Curwin need not be fancy to win his Currie Cup (and Bok) battle

About a month ago, Curwin Bosch seemed absolutely certain to be part of the Springboks’ squad on their end-of-year tour to Europe.

It’s still highly likely he will be but in Saturday’s Currie Cup final the 20-year-old Sharks prodigy will be kept on his toes by Robert du Preez, his expected Western Province opponent.

Also read: Western Province insist they’re already in ‘final mode’

Du Preez has set the latter stages of this season’s campaign alight with his exciting but also varied performances.

He’s now even being touted as a potential left-field selection for Europe.

If Bosch is thinking about the Green-and-Gold, he might indeed be anxious.

He’s been extremely consistent in the Currie Cup without producing fireworks while Du Preez has, at times, been a magician.

Sometimes, consistency gets overlooked.

But Bosch need not be too concerned.

Should he do what he does best, he’ll still shine.

“Curwin’s game management has come on really well this year,” said Sean Everitt, the Sharks’ attack coach.

“We are very pleased at how his attacking skills have grown. He has always had a strong kicking game and now he is also asking questions of the defence with ball in hand. He is taking the ball to the gain line nicely.”

Yet the Junior Springbok stalwart’s biggest asset in the weekend’s showpiece will be his calmness.

It’s not necessarily going to be a match-winning try or a dazzling run that will win a final.

Instead, it might be a crucial penalty goal or a good kick to touch.

Turns out Bosch is pretty good at those things.

“Curwin has repeatedly shown that he has the temperament for the big games,” said Everett said.

“A good example of that was his drop goal in the second half against the Bulls last week. It came at a vital time. We were under pressure and leading by just four points, and that drop goal took us to a seven-point cushion.”