Ahead of Saturday’s decider between the Lions and Griquas, SARugbymag.co.za looks back at the previous five Currie Cup finals.
The Currie Cup will see a fifth different winner in the past six campaigns, with the Lions falling heartbreakingly short in last season’s finale.
Triumph for the men from Kimberley will be their first in 55 years and another true underdog success story, similar to that of the Pumas in 2022.
Only the Vodacom Bulls have been repeat winners, during South Africa’s Covid lockdown in 2020 and 2021. But since then, it’s been a bit of a lottery underlining the unpredictable nature of South Africa’s oldest rugby competition.
In the 2020 season, which had been extended due to the pandemic, it was the Bulls who edged the Sharks 26-19 in a tense and tight final at Loftus Versfeld. Going into the final quarter, it looked for all money that the Sharks would claim another title with a healthy 10-point margin. But the home side staged a famous comeback.
In the 2021 season, the Bulls backed up their title-winning credentials, but this time the result was far more emphatic. The Bulls retained the cup with a commanding 44-10 win over the Sharks, the biggest winning margin in a Currie Cup final.
The 2022 Currie Cup final saw two unlikely teams contest for top honours. Griquas hosted the Pumas, looking to win the Currie Cup for the first time in 52 years. But the Pumas – in their very first final – showed their class to defeat their hosts 26-19 and claim the silverware.
In 2023, the defending champion Pumas again showed good, consistent form throughout the competition and deservedly made it into their second consecutive final. But on that day, they couldn’t quite match the Free State Cheetahs, who were 25-17 victors in Bloemfontein.
And then in 2024, in slippery conditions at Ellis Park, the Lions were looking to cap an impressive Currie Cup campaign and seemed to have done enough when they scored and converted to take the lead five minutes from full-time. But Springbok Jordan Hendrikse’s 59m penalty in injury time snatched victory away from the home side.
Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
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