South African Clubs Carry on Grand Tradition

When the Blue Bulls and Natal Sharks battle in in the Currie Cup final on 25 October, they'll be contesting for one of South Africa's most prized domestic sporting trophies. For those unfamiliar with the series, here's some brief background.

The trophy itself is actually from Great Britain, having been sent by shipping magnate Donald Currie with a British touring side in 1892. The trophy was to be awarded to the first hosting side to win a match before becoming a domestic competition trophy, but the travelers won all of their 19 matches. The trophy was therefore handed over to Griqualand West, who had lost only 3-0 to the visiting side, after which it became the prize for an interprovincial competition as it remains today.

A few things about the Currie Cup competition have changed in the 116 years since the trophy arrived in South Africa, though. The Currie Cup was contested sporadically until 1968, the first year it became an annual event. Since then, competitions such as the Super 14 have perhaps shaded the Currie Cup in significance, but the competition remains a big event.

In its current format, the Currie Cup competition features eight teams in the Premier Division and six teams in the lower-tier First Division. Each team plays all of the other sides in its division twice. After that, the top four Premier Division sides advance to the Currie Cup semifinals, with the winners of that match contesting the final. The winner of the First Division, meanwhile, plays a two-match series with the last-place side from the Premier Division, with the series winner playing in the Premier Division the following year and the series loser playing in the First Division in the following year.

This weekend's match is not the first big match between the Bulls and Sharks in recent memory. They met in the final in 2003, with the Bulls prevailing, but also met in the Super 14 final in 2007 (though the player base for the Super 14 sides differs slightly from that of the Currie Cup sides given that there only five South African Super 14 sides). Even though it's a different competition, if the thrilling finish of that Super 14 match is any indicator, we're in for an exciting final. Here's the end of that 2007 Super 14 showdown:



And here's a slightly longer video of highlights from that Super 14 final: