When a commentator referred to the Currie Cup as the Carling Cup there may have been some previous winners of the oldest provincial trophy in world rugby who wished it wasn’t a mistake.
The domestic competition has its merits as a development tool for SA rugby and it plays an invaluable role in the local rugby ecosystem. But calling a competition that features the third or even fourth string teams of unions that double as United Rugby Championship franchises the Currie Cup is an insult to those who have been part of its proud history.
When Gert Smal, who won the trophy first as a player and then as a coach, suggested in 2022 that the Currie Cup trophy should be put in a museum there was support for those sentiments. And that was while the games played by URC-aligned unions featured much stronger teams than is now the case because it was played at the same time as the URC.
Now most of those fringe players aren’t playing in the competition because it is played in the off season. The penny has dropped that even young players on the periphery of selection who theoretically could do with Currie Cup exposure are better served by having a proper off-season.
There was a time the Currie Cup was considered understrength just because the Springboks weren’t playing due to a clash with the Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship. It was the equivalent of New Zealand’s NPC, which doesn’t feature All Blacks but does feature Super Rugby players.
It is a choice for the unions just how far they want to go with the development angle. The Bulls team beaten by the Pumas but that thumped much less experienced Sharks and WP teams before that features several journeymen, some of whom are contracted just for the domestic competition.
The Bulls clearly need a trophy badly, but Sharks coach John Plumtree might tell them the Currie Cup trophy wasn’t really a safety net when the critics started yapping during his team’s mid-URC slump. The URC is the main thing for the Sharks and it is why some of the reaction to the Sharks XV’s recent 64-0 defeat at Loftus was over the top.
Unfortunately SA Rugby have little choice but to continue with the competition in its current form and window due to sponsorship demands. The development competition used to be named after its sponsor. It was the Vodacom Cup.
But sponsorship value would be lost if it became the Carling Cup so here’s the solution. Playing the current one round competition at the same time as the URC is on, starting it during the February/March window when the URC breaks for the Six Nations, would at least mean the youngsters blooded in the competition would be learning off more experienced teammates. Plus fringe players would get game time when it is needed, meaning in season.
The Currie Cup exists for the smaller unions now and the performances of the Pumas, Griquas and Boland have been laudable so far. They arrived in the Premier Division through performance in the SA Cup, which should be played as the Currie Cup in this current window, with the primary purpose of showcasing the smaller unions.
The top teams in the qualifying phase of the Currie Cup would then take a break before coming back in February/March to be part of the Premier Division, with the competition culminating in a final played the week after the end of the URC every year, thus becoming the traditional end of season game in SA.
It still wouldn’t be the competition it was before but the main part of the Currie Cup would then at least be aligned with the season as it is now instead of falling in the off-season/preseason.
That would allow the participation of better quality players and lead to stronger teams than is the case currently.
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