RUGBY
Andy Capostagno
With two weeks to go in the Super Eight section of the Currie Cup there are still seven teams who can make the semifinals. It stretches credulity a little to believe that the seventh-placed Bulls are still in with a chance, but this is the stage of the season when the mathematicians have their day.
As for journalists, it is the stage of the season where copy tends to be peppered with “probably” and “likely”, and this column is no different. Western Province will probably top the log at the end of the Super Eight and despite recent hiccoughs, the Sharks will most likely end second. See what I mean?
The problem with being any more definite is that, while Province are the only unbeaten team in this year’s competition, they still have to play Free State in Cape Town and the Sharks in Durban. That last game might yet decide who tops the log and it may well be a dress rehearsal for the final, but there are simply too many permutations to be certain.
The Falcons and the Pumas both lost at the weekend, but each scored a four-try bonus point to keep them in the running. The Falcons are thus in a three-way tie for second spot on the log and have by far the easiest run into the semis, playing the bottom two teams on the log, the Bulls at Loftus and Griquas at the Barnard stadium in Kempton Park.
By contrast the Pumas have to finish against the Sharks in Witbank and the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. Puma coach Chris Grobler said at Ellis Park on Sunday that he knew the writing was on the wall for his team when Marius Schoeman left the field. Schoeman had been moved to centre from wing due to a crippling injury list and in the circumstances the Pumas will have to regard the season as one of so far, no further.
Against the Lions on Sunday the Pumas competed for 40 minutes, despite being shoved backwards in the scrums. They seemed to thrive on the fact that the Lions lacked a decision maker at halfback. Accordingly a wealth of Lions possession meant almost nothing, until the Pumas tired in the second half and started to miss tackles.
There have been times this season when the Lions have looked like a giant about to awaken, and the fact that they finish against Griquas and the Bulls is hugely in their favour. They may even sneak a home semifinal, in which case the union will be praying for a crowd worthy of the name.
On a perfect spring Sunday in Johannesburg fewer than 7 000 people turned up to watch them play the Pumas. To put that in perspective, on Friday night, 20km up the road in Kempton Park, an estimated 8 500 crammed into the Barnard stadium to watch the Falcons play Province.
It turns out to be a nationwide phenomenon, with all provinces reporting dwindling crowds for the Currie Cup. The problem seems to be the Super 12; a competition with strength against strength every week, featuring teams with strongly marketed identities. The Stormers had no problem filling Newlands during the Super 12, but when the Lions came down two weeks ago, the ground was less than half full.
The successful run of the Cats attracted good crowds to Ellis Park and even the Free State stadium, where a crowd of 12 000 is considered a bonanza, got 30 000 plus when the Sharks played the Cats there in March.
There is now even more reason to believe that our season is around the wrong way. The public loves the Super 12 and pays through the nose for it. The Currie Cup is a step down in quality and cannot compete. The time has come to make South Africa’s premier domestic competition a feeder system into the Super 12, not what it currently is, after the Lord Mayor’s Show.
Which should not be allowed to detract from the white-knuckle rugby we can expect from the Currie Cup from here on in. The best game of the weekend is likely to be at Newlands where Free State will need to overcome a few ghosts of the past to end Province’s unbeaten run.
And while the Sharks should beat the Pumas in Witbank and the Lions do likewise to Griquas in Kimberley, both teams will be hoping for a Bulls revival against the Falcons at Loftus to ease the logjam at the top end of the table. The season is going down to the wire.