I'm a huge Rugby fan (at least compared to everyone else in the USA) and I'm trying to get into the Currie Cup, but as I'm not from South Africa, and don't have any provincial allegiances, I'd like to know a little bit about each team. If you're a fan of one of the teams, please help me out by telling me a little bit about your favourite team. Why you like them, and why you think other people should support them!
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Currie Cup
- Thread starter nadoss
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Western Province
Pro's;
- oldest in SA
- Newlands is the oldest original rugby ground (that has not moved location)
- still wearing the traditional kit
- most Currie cup ***les (though its been a bit dry of late)
- so no-one could call someone starting to follow the hooped jerseys a glory seeker LOL
- and which would make the inevitable ***le that much sweeter
- most loyal fans, the fan's nickname is the Newlands faithful
- very approacable players, seriously, I havn't met a WP player that hasn't got his feet firmly on the ground
- some very recognisable players that will still be around for some time; Schalk Burger, Andries Bekker, Gio Aplon and Jaque Fourie to name a few (although these players wont be playing in this year's CC). Maybe never again with the expanded Super rugby format T_T
- WP has over the last two years started to back it's youth (where we had a habit of signing has-beens) which is good because
- we have the best depth in youth rugby; most of the top schools teams and the varsity cup has stayed in the cape between the universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch
- most beautiful of the provinces if you're ever going to visit
- best defense
- when we do click as a team the tries are epic
Con's;
- we've been nearly-men for a while now which does get frustrating
- our players have a tendency to play as individuals rather than a team; again very frustrating
- our only real weakness as a team is a weakish tight five, especially the props
- we could also use a world-class fly-half
- our laid-back approach (the Cape is a very laid backplace) shows in the players sometimes
- previous three means we get beaten in crunch games too often as we get out-muscled, out-played tactically and out-'enthused'
Pro's;
- oldest in SA
- Newlands is the oldest original rugby ground (that has not moved location)
- still wearing the traditional kit
- most Currie cup ***les (though its been a bit dry of late)
- so no-one could call someone starting to follow the hooped jerseys a glory seeker LOL
- and which would make the inevitable ***le that much sweeter
- most loyal fans, the fan's nickname is the Newlands faithful
- very approacable players, seriously, I havn't met a WP player that hasn't got his feet firmly on the ground
- some very recognisable players that will still be around for some time; Schalk Burger, Andries Bekker, Gio Aplon and Jaque Fourie to name a few (although these players wont be playing in this year's CC). Maybe never again with the expanded Super rugby format T_T
- WP has over the last two years started to back it's youth (where we had a habit of signing has-beens) which is good because
- we have the best depth in youth rugby; most of the top schools teams and the varsity cup has stayed in the cape between the universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch
- most beautiful of the provinces if you're ever going to visit
- best defense
- when we do click as a team the tries are epic
Con's;
- we've been nearly-men for a while now which does get frustrating
- our players have a tendency to play as individuals rather than a team; again very frustrating
- our only real weakness as a team is a weakish tight five, especially the props
- we could also use a world-class fly-half
- our laid-back approach (the Cape is a very laid backplace) shows in the players sometimes
- previous three means we get beaten in crunch games too often as we get out-muscled, out-played tactically and out-'enthused'
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Natal Sharks
Pro's:
- A team that has played a very attacking style of rugby.
- With our current NZ coach John Plumtree, we even got better in the running game, while teams like the Bulls still rely on kick-and-chase.
- We might not have the most Currie Cup ***les, but since we won our first one (in 1990), we have won a total of 6 in 20 years... That is 1 every 3,3 years.
- In Super Rugby we have become one of the sympathy teams due to the fact we have lost 3 finals without ever winning one.
- We have a team with a variety of cultures. We have the real Afrikaans clan with Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis, we have the Cape Culture in JP Pietersen, Zulu's in Luzuko Vulindlu and Lwazi Mvovo, Xhosa in Odwa Ndungane and the rednecks in guys like John Smit.
- Our amazing depth in the squad which was noticable when we played the Blue Bulls. Guys like Mark Richards, Lambert Groenewald, Marcell Coetzee, Dale Chadwick and Ross Cronje are just a few that were given game time in a match won 35-16!
- Our front-row is an all-Springbok line!
- Our backrow consists of 4 Springboks for 3 positions!
- Biggest pro is the presence of Patrick Lambie. Arguably the biggest talent world-wide at the moment
Con's:
- We tend to upset players by throwing them around the backline which makes them leave us. Brent Russell, Francois Steyn, Ruan Pienaar...
- We are in desperate need of a good lock-pairing and a scrum-half.
- We have trouble with the Crusaders. We only managed to beat them once in the last 10 years. This is extremely annoying since we played them twice last sesaon
Pro's:
- A team that has played a very attacking style of rugby.
- With our current NZ coach John Plumtree, we even got better in the running game, while teams like the Bulls still rely on kick-and-chase.
- We might not have the most Currie Cup ***les, but since we won our first one (in 1990), we have won a total of 6 in 20 years... That is 1 every 3,3 years.
- In Super Rugby we have become one of the sympathy teams due to the fact we have lost 3 finals without ever winning one.
- We have a team with a variety of cultures. We have the real Afrikaans clan with Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis, we have the Cape Culture in JP Pietersen, Zulu's in Luzuko Vulindlu and Lwazi Mvovo, Xhosa in Odwa Ndungane and the rednecks in guys like John Smit.
- Our amazing depth in the squad which was noticable when we played the Blue Bulls. Guys like Mark Richards, Lambert Groenewald, Marcell Coetzee, Dale Chadwick and Ross Cronje are just a few that were given game time in a match won 35-16!
- Our front-row is an all-Springbok line!
- Our backrow consists of 4 Springboks for 3 positions!
- Biggest pro is the presence of Patrick Lambie. Arguably the biggest talent world-wide at the moment
Con's:
- We tend to upset players by throwing them around the backline which makes them leave us. Brent Russell, Francois Steyn, Ruan Pienaar...
- We are in desperate need of a good lock-pairing and a scrum-half.
- We have trouble with the Crusaders. We only managed to beat them once in the last 10 years. This is extremely annoying since we played them twice last sesaon
Seaton
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If you are looking to be interested in a team, I would point you to the Griquas, Cheetahs and Pumas.
The former two play fairly nice brands of rugby, they always try to but I sometimes hampered by skill levels and try to take it one step to far.
Most people that I know see the Cheetahs as the 'darlings of SA rugby', and with the Griquas recent resurgence, and given that they close, geographical rivals, always makes the games between them interesting.
They both have much smaller wage bills than the other unions, with the Cheetahs developing their own and a large chunk of SA's star players. Whilst the Griquas also seek to develop younger players, but with the Cheetahs drawing much of the surrounding areas school talent, they first look to entice other unions young talent, lately about two thirds of their squad derives from the Western Cape.
As for the Pumas... They are a team on the up, don't always play the best rugby but if I were a Pumas fan I would be delighted with the direction the team is heading
Alas, it seems as though the format of the CC is set to change, meaning that most, if not all, of the sides I mentioned are unfairly doomed to the second division
The former two play fairly nice brands of rugby, they always try to but I sometimes hampered by skill levels and try to take it one step to far.
Most people that I know see the Cheetahs as the 'darlings of SA rugby', and with the Griquas recent resurgence, and given that they close, geographical rivals, always makes the games between them interesting.
They both have much smaller wage bills than the other unions, with the Cheetahs developing their own and a large chunk of SA's star players. Whilst the Griquas also seek to develop younger players, but with the Cheetahs drawing much of the surrounding areas school talent, they first look to entice other unions young talent, lately about two thirds of their squad derives from the Western Cape.
As for the Pumas... They are a team on the up, don't always play the best rugby but if I were a Pumas fan I would be delighted with the direction the team is heading
Alas, it seems as though the format of the CC is set to change, meaning that most, if not all, of the sides I mentioned are unfairly doomed to the second division
