It may be a casting stage, but Currie Cup can attract crowds
● The Currie Cup may no longer be worth its weight in gold but it remains relevant, at least for the team that has set the tone in Super Rugby.
The Lions with 11 wins are the third most prolific winners of the Currie Cup but they have had to come to grips with what the competition has come to represent in a changing landscape.
Of course it is still worth chasing what used to be the Holy Grail on the local rugby calendar, but the Currie Cup now provides more of a casting stage.
“We have to accept the Currie Cup is not what it was. It is a question of how you use it,” said Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli.
With Super Rugby taking centre stage outside of the Test-match calendar, the Currie Cup has had to find a reason to co-exist.
“We’re excited by it because we follow a slightly different model than the other teams,” said Straeuli.
“We allow some of our players to play in Japan during the Currie Cup. We see it as an opportunity to give some of our younger players a go.
“We try to avoid a bottleneck that way. We will give some of our under-20 players an opportunity. Guys like Wandisile Simelane and Tyrone Green.
“It is very much a competition in which we can have a look at players. Who, for instance, can succeed Malcolm Marx? We know we’ve got them but you still have to give them the opportunity to identify them.”
That policy of course also lightens the franchise’s salary bill. Unless you’re Warren Whiteley or Marx, who hold SA Rugby contracts as well, the Currie Cup window provides an opportunity to significantly augment your income.
This season’s competition, that kicks off in two weeks, is more likely to capture the imagination than its most recent predecessors. Already it has been suggested that there will be no room for error when seven teams go at each other over a single round.
“Statistics don’t lie and research from last year has shown that the Currie Cup remains a popular and critical part of the rugby landscape,” said SA Rugby CE Jurie Roux. “Premier Division match attendances increased by 12.5% in 2017 and viewership reversed international sporting trends by jumping 20% year-on-year in terms of total unique viewers, and the average audience was up by 55%.
“We believe the reduced number of fixtures will lead to even higher match attendances and higher average viewership.”
Western Province, the Sharks, the Golden Lions, the Blue Bulls, the Free State Cheetahs, Griquas and the Pumas will contest the Premier Division, which kicks off on August 17. The Free State Cheetahs will host the Blue Bulls in the competition opener.