LUKE’S DREAM OF LIFTING CURRIE CUP
Kings aiming to do what no other EP team have done
IN just under three months Kings rugby captain Luke Watson will attempt to do what no other Eastern Province player has managed to do after more than 100 years of trying – to hold aloft the coveted Currie Cup.
Though they have reached semi-finals, Eastern Province have yet to reach the final in world rugby’s oldest domestic competition.
Next Friday they return to the Currie Cup Premier Division for the first time in 12 years and the Bay has been gripped by rugby fever ahead of the big kick-off.
After hosting Western Province in the opener at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium next Friday, the Kings will play nine matches before the knockout stage.
Apart from those semi-final appearances there was a memorable day for Kings fans two years ago when EP beat the Pumas to win the Currie Cup First Division title in front of 22 000 fans at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Led by Darron Nel in that final, the triumph sent out a signal that the Kings were on the way up even though that success was in the lower First Division league of the Currie Cup.
It was the first time a First Division Currie Cup final had been played in Port Elizabeth and the big crowd were kept on the edge of their seats for 80 minutes on Saturday as the Kings fought to overcome a brave Pumas side.
Cool-headed flyhalf Wesley Dunlop contributed to his team’s final win by nailing a “pressure conversion” from the touchline to help his team snatch a narrow 26-25 win over the Pumas .
With the final in the balance, Dunlop showed nerves of steel to convert wing Marcello Sampson’s late try to give the Kings a win over the never-say-die Pumas .
Perhaps, at a time like this, the men in red and black hoops can draw inspiration from cricket captain Kepler Wessels who led Eastern Province to their first Currie Cup cricket title in 1989 at St George’s Park.
The joy at St George’s Park knew no bounds when paceman Greg Thomas shattered Neal Radford’s stumps and ended a thrilling five-day final against Transvaal to end EP’s long wait for Currie Cup success.
That first Currie Cup final triumph for EP cricket was thanks to inspired leadership by Wessels and a superb team performance in which several players contributed to the victory.
Wessels instilled a sense of self-belief in the EP team that they could beat anyone and it was this confidence in their own ability that helped them win SA cricket’s ultimate prize.
If the rugby players are to emulate the cricketers, then the leadership of Watson and head coach Carlos Spencer will be crucial.
Spencer has already made it clear that team work rather than star players will be the cornerstone of EP’s bid for Currie Cup glory.
“One of the biggest strengths of this team is the unknown element and mystery surrounding what we are going to bring and the rugby we are going to play,” Watson said.
Spencer has highlighted the fact that he wants a strong work ethic in his team.
“I would rather have hard workers any day over big names.
“This is what we are starting
to create at this union and it is good to see.” SA Rugby’s chief executive Jurie Roux says the Currie Cup has lost little of its lustre during its 123-year history.
“Year after year people speculate that it is going to be a watered-down competition and that it is not going to be so tough but every year it is the same competition and the same result,” Roux said.
“People go to the games, they watch the games, the rivalry is there because the Currie Cup is tribal.
“That is what it is, it is a platform for players to show they belong in the green and gold, it is a platform for young players to show they can make the step-up to the national side.”
Steeped in history and tradition, the Currie Cup dates back to 1889.
The tournament is regarded as the cornerstone of South Africa’s rugby heritage, and the coveted gold trophy remains the most prestigious prize in South African domestic rugby.
The story of how the name came to be comes from the first overseas team to tour South Africa in 1891, the British Isles, who carried with them a particularly precious bit of cargo.
Among the bags, boots and balls was a golden cup given to them by Sir Donald Currie, owner of Union-Castle Lines, the shipping company that transported them to the southern tip of Africa.
Sir Donald was clear with his instructions – hand this trophy over to the team in South Africa that gives you the best game and after a spirited display where the unbeaten Lions narrowly won 3-0, Griqualand West became the first ever holders of the Currie Cup.
They then handed the trophy over to the South African rugby board and it became the floating trophy for the Currie Cup competition. The inaugural Currie Cup tournament was held in 1892 with Western Province earning the honour of holding it aloft as the official first winners.
The competition missed a few years here and there for reasons such as war but in 1968 it become the fully fledged annual showpiece, with the trophy very much still the holy grail of South African rugby.
While local unions battled for the Currie Cup from 1892 onwards it would take decades for an annual competition to be established. After years of occasional tournaments, dominated by WP, South Africa’s premiere provincial spectacle kicked off in earnest in 1968.
That year the Blue Bulls of Northern Transvaal, spearheaded by the legendary lock Frik du Preez, trampled neighbours Transvaal 16-3 in the final, heralding a period of overall dominance that has seen the men from Pretoria win the Currie Cup 16 times and share it on three occasions.
Now Spencer and Watson will bid to get EP’s name engraved on the famous old trophy in what promises to be an action-packed campaign.