It’s been a confusing Currie Cup season.
There was initially a danger that it might not even take place at all, mainly due to player welfare concerns.
Then there were discussions about when it should take place in an already congested rugby calendar, with the Springbok players in a virtual 12-month cycle due to the July Tests at home and the Rugby Championship in August and September.
Eventually it was determined that the Currie Cup would start on July 5 and end on September 21. Teams generally picked their youngsters for most of the competition, but suddenly when it got closer and closer to the play-offs, the best players were introduced as it was seen as great preparation for the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The URC is scheduled to begin on Friday – the same day as the Currie Cup final – but SA Rugby suddenly realised that they wanted to afford the domestic competition more prestige and asked the URC organisers to postpone the Stormers v Bulls and Lions v Sharks games, which was granted.
All these decisions have had knock-on effects, which could have been avoided.
Stormers coach John Dobson spoke about the disappointment of not facing the Bulls in what would have been a blockbuster tournament opener at Cape Town Stadium, and there is also unhappiness from fans that Western Province weren’t more competitive in the Currie Cup.
The Bulls also came under some criticism for losing last week’s Currie Cup semi-final against the Sharks but it really shouldn’t be such a big deal, as the Currie Cup simply does not hold the importance it did 10 years ago ... or even five.
Now, the Lions and Sharks are preparing for Saturday’s final at Ellis Park with mixed feelings. The Lions are probably delighted to be part of the title decider as their first URC game is also at home, against Ulster, next week Saturday.
Trevor Nyakane selling dummies on the wing 😮
Another #CarlingCurrieCup classic from the Hollywodbets Sharks prop this weekend.
Here it is with our isiXhosa commentary 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/YyBqasPeER
The Sharks, in contrast, have to travel to Galway early next week to take on Connacht, and coach John Plumtree also expressed his unhappiness with the URC openers being postponed.
The Stormers used some of their players in the WP side for their last Currie Cup game against Griquas in Kimberley on September 6, but now will go underdone into their first URC game against the Ospreys in Swansea next Saturday, following the postponement of the Bulls game.
The Cape side at least managed to arrange a friendly at the last minute against the Pumas in Mbombela today before travelling to Wales.
There has been some thrilling rugby over the last two weeks of the Currie Cup, and Saturday’s final is sure to dish up real entertainment at Ellis Park.
Rumour has it Morne Brandon is still doing somersaults at Emirates Airline Park this morning 😂
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 16, 2024
The #CarlingCurrieCup semi-finals served up some brilliant moments this weekend. pic.twitter.com/02IF8DnzkU
But the only real way to avoid all the confusion and issues of this season is to hold the Currie Cup concurrently with the URC.
The first problem it would solve is player welfare, as it would allow those not involved with the Boks a proper break from competition matches from late June to mid-September.
The URC and Champions Cup are the main tournaments, and best players will feature there – barring Test duty in between.
The rest of the players would compete in the Currie Cup, with their own coaches instead of having the URC management involved, who would have their own goals in terms of developing players and winning the title.
That scenario would also ensure that they are fresh and game-ready if needed by the URC team, and if players need to regain match-fitness after being injured.
The Currie Cup matches could be curtain-raisers for the URC games, and yes, the Currie Cup fixtures may not get as many live TV broadcasts as a result – but that could also be an avenue to have those matches shown on SABC and other free-to-air platforms...