Though they are unique, standalone affairs, Currie Cup finals are there to be drawn from.
The Cheetahs and the Pumas will do well to look at five previous instalments as they prepare for Saturday’s Currie Cup final in Bloemfontein.
It’s not where you play but how you play
Ellis Park had developed an aura that made those who occupy the home dressing room hard to beat. The Rugby World Cup final from 1995 of course helped create that perception, so when the Sharks ran out there for the 1996 final against a Transvaal team that had provided the nucleus of the Springbok team that won the World Cup final, they appeared to be up against it.
However, the Sharks, who as Natal had claimed the title a year earlier, had a point to prove against a team that struggled to come to grips with the advent of professionalism.
The Sharks were more cohesive and sharper in mind and step and ultimately ran amok with Andre Joubert teasing and tormenting the home team’s defence.
The visitors ran out comfortable 33-15 victors.
Don’t be weighed down by the occasion
The shoe would be on the other foot three years later. The Sharks went on to the 1999 final as clear favourites over the Golden Lions. Both teams went into the final without the World Cup-bound Springboks, but the hosts had hardened men, though discarded from national duty, who appeared to have destiny in their hands.
The problem was, however, the Sharks had loyal servants drifting off into the sunset which perhaps ultimately blind them to what the occasion demanded. Retirement beckoned for coach Ian McIntosh, captain Gary Teichmann and timeless playmaker Andre Joubert.
The Lions by contrast had their eyes firmly on the prize and, as much as the Sharks had men who missed out on World Cup selection, the visitors too had men to prove a point.
Thinus Delport, AJ Venter and the almost forgotten Hennie le Roux all contributed richly as the Lions romped home 32-9 to spoil the party.
Be ruthless
Currie Cup finals, perhaps like all finals, are about seizing the moment and maximising opportunity. The Cheetahs, hoping to reaffirm their sense of belonging after contesting Super Rugby at the expense of Western Province in 1997, lost the Currie Cup final through untimely mistakes.
Helgard Muller is remembered for a blemish later in the game, but he also helped WP get onto the scoreboard through a poor chip that led to a try.
In a tense, nerve jangling final quarter the Cheetahs carved out opportunities to win the game but fluffed their lines. Charging onto the ball less than two metres from the try line Rassie Erasmus knocked on before Muller, infamously let go of a pass that allowed Jan-Harm van Wyk to drift past James Small and sprint into the clear. Referee Andre Watson came tantalisingly close to earning the freedom of the Mother City when he ruled the ball had drifted forward.
Believe and stay in the fight
The Bulls were on the crest of a wave when they ran out to try to win the Currie Cup for a fourth straight year in 2005. Their Loftus faithful expected nothing less against a Free State Cheetahs team that had failed to add to their maiden Currie Cup success for 29 years.
The Bulls snorted with intent and they made some telling inroads, but the Cheetahs who lost at the same ground in the previous final learnt from that experience.
They stayed in the fight and harassed and hurried the Bulls and eventually met reward. When the Bulls’ back division failed to decisively deal with an up and under, Meyer Bosman charged onto a kind bounce to sprint clear and bring the rest of the country’s rugby watching public to its feet.
Forget form and drop preconceived notions
By the time the 2002 final was contested, the residual qualities that come with form had well eroded. The third and fourth placed Golden Lions and the Blue Bulls secured away wins in the semifinals to secure passage to the final. The hosts, with recent Bok captain Andre Vos, were slight favourites against future Bok captain Joost van der Westhuizen’s team in blue.
While the Lions boasted the slicker attack, it was the Bulls who had the most robust and organised defence in the competition.
What they also tellingly had was Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha announcing themselves as a second row finals combination of some repute. At the back muscular Dries Scholtz charged hard and straight.
The Bulls ability to get over the advantage line helped create the stage for their flyhalf to reach heights few attained in a Currie Cup final. With time and space in abundance he delivered a virtuoso performance to propel his team a 31-7 victory.
A record 26-point haul in that final is the enduring memory of Derick Hougaard at the peak of his powers.
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