Will the 23-year wait for a north-south Currie Cup final end this year?

The conclusion of this year’s Currie Cup competition might produce an event we haven’t witnessed for close to a quarter of a century.

The competition has been marred by postponements and matches being cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, but if everything goes according to plan the final will be held on 30 January, a week later than originally scheduled, to help ease the Covid challenges in these tough times.

The Bulls and Western Province are regarded as the hot favourites to advance to the final on condition they get past the Lions and the Sharks respectively in the semifinals – also pushed back by a week, to 23 January.

And, if they do make the most of their home ground advantage it will be the first time in 23 years – since 1998 – that the Bulls and Province will contest the final.

The fact that these traditional powerhouses of SA Rugby haven’t contested the showpiece of the local calendar is due to various factors, including the Bulls’ slump of the last 11 years.

Back in ’98 the Bulls won the final 24-20 at Loftus Versfeld in a game where the men in blue were captained by the late Bok legend Joost van der Westhuizen and coached by Eugene van Wyk.

If the final ends up being held in Pretoria it will be the first time that Loftus hosts the game since 2009 – when the Bulls beat the Cheetahs 36-24; the Bulls’ last triumph in the competition.

Covid however could still play a part before the final is contested. While SA Rugby have moved to ensure all four semifinalists get a fair chance to prepare by pushing back the playoff games, any positive Covid cases in the squads will set the teams back in their preparations.

The good news though is that all four teams should be in a position to field a team in the semifinals – following this weekend’s final round of league fixtures, meaning no one is likely to have to withdraw and not play, thus handing a “walkover” win to the other team.

All the teams now at least have more or less the same amount of time to prepare for the semifinals. If any positive Covid cases are picked up in the next round of testing – early next week – teams will be able to recover in time for the semifinals. They’ll also all have sufficient time to recuperate, recover and recharge the batteries ahead of the semifinals.

Everyone wants a fair and equal contest and by pushing the playoffs back by a week we’ve now got that, so hats off to SA Rugby for making the change.

Rudolph Jacobs

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.