Currie Cup Round 8 Summary: The Electric Vodacom Bulls just keep winning
South Africa’s most famous and valuable national rugby championship, the Currie Cup, is always well-equipped for some unexpected twists and turns.
These unexpected twists and turns seem to become more pronounced as the knockout rounds approach.
There are just two rounds left in the Currie Cup before the play-off semi-finals begin, and there are still four places up for grabs in the eight-team Premier Division, so there is still plenty to play for as the regular season slowly draws to a close.
Rugby has changed a lot since the first Currie Cup was played over 100 years ago, but anyone who grew up watching and playing rugby in South Africa will know that winning the country’s most prestigious national trophy brings a very different kind of pride to anything that can be achieved overseas.
Here’s a look back at all the action during Round 8 of the Currie Cup, streamed live and exclusively in the US on FloRugby:
The Bulls’ undefeated season continues
The undisputed best team of the Currie Cup season so far has undoubtedly been the Vodacom Bulls, who are unbeaten with seven wins in eight games and are getting ever closer to first place for the upcoming playoffs.
A highlight-packed exhibition performance in front of a home crowd at Loftus Versfeld on Friday made it clear that coach Jake White and his men will be extremely difficult to beat for the remainder of the Currie Cup season.
Despite Marco de Witt and Dylan Maart scoring a goal each for the Suzuki Griquas in the first 15 minutes and keeping a clean sheet – putting the Bulls under extra pressure to respond, having already trailed 14-0 at the start of the match – the electrified hosts found their stride and stormed to a 47-24 victory. Celimpilo Gumede and Juann Else each scored a brace to ensure the Bulls have now won their last five matches.
Due to their high expectations, the 25-time Currie Cup winners have endured a bit of a title drought, having failed to win South Africa’s premier domestic title since 2021. But with less than a month to go before the final on September 21, there is probably no bigger favourite to win the title than the Bulls at the moment.
Lions win, Cheetahs slip
In what could potentially become a future knockout round showdown if both teams remain in the top half of the table, the Fidelity ADT Lions and Toyota Cheetahs both needed wins in Round 8, albeit for different reasons.
If the Lions want to have a chance at the top spot in the playoffs, they will need to keep winning to keep up with the seemingly impenetrable Bulls, especially after the Lions lost to the Sharks last month. The Cheetahs are also in the race for the playoffs, but currently have to defend the fourth and final spot from a hungry pack behind them, with the Pumas the most dangerous.
And in the end, it was the Lions who rose to the challenge on Saturday and showed that they are currently the biggest threat to the Bulls.
A quick 26-0 start and a brace from the competition’s top try scorer, Renzo du Plessis, helped the Lions to a 38-21 result at Free State Stadium and another impressive win, their fourth in a row.
Leading 14-0 after 10 minutes, the Lions also showed their teeth away from home as both du Plessis and Juan Schoeman scored tries to keep their positive momentum going, all the more important considering they face a titanic clash with the Bulls in Round 9.
As for the Cheetahs, who suffered their second consecutive defeat with this loss, they will need to get results quickly – especially with the Pumas hot on their heels and trying to overtake them in the table.
Sharks remain red hot
After a disastrous three-game losing streak to start their 2024 Currie Cup campaign, the Hollywoodbets Sharks were probably already dead to many. Their second-place finish in the regular season – with ten wins, the most in the competition – and a place in the 2023 play-off semi-finals seemed like distant memories after starting the 2024 season low in the table.
But once the Sharks finally overcame their early season difficulties and started playing at their best, consistency (and results) came naturally.
The Sharks remained unbeaten in five games (with four wins) when they travelled to Cape Town this weekend to defeat struggling DHL Western Province, winning 31-23 to move them up to third in the table as the miraculous turnaround that has put them in the playoffs nears completion.
Zimbabwean international Tinotenda Mavasere, 20-year-old centre Jurenzo Julius, Nick Hatton and Eduan Keyter were the players who scored tries for the Sharks. The Sharks have appeared revitalised over the last month, transforming into a team that has only failed to score at least 30 points once during their ongoing winning streak.
Western Province, the competition’s most successful club (34 championships), saw their play-off hopes all but dashed with two rounds to go as they must overcome a 10-point deficit to fourth-placed Cheetahs and fifth-placed Pumas to secure a place in the semi-finals. They have not won a game since defeating winless Novavit Griffons on August 2.
Pumas triumph and keep pace
The Airlink Pumas, who achieved one of the most impressive victories ever in the competition two seasons ago with the 2022 title and their first Currie Cup win in the club’s history, have built on their historic victory since then with solid matches, reaching the final again but losing to the Toyota Cheetahs in 2023.
The Pumas’ playoff hopes are still somewhat uncertain with two rounds to go, but if they can overcome the helpless Novavit Griffons this weekend and win 45-26, the top half of the table is within sight.
A ruthless Pumas side that scored seven tries – with all of them scored by different players – rampaged through the Griffons, who are out of the play-off race with a measly three points from eight games, as they are now just one point away from the fourth and final place in the upcoming knockout rounds from the Toyota Cheetahs (both on 24 points).
And to cap off the team’s great day on the road, none of the Pumas’ seven tries were scored by Phiko Sobahle, the competition’s top try scorer, showing just how devastating the two-time finalists can be in attack. These are all good signs for them with two regular season games remaining – including an upcoming clash with the Cheetahs in Round 10 that could decide a playoff spot.
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