They've change the format again. Back to 8 teams, but now there are two conferences. Currently a qualification tournament is being played to decide who will join the premier division made up of: X-section: Blue Bulls (Pretoria) Eastern Province Kings (Port Elizabeth) Golden Lions (Johannesburg) Western Province (Cape Town) Y-section: Free State Cheetahs (Bloemfontein) KwaZulu Natal Sharks (Durban) Pumas (Nelspruit) Qualifier (one of Griqualand West Griquas out of Kimberley or North West Leopards out of Potchefstroom) First round of matches will commence on the 9th of August.
I reckon I would quite happily watch Currie Cup rugby if it was on normal Sky Sports. Only on the extra subscription Rugby Channel which I can't be arsed to get given the extra cost involved.
Its an awesome channel - my understanding is that they show old school games, and given I have been out of the country for 16 years I would love to see replays showing Christian Cullen and so forth. Apart from that there isn't a lot - unless you like extended post game interviews after test matches. there are also analysis shows galore. but I don't tend to watch those.
Mmmm. Not really interested in watching NH club competition, though would probably watch the Heineken Cup every so often. I'd probably watch online for any old school games I'd want to watch - I'm sure the big games are online somewhere perhaps.
Of course. Wonder what they do to televise it though? Is it possible that Hurricane is confusing the rugby channel with his microwave?
They don't even let the Limpopo Blue Bulls compete. -533 points difference... that's 90 tries conceded in 7 games!... in the Vodacom Cup!
The Griquas have won the qualification tournament and will take up the eighth spot in the Currie Cup Premier Division this year.
The Currie Cup is really worth watching tbh. The teams that compete i.e. The Sharks, the Lions, Western Province (Stormers), Bulls and Cheetahs consists out of 90% of their Super Rugby players, so it is good quality rugby all round. The first couple of rounds might seem a bit watered down because of the Rugby Championship, but it is still decent quality footy nonetheless.
We'll know more about the contenders after the Bok squad is announced. If half the Boks are Sharks, I see them struggling in the Currie Cup. The Cheetahs are due a good year in the Currie Cup despite a shitty year in SR. A lot of talent coming through at WP, they'll be strong even if they lose more players to the Boks than they normally do. The Bulls really need to pull up their socks, so much age grade potential being squandered there, they're proving that you can't win anything with kids.
Who are the equivalent of Canterbury in the Currie Cup (i.e. the team that everybody else hates) and who are the plucky underdogs who have no chance, but the neutrals cheer on anyway?
I'd say the Sharks, but Canterbury have a proud history, so probably the Bulls rather. The Kings get the most hate, but that has little to do with rugby, more to do with politics and how they have been added to competitions without earning promotion. The plucky underdogs? Definitely the Griquas in past seasons, but now that the Pumas are in, they may be the surprise package. The Cheetahs and Lions both play exciting, running rugby, so they're good value too, wouldn't call them underdogs though. Not in the Currie Cup, at least.
