Currie Cup battling for relevance in congested calendar

Super Rugby still has three weeks to run but the Currie Cup begins on Friday providing further evidence that the grand old lady of tournaments is becoming increasingly meaningless.

The Sharks and Golden Lions will be in Currie Cup action this weekend although their two Super Rugby teams will meet in that competition’s quarterfinal on Saturday.

It’s the earliest the Currie Cup has started since Super Rugby moved to the conference system in 2011‚ beginning two weeks earlier than it did in 2016.

With an increasingly congested fixture list‚ it's the Currie Cup that has gradually been eroded to accommodate the bloated Super Rugby and Rugby Championship competitions.

The Currie Cup will face a further challenge this year when the Cheetahs and Southern Kings compete in the northern hemisphere’s Pro 12 tournament‚ which is scheduled to start in September.

That will take all of Free State’s and Eastern Province’s top players out of the Currie Cup at a critical stage of the tournament while about 28 Springboks won’t participate at all due to international duty.

Although Pro 12 participation has not yet been formally announced by Celtic Rugby‚ who manages the competition‚ they confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that they were in discussions with SA Rugby.

“Celtic Rugby can confirm that advanced and positive discussions are taking place with the South African Rugby Union regarding the introduction of two teams into an expanded Guinness PRO12 Championship.

“Given the proximity of the 2017/18 season start‚ a final decision on this potential expansion will be confirmed as soon as practical‚” the statement read.

With the Cheetahs and Southern Kings axed from Super Rugby‚ their survival was dependent on lucrative international competition.

Revenue earned from the Currie Cup is simply not enough to sustain a deep pool of talented professional players.

The Kings have already lost several players to richer unions with flank Tyler Paul and Ross Geldenhuys‚ who both played in the Kings’ final Super Rugby match last week‚ turning out for the Sharks in Currie Cup this weekend.

For SA Rugby the trade off of negotiating for the Kings and Cheetahs to play in Pro 12 is a further watering down of the already diluted Currie Cup tournament.

On the up side‚ the Currie Cup could be in healthier state from 2018 though with Super Rugby cut back to 15 teams meaning a shorter competition.

Friday sees Free State take on the Sharks in their first Currie Cup match of the campaign while Griquas host the Blue Bulls on Saturday with the Pumas and Golden Lions clashing on Sunday.

- TimesLIVE