Currie Cup wrap: Lions and Bulls to host semi-finals this coming weekend

The Lions are in pole position to win just their 12th Currie Cup title after finishing top of the pile after 10 rounds of action, with just the semi-finals and final to be played.

The Joburg-based side will now host a home semi-final against the Cheetahs, who finished fourth on the log, at Ellis Park this coming weekend and should they win that game they will also host the final on September 21.

The other semi-final will be hosted by the second-placed Bulls, who’ll entertain the Sharks, who finished third.

The Lions won nine games throughout the season. They last won the Currie Cup in 2015, when they beat Western Province 32-24 in Joburg. They also lost the final to the Cheetahs in 2019, 31-28 in Bloemfontein.

With just the knockout games to be played, and South Africa’s major domestic trophy and title on the line, it will be interesting to see who the coaches of the four semi-finalists back this coming weekend; will it be the back-up and fringe players who’ve played for the majority of the competition or the frontline men who’re set to feature in the United Rugby Championship again in a few weeks’ time?

Weekend results

There is little doubt the two home teams this coming weekend, the Lions and Bulls, will start as favourites, but one should not rule out the Sharks who’ve made a stirring comeback in the second half of the competition or the Cheetahs, who’re defending champions and a side desperate for greater recognition in South African rugby.

And the Cheetahs will be full of confidence after going to Mbombela this last weekend and smashing the Pumas 41-14 in what was effectively a quarter-final clash to secure their place in the last four, with the Pumas eventually finishing sixth on the points table.

The Lions though were just as deadly as they scored an impressive 62-5 win against the Griffons to book top spot on the points table, the men from Welkom finishing down in eighth place with no wins in their 10 matches. They managed just three log points.

The Griquas secured fifth place with a 37-29 win over Western Province, who ended seventh with just three wins, while in the dead rubber clash between the Sharks and Bulls in a wet Durban on Sunday afternoon, ahead of their semi-final meeting at Loftus, it was the Sharks who triumphed 24-18.