Currie Cup 2012

[qwerty51]

IMO get Jantjies and Taute and even Killian in the Bok side asap. Could be the start of something brilliant.

9. Hougaard
10. Jantjies
11. Pieterson
12. de Jongh
13. Fourie
14. Killian
15. Taute

quality

 

[BRIX]

Is Jantjies a better kicker than Steyn thesedays? I think so.

Didn't they say he made 15 from 15 in the Semi final & Final? outstanding. Congratulations Lions, and well coached John Mitchell

 

[qwerty51]

They weren't just going over as well, straight through the middle and the drop kicks.

 

[Ruggo]

Well done Lions and well played. Now SA rugby has to tell the mecinaries to piss off. It is quite clear you have amaizing talent playing their rugby at home and don't need to select out side SA.

A DeJong and Toute midfield would be frikin' dangerous. Jantes has to be your next 10.

I hope the Lions take that form and confidence into the Super 15. They could be a force next year.

 

[PaarlBok]

SARugby.net

Absa Currie Cup Final Review – MTN Golden Lions roar against The Sharks
October 30, 2011
The MTN Golden Lions recorded the most emphatic Absa Currie Cup final victory since 1980 when they beat The Sharks, champions in 2010, by 42-16 at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
It was a significant triumph, as it was the Golden Lions’ first outright Absa Currie Cup final victory on home soil since 1950 and their first title since 1999 after losing in the finals of 2002 and 2007.

The winning margin of 26 points is higher than the two biggest Absa Currie Cup finals victories of the last decade, both recorded by the Vodacom Blue Bulls when they beat the MTN Golden Lions in 2006 (31-7) and The Sharks in 2003 (40-19).

The only bigger win in an Absa Currie Cup final than yesterday’s, came in 1980 when the Vodacom Blue Bulls, then still called Northern Transvaal, beat Western Province by 39-9.

The MTN Golden Lions have been the pace-setters all season and built their victory in the final on a superb defensive performance, while they also used their attacking opportunities better than The Sharks, outscoring the visitors by three tries to one.

Golden Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies contributed 24 points and was named Man of the Match, while Jaco Taute scored a try and added a crucial long-range penalty goal. Michael Killian and Patric Cilliers scored the home team’s two other tries.

Jantjies’ points tally is just two fewer than the record of 26 set by Derick Hougaard in 2002, while the Lions flyhalf’s fellow SA U20 teammate from last year, Patrick Lambie, contributed 25 points in last year’s final for The Sharks, when they defeated DHL Western Province by 30-10 in Durban.

For The Sharks, Willem Alberts crossed for a try that was converted by Frederic Michalak, who also added three penalty goals.

John Mitchell, coach of the MTN Golden Lions, lauded his team’s calmness under pressure as one of the reasons for their great victory. Late in the first half Springbok prop CJ van der Linde was sin-binned for dangerous play, but the Lions did not concede a single point while they were playing with only 14 men.

“When we were down to 14 men, we remained calm and the guys didn’t drop in their performance. This team also kept their composure after the Sharks’ try, which I thought was a dubious decision. I’m very proud of how the team handled those incidents very well as we adapted to the situation,” said Mitchell.

“These past few weeks have been phenomenal. The fact that we played in front of a packed Coca-Cola Park showed how well the guys were playing, and the support has been great.

“People assumed I was crazy to take the job as Lions coach, but I love a challenge and my dream was to restore the pride that was once here in Johannesburg. I know it’s been a frustrating number of years for all Lions fans, who probably had to turn the telly upside down to see their team on top of the log.

“The results weren’t going the team’s way and that hurts because supporters have an emotional connection to their team. I’m very happy with what has been achieved over the last 16 months.”

Sharks coach John Plumtree praised the MTN Golden Lions for a superb performance in the Absa Currie Cup final.

“We were outplayed in every area of the game and were beaten by the better team. They were backed by a massive crowd, they attacked and defended well, and when they got in front it was always going to be difficult for us,” said Plumtree, who coached The Sharks to Absa Currie Cup titles in 2008 and 2010.

“They had created a lot of momentum since the start of this competition and we weren’t able to stop them today. I think they were probably the more cohesive side.”

Scorers:

MTN Golden Lions – Tries: Michael Killian, Patric Cilliers, Jaco Taute. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (3). Penalties: Jantjies (5), Taute. Drop goal: Jantjies.

The Sharks – Try: Willem Alberts. Conversion: Frederic Michalak. Penalties: Michalak (3).

Teams:

MTN Golden Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Doppies la Grange, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Joshua Strauss (captain), 7. Michael Rhodes, 6. Derick Minnie, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Wikus van Heerden, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 CJ van der Linde. Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Warren Whiteley, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 20 Butch James, 21 Dylan Des Fountain, 22 James Kamana.

The Sharks: 15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Stefan Terblanche, 12 Marius Joubert, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Conrad Hoffmann, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Keegan Daniel (captain), 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Jean Deysel, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Alistair Hargreaves, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Adrian Jacobs, 22 Lwazi Mvovo.

Absa Under-19 A-Division

The Golden Lions made it two from three as their Under-19s fought back to beat the Blue Bulls in the first final of the day by 20-19.

In the Absa U19 A-Division final, the Blue Bulls were well on their way to a win. They lead 6-3 at the break, which they extended to 13-3 early in the second half when Wiaan Liebenberg scored a try.

But the home team remained calm and chipped away at the Bulls’ lead. They ended up scoring three tries after the break for a narrow victory.

Scorers:

Golden Lions U19 – Tries: Errol Jagger, Tiaan Putter, Stephan Nel. Conversion: Marais Schmidt. Penalty: Schmidt.

Blue Bulls U19 – Try: Wiaan Liebenberg. Conversion: Tony Jantjies. Penalties: Jantjies (4).

Absa Under-21 A-Division

The Blue Bulls made up in the second final of the day when they beat the Sharks in a highly entertaining Absa Under-21 A-Division final by 46-30.

The Pretoria-based team scored six tries to the three of the Sharks as they dominated proceedings from the outset.

Three of the Bulls’ tries came in the first 25 minutes, with the SA Under-20 captains of the last two seasons, CJ Stander and Arno Botha, both crossing the Sharks’ tryline.

The KwaZulu-Natalians’ nippy scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, whose late father Jaco was a Springbok wing and a Springbok sprinter in the 1980s, scored two of his team’s tries. The Sharks U21s fought back well in the second half, but unfortunately their fullback Gouws Prinsloo had an off day with the boot and missed five of his 11 kicks at goal.

With less than five minutes left on the clock, the Blue Bulls were ahead by on36-30, but a late converted try by Dalton Davis and a second penalty goal by flyhalf Louis Fouché sealed the victory for the team from Pretoria.

Scorers:

Blue Bulls U21 – Tries: Juan Schoeman, Courtnall Skosan, Arno Botha, CJ Stander, Franco Mostert, Dalton Davis. Conversions: Louis Fouché (5). Penalties: Fouché (2).

Sharks U21 – Tries: Cobus Reinach (2), Francois Kleinhans. Conversions: Gouws Prinsloo (3). Penalties: Prinsloo (3).

Congrats to the Brutes also winning the U21 CC.

 

[PaarlBok]

The CC now done and dusted, the history of this great competition
Rugby365

The Currie Cup

The Currie Cup is named after a man and was from the beginning a sponsor’s trophy. That is surprising considering the aggressive amateurism of the 1890s.
Donald Currie was born in Glasgow on September 17, 1825, the third son of a Greenock barber. His family moved to Belfast in Northern Ireland when he was an infant. There his father is recorded as “Hairdresser and Perfumer”, apparently successfully as the father of six sons and four daughters.

Donald spent his school days in Belfast at the Belfast Academy, the oldest school in Belfast, and later at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. He left school at the age of 14 and went back to Glasgow to his mother’s brother John Martin of the sugar firm Hoyle, Martin & Co. and worked in a counting house of a sugar firm, called McFie. His oldest brother Alexander was also there.

Ships fascinated young Donald and he went to Liverpool to join his brother James in the employ of the Cunard Line which was then a small affair. Then he began to move round in the shipping world, going up rapidly till he formed his own steamship company in 1862. It was called Donald Currie and Co, initially involved in North Sea and Atlantic shipping.

In 1872 Donald Currie introduced his steamers to the Cape Town run as the Castle Line, in competition with the Union Line to be the mail-carrying ships. Later, on March 8, 1900, he joined with the Union Line to form the famous Union-Castle Line. He was knighted in 1881, taking Thorough as his motto.

In 1887 he came to South Africa for the first time. When the first cricket team came to South Africa the following year, Sir Donald gave the captain Major Warton, a cup to present to the team which played best against the tourists with the intention that it become a floating trophy for interprovincial competition. That was the first Currie Cup.

On June 19, 1891 the Dunottar Castle left Southampton with precious cargo – the touring British team, which called itself the English Team because England did the administration for team) and the Currie Cup with the same conditions as had applied to the cricket cup.

Currie travelled from London to Southampton and during a farewell luncheon on board the Dunottar Castle he handed the Cup to the captain, WE Maclagan, also a Scot. The whole thing was done with great publicity as Currie sought to steal the march on the Union Line. The Cup was a sponsor’s tool. Over the years it has lost the sponsor feel and has even attracted a further sponsor’s name – the Absa Currie Cup.

The Currie Cup became the Holy Grail of South African rugby, especially during the years when few Tests were played. It was valued at £40.

Never in the history of sport have so many played with so much passion over so many years for so little! It is a humble cup, the Currie Cup. The top is gold-plated silver, the base wood, and was put on display in Burmeister’s Jewellers in Adderley Street, Cape Town, upon its arrival. Nowadays it is insured for R100,000, though, of course, it is impossible to put a monetary value on it.

No team beat the 1891 tourists, but they reckoned that Griqualand West had played best against them, perhaps a diplomatic decision as Kimberley was then in the thrall of men such as Cecil John Rhodes and Barney Barnato. After all mining was adding much to Currie’s wealth and Rhodes had guaranteed the financial success of the 1891 tour.

Griquas were loath to part with it to fulfil Currie’s conditions that it be used for interprovincial competition but eventually they gave in. Teams since then have also been reluctant to part with the Currie Cup.

Sir Donald Currie, GCMG, who made greater wealth from gold and diamonds than from shipping, was a member of Parliament for West Perthshire. He died in Sidmouth, Devon, on April 13, 1909. A special memorial service was held in St Paul’s Cathedral in honour of Sir Donald Currie. King Edward VII and the Prince of Wales sent messages of condolence. His body was taken back to Scotland, where he was buried, not in a posh cathedral, but outside a small church outside the small village of Fortingall near Pitlochry in the highlands of Scotland. The grave is under a yew tree which thought to be the oldest living vegetation in Europe, possibly over five thousand years old. Currie had built the village the year before the 1891 tour at a spot where the Romans had once camped, thought to be the birthplace of Pontius Pilate.

The Currie Cup is under threat from other competitions such as the World Cup, the Tri-Nations soon to become Four Nations and Super Rugby which carries on expanding. But it is still the darling of South African rugby and Coca-Cola Park, as Ellis Park now is, sold all its 62,000 seats for the 2011 Final early in the final week..

 

[PaarlBok]

R365 CC rewards

Here are our Currie Cup awards:

Best team - The Lions
The eventual champions had the advantage of having the majority of their Super Rugby squad available for the Currie Cup and they certainly made it count. The Men from Johannesburg ferociously protected their spot at the top of the table all season by managing to prevail in the tight games and were only beaten three times. They clearly benefited from the continuity they enjoyed and the confidence that created was plain to see in their play-off matches when they saw off both of last year's finalists with all of their Springbok stars back from World Cup duty.

Best Player - Jaco Taute
Although players such as Elton Jantjies, Coenie Oosthuizen, Franco van der Merwe and Johan Goosen all made a major impression this year with the consistently high standard of their performances it is tough to look past the Lions fullback who set the competition alight with his boundless enthusiasm and energy. He made a devastating impact every time he joined the line and managed to produce the goods when the pressure was on, scoring tries in both the semifinal and Final, proving that he has a big future ahead of him.

Best coach - John Mitchell
The hard-nosed Kiwi managed to mould his group of young Lions into a disciplined unit that played with plenty of heart all season and eventually ended up proving that a good team will beat any list of big names. The work ethic he has instilled in Johannesburg along with the consistency of his selection policy were instrumental factors in their successful season which saw them lift the ultimate prize in South African domestic rugby for the first time in 12 years.

Best match - Cheetahs 25-25 Lions
The thrilling draw between the Cheetahs and the Lions in Bloemfontein was a great advertisement for the game. The Cheetahs were firmly in control in the first half, playing some scintillating rugby at times, but the Lions showed great character to come from behind and leave the game deadlocked at the death. The visitors scored two late tries to bring things back to level terms in the final stages and the result helped secure top spot on the log for the Johannesburg side, allowing them the luxury of resting some of their key players for the last round robin match against the Sharks in Durban.

Best Try - Rocco Jansen
In the opening week of the Currie Cup this season last year's beaten finalists Western Province hosted the Griquas at Newlands and the two sides finished level thanks to a wonderful try that saw the visitors go the length of the field to score. Right wing Richard Lawson picked up a loose ball on his own tryline and burst down the blindside on a swerving run until he found loose forward Davon Raubenheimer in support. The big flank took the ball infield before looping a pass out to left wing Rocco Jansen who turned on the pace and finished off an amazing 99.9 metre try.

Best try that never was - Piet van Zyl
The Cheetahs launched a fluid, sweeping movement upfield from their own 22 just before half-time in their match against the Lions in Bloemfontein which saw some amazing interplay as they steadily made their way into the strike zone. They looked to keep the ball alive and produced some breathtaking passes as they stormed forward relentlessly. Young scrumhalf Piet van Zyl eventually found himself with the ball just metres short of the line but in the act of placing the ball next to the corner flag he grazed the touchline with the outside of his boot which cruelly denied his team five well-deserved points.

Most improved player - Pat Cilliers
The Lions tighthead revelled in the opportunity to start the majority of his team's matches this season and his progress was truly remarkable. His confidence clearly grew as the season progressed, culminating in him giving Springbok loosehead and former Sharks teammate Tendai Mtawarira a hard time in the Final.

Most promising player - Johan Goosen
The young Cheetahs and SA Under-20 flyhalf made everyone sit up and take note when he got his chance to strut his stuff at this level. He has an incredibly rounded game, with the ability to run, pass, tackle and kick but what is even more impressive is the confidence with which he does everything. The fact that he forced the impressive Sias Ebersohn onto the bench for the rest of the season once he got his chance against the Leopards speaks for itself.

Thanks for coming - WP and Sharks' Boks
All of the Springbok players who turned out for Western Province and the Sharks in the semifinal and final held at Coca-Cola Park went home empty handed. All of them would have been desperate to end the season on a high note by salvaging some silverware after their World Cup heartbreak but the hungry Lions had too much momentum and comprehensively outplayed both teams.

If only - The Pumas
The team from Mpumalanga had a tough time of it this season. Despite playing quite well against the major unions they suffered a number of narrow defeats and coach Jimmy Stonehouse's charges must have been left wondering what could have been after losing by seven points or less in six of their matches.

Samson and Delilah - Joshua Strauss and Wikus van Heerden
The Lions skipper was instantly recognisable all year thanks to his long and flowing beard and developed quite a following with plenty of fans sporting fake facial hair at Lions home games. However that all came to an end after he had lifted the trophy when he was ambushed by teammate Van Heerden who took a chunk out of it with a razor and forced his captain to shave it all off.

What now? - The EP Kings
The Eastern Cape franchise, who will be playing Super Rugby in 2013, voted in favour of the Currie Cup being restructured next season to include only six teams rather than the current eight. That was when they were on top of the first division table, but their season took a bit of a turn and they ended up coming second to the Boland Kavaliers. Where exactly that leaves them at the moment is uncertain, but it would seem that they are currently at tenth on the pecking order.

Sharpshooter - Elton Jantjies
The Lions flyhalf's accuracy off the kicking tee is well known, but his form in the play-offs this season was simply phenomenal. The young pivot did not miss a single kick at goal in the two knock-out matches in front of his home crowd, slotting 15 kicks as the Lions beat both of last year's finalists on consecutive weekends.

Most teams in one year award - CJ van der Linde
The versatile front row forward came back to South Africa last year after spending three years with Irish club Leinster and rejoined his old team the Cheetahs who he represented in the 2010 Currie Cup. At the beginning of the year he signed with the Stormers in Cape Town and represented them in Super Rugby. He then earned a call-up to the Springbok World Cup squad, and served largely as a back-up to the first-choice props but before he left for New Zealand he had time to sign for the Lions who he represented in this year's semifinal and final.

Most unlikely playmaker - Brok Harris
The Western Province tighthead prop has been credited with creating a new position - 'prop-half' - although he can be found packing down in the front row at scrum-time he is often found either clearing rucks or taking the ball at first receiver in open play.

Say what? - Hanyani Shimange
The former Springbok hooker got himself a bit muddled in his new role as a commentator when he tried to explain the affect of fatigue on the muscles of a certain player. He was presumably trying to make reference to the build up of lactic acid but instead said that "your legs start lactating" talk about making a tit of yourself.

 

[PaarlBok]

Griquas 125 years old
Sport24

Hoskins hails Mannetjies Roux
South African Rugby Union president, Oregan Hoskins recently delivered a stirring tribute to the Griquas rugby union, which celebrated 125 years of existence.

Hoskins, who was the key-note speaker at the celebration, spoke highly of arguably one of Griquas all-time greats.

“If we can take 15 Mannetjies Rouxs with us to the rugby World Cup in 2015, then the battle will already have been half won,” Hoskins said in Monday’s Die Burger.

Hoskins lamented that South African rugby enthusiasts need to remember the role of the smaller unions played in the past and how it shaped the present state of rugby in the country, once again making reference to Roux as his example.

“Rugby is managed and played on a highly professional level these days and one easily forgets the role of coaches of yesteryear. It has already been 40 years since the so-called smaller unions have last won the Currie Cup; and it was fitting that it was Griquas, under the guidance of the legendary Mannetjies Rows, saw off Northern Transvaal in 1970.

“Everywhere I go overseas, most of our ‘old enemies’ only talk about one player and that was Mannetjies Roux.

“A small player, who made a huge impact. We are looking for 15 Mannetjies Rouxs for the World Cup in 2015.”

Griquas, behind the Western Province, is the second oldest rugby union in South Africa and Hoskins noted this in his tribute, pointing out that in its existence, players from the Northern Cape union have featured prominently in the Springbok setup.

“Griquas is one of the foundations on which South African rugby is built on. Griquas are celebrating this special milestone and I want to heartily wish the union (with its) 125 years and to also thank them for the unbelievable role Griquas have played in the tale of South African rugby.

“Not many people know this, but Griquas have delivered 61 Springboks. Only the five big unions have delivered more.”

Hoskins briefly shifted his focus to the ever brewing storm which is SARU’s appointment of the next Springbok coach.

“Naturally, we want to pick the best candidate to be the Springbok coach. It is an important post where we will be making an appointment next year.”

I'll never forget that 1970 CC win. Griquas had the Springbok legends like Mannetjies Roux (he kicked a betoger in the UK under the arse) and Piet Visagie, Joggie Viljoen.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/rugby/article728647.ece/Griquas---the-last-of-the-Cinderellas

Griquas - the last of the Cinderellas
Forty years ago they played a Currie Cup final in Kimberley that marked the end of an era. It was the last time a Cinderella team won the cup - an outcome unlikely to happen again in this age of brutal professionalism where the rich prevail.
Even at the time of the Kimberley final, when it was against the spirit and the laws of rugby, provinces rewarded their players with money, status or jobs.

Northern Transvaal (not yet officially the Blue Bulls) had come to the diamond city as heavy favourites. They were a team built on the patronage of the army, air force, police, University of Pretoria and the civil service.

Against that, Griquas could throw in a few mining jobs but otherwise relied on dyed-in-wool Northern Cape men, like their captain, the legendary Springbok Mannetjies Roux.

Roux drove more than 300km from his farm in Victoria West to play. Others came similar distances from Kuruman and the Ammosal mine at Beeshoek, which employed the three other Springboks of the team, Piet Visagie, Piet van Deventer and Joggie Viljoen.

"We had only 17 players who were up to Currie Cup standard," recalls Ian Kirkpatrick, the coach.

Unusual for the time, Kirkpatrick's position at Griquas was a full-time one, which also skirted the limits of amateurism.

Kirkpatrick, who played 10 years for the Springboks, is often hailed as the mastermind of Griquas' win, but dismisses it today.

"We live too much in the past," he says, recalling how difficult it was to even arrange a team practice. "The players just lived too far apart," he lamented. "So we relied on the dedication, the confidence of the players.

"Game plans are all very well," he said, "but you must be able to score tries. We slowly built up a team that could score tries."

Griquas scored two tries that day in a packed De Beers stadium, both by the "baby" of the team, Buddy Swartz.

Many in that Griquas team were in their thirties and playing their last big game, but Swartz, a product of Kimberley Boys High, was 21 and had only returned to his home town to fulfil the terms of a De Beers bursary.

He'd been playing good rugby for the University of Cape Town, but mostly in the under-20s. Back in Kimberley, he was thrust into the Currie Cup team.

Swartz's tries came in the first half, but Northern Transvaal fought back. The game was in the balance until near the end, when Griquas flanker Peet Smit kicked a penalty from inside his own half to win the game 11-9.

"Piet Visagie usually took the kicks at goal," Swartz recalled last week. "But when they were out of his range, they gave it to Peet."

"He was the hero of the day," Roux remembers, possibly forgetting that he and centre partner Koos Waldeck had helped set up Swartz's first try.

The result of that final is still regarded as one of the greatest upsets in Currie Cup history, but it should not have been. It was six years in the making.

"From 1964, when we started to build a team, we lost very few games," Roux recalled. "By 1970 we still had 11 players who had started out with us. In every position we had players who were good, so it became easy to play together.

"I am often asked what the team's game plan was, but it was rather the approach to the game and the attitude of the players that counted."

Those players, except for lock Jannie van Aswegen and hooker James Combrinck, who have passed on, assembled last month at Beeshoek, the home of the Ammosal mine, which in 1970 symbolised the little guy in the clash against the giants of Pretoria. They braaied, had beers and shared stories about Saturday September 18, the exact date on which, 40 years before, they had made rugby history.

Kirkpatrick was not there. He had a game to play that afternoon.

Since 1997, when he started to coach at Stellenbosch University, he has not missed a practice, let alone a match. And that day, his Matie under-19s were busy winning another trophy

Thats where your Super Sarel Pretorius come from.