Class will out in the Currie Cup and the top sides have made it through to this weekend’s semifinals Andy Capostagno The rugby season that began on Friday February 25 is almost over. Those players who do not make Harry Viljoen’s Springbok touring squad of 40 can look forward to at least two months that do not involve packing a tog-bag for a trip to the training ground. A few who have reached the wrong side of 30 will be looking forward to doing absolutely nothing. The youngsters, for whom rugby and life are indivisible, will be all partied out after two weeks and will start to wonder how to spend the long, hot summer days. More than a few will take sanctuary in the gym. What it is to be young. Meanwhile the Currie Cup continues with this weekend’s semifinals: Natal vs Free State in Durban, Western Province vs the Lions in Cape Town. Ironically the same fixtures at the same venues happened in 1997, the year that Viljoen inspired WP to success in the final, his one major honour as a coach. Province beat the old Transvaal at Newlands, Free State upset the odds to win in Durban, but got stage fright a week later and went down 14-12 in the Cape Town final. Helgard Muller, who now sits on the sidelines and helps to motivate a new family of Cheetahs, is probably still regretting the avoidable forward pass he threw to Jan-Harm van Wyk for what would have been the winning try. It is never less than astonishing to look back three seasons and see the attrition the game attracts. While Muller, the most durable and loyal player South African provincial rugby has ever seen, sits in civvies on the bench he might be forgiven for wondering where all his friends have gone.
Of the 21 Free Staters who participated in the 1997 semifinal, two have retired, one is injured, four have dropped out of favour, three will actually take the field and 11 have moved to other provinces. And for those who think that Free State exists only to feed other unions, Natal have had an even greater change of personnel. Of their defeated 1997 semifinal squad, just three remain available for Saturday. Eight have retired, five have switched provinces, two have dropped out of favour and three now play their rugby in the United Kingdom. Statistics such as these tell us more than the fact that the game in this country is dominated by the need to make a quick buck; they tell us that players should cherish days that bring a Currie Cup semifinal, for they do not come around often. This time it would be a far greater shock than in 1997 if Free State were to beat the Sharks. They have picked up injuries to key players at the wrong time and may have to content themselves with having got this far with a team painfully low on experience. Under Rudolf Straeuli Natal have rapidly rebuilt the confidence that was shot to pieces in the Super 12. They have a fine blend of youth and experience and the most cerebral captain in the country. If there is any justice Mark Andrews should be the first name called out in the Springbok squad on Saturday. Which is not to undermine the achievements of a decent man – Andre Vos – as Springbok captain in a difficult year, but merely to point out that Andrews is playing his best rugby again, has a smile on his face and may just be the right man at the right time to lead the national side. The three other candidates face each other across a crowded scrum at Newlands. On the Lions side, Vos would happily continue in the job given him by Nick Mallett, while Rassie Erasmus would probably rather get on with playing his unique game unencumbered by the robes of office. On the Province side Corne Krige has begun to add a creative spark to his always- masterly defensive game. His anticipation of where the ball might be under a pile of bodies was a significant part of his team’s win over Boland last week, and after an uncertain start to his Test career he looks set for a run in the side. Some might say there is an embarrassment of riches. Others might point out that if that is indeed the case, it differs more than somewhat from the scramble for credibility when the Springbok coaching job suddenly came up for grabs. Whatever, while there have been times this year when it seemed that South African rugby was heading down the toilet, things seem a little more sanguine away from the harsh spotlight of the Tri-Nations and the Super 12. That might seem an ostrich-like approach to the situation, but the greatest players the world has ever seen began as club and provincial performers and we should not casually denigrate the Currie Cup.
Indeed, the Super Eight section produced exactly the kind of stepping stone from the log section that everyone had hoped for and secretly felt was impossible. The end result was that the traditional strength of South African rugby came to the fore and the marginal sides – Boland, Pumas, Eagles, Griquas – fell by the wayside. On Saturday two more sides will join that quartet in retirement for the year. The Lions and Cheetahs have the usual gambler’s chance in a two-horse race, but put your money on it being a Durban final: Natal vs Province.