Cheetahs boss says Currie Cup 2023 will be of high standard, good quality

South African rugby fans may not be all that excited about the start of the 2023 Currie Cup, but Cheetahs boss Hawies Fourie says he can’t wait for the competition to get going.

And it is Fourie’s team who will get the 2023 edition underway when they take on last year’s losing finalists, Griquas, in Kimberley at 4pm on Friday.

“I’m really excited about the Currie Cup,” said Fourie on Thursday.

‘Standard will be higher’

“I think the competition’s standard is going to be higher than last year. You have eight teams and Griquas and the Pumas, last year’s finalists, are really stepping up, so I predict plenty of good competition.

“The four URC franchises will also use the Currie Cup to feature some of their players and towards the back-end of the competition, once the URC and all the European competitions are finished, you’ll see plenty of big-name players in action in the Currie Cup.

“You’ll have teams at full-strength and I’m sure the fans will get involved at that stage.”

Some of the men to look out for in Kimberley in the opener include Cheetahs veterans Frans Steyn and Ruan Pienaar as well as Robert Ebersohn and Gideon van der Merwe, while on the Griquas side Rosko Specman will be making his Griquas Currie Cup debut and exciting flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela his Griquas debut.

‘It’s all we have to fight for’

Griquas coach Pieter Bergh agreed with Fourie that the Currie Cup still held a special place in South African rugby.

“It’s the only proper competition we play in … it’s all we have to fight for,” he said.

“If you look at all the sides and their coaching teams you can see everyone is taking the Currie Cup seriously.”

The last time Griquas and the Cheetahs clashed was in May last year in the second round of the competition when Griquas won 46-18 in Kimberley.

“It doesn’t help to dwell on the past, but that result is in the back of our minds,” admitted Fourie. “Griquas are definitely the favourites so hopefully we can put together a better performance this time.”

Also this weekend, on Saturday, the Sharks host the Griffons and the Lions welcome Western Province, while on Sunday the Bulls face the Pumas.

FORMAT

Eight teams will each play 14 matches in a double round, home and away. The competition starts Friday and runs until the final on 24 June.