OPINION: Smaller unions’ Currie Cup success good for SA rugby

There has been a lot of debate about the value and future of the Currie Cup over the past couple of weeks, with various opinions being shared from ditching the competition to shortening it.

Most of those conversations centre around the competition supposedly being devalued due to the bigger unions not being able to play their best players in the tournament.

In a moment of serious sour grapes, after losing their Currie Cup semi against the Griquas, Bulls Currie Cup coach Gert Smal claimed the tournament should be shelved, if they are not able to field their best players.

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But what people seem to be ignoring is that this is just a sign of the times. When the Currie Cup tournament was founded back in 1891 it was the cornerstone of South African rugby.

It began in a time when international rugby wasn’t the juggernaut that it is today, travelling abroad wasn’t readily accessible and easy, and it was the main competition in South African rugby.

Now times have changed and rugby has to change with it. International rugby is the pinnacle, with international club rugby following closely behind.

Player sacrifice

The Stormers, Bulls, Sharks and Lions can’t be expected to sacrifice their players for the Currie Cup, when they have more important competitions in the United Rugby Championship and European Champions Cup to deal with.

If they have big enough squads, which many of them will, they will still be able to field competitive teams in the Currie Cup, as seen by the Bulls reaching the URC final and Currie Cup semis this year.

Although the standard of the Currie Cup may have gone down a bit, it is not necessarily a bad thing.

In fact I believe it is very good for SA rugby that the ‘smaller’ unions like the Griquas and Pumas, are able to be more competitive and actually challenge for the title each year.

There are many rugby players in SA who are missed by the bigger unions, and having a Currie Cup which is more competitive for teams like the Griquas and Pumas will give these players a platform to shine and will strengthen rugby in the country even more.