two-time runners-up.

The SWD Eagles and Pumas have both won the division three times, while the Leopards and Eastern Province have two titles each.

The Jaguares, an invitation team from Argentina, won the title in 2019.

In this year’s final, Boland will host the Valke in Wellington at 1pm on Saturday.