Currie Cup

Current season or competition: 2011 Currie Cup Premier Division
Sport	Rugby union
Founded	1889
No. of teams	Premier Division: 8 (6 from 2012) First Division: 6 (8 from 2012)
Country(ies)	South Africa
Most recent champion(s)	MTN Golden Lions

For the cricket competition originally known as the Currie Cup, see SuperSport Series.

The Currie Cup tournament (also known as the ABSA Currie Cup for sponsorship reasons) is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, South African teams also compete in the international Super Rugby competition.

Steeped in history and tradition, the ABSA Currie Cup dates back to 1889 and is the oldest provincial rugby competition in the world. 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.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

The competition had its humble beginnings as an inter-town competition in 1884, but when the South African Rugby Board was founded in 1889 it decided to organize a national competition that would involve representative teams from all the major unions. The participating unions were Western Province, Griqualand West, Transvaal and Eastern Province. The first tournament was held in Kimberley and was won by Western Province. As prize they received a silver cup donated by the South African Rugby Board, now displayed at the SA Rugby Museum in Cape Town.

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 Western Province, 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. This outstanding record is in no small part down to the most influential player to ever star in the competition—fly-half extraordinaire Naas Botha. Dictating play with supreme tactical awareness throughout a career that spanned three decades, Botha single-handedly kicked teams into submission, scoring all the Blue Bulls’ points (including four drop-goals) in 1987 as Transvaal were beaten 24-18 in the final.

From when the Currie Cup became an annual competition until the mid-1980s only one team had seriously challenged the supremacy of the Western Province rugby club—arch rivals Northern Transvaal, also known as the "Blue Bulls". Wild parties broke out all over Cape Town when Western Province thrashed Northern Transvaal 24-7 in the 1982 final to kick-start their own golden age. Currie Cup heroes like Faffa Knoetze, Calla Scholtz and steam-rolling wing Neil Burger ensured that the trophy remained in the shadow of Table Mountain for a further four years before again heading north.

At the turn of the decade South African supporters were treated to two of the most memorable Currie Cup finals. In 1989 winger Carel du Plessis scored a last-minute try as WP managed to draw with the Blue Bulls 16-all, Riaan Gouws missed the conversion which would have given WP its 6th title of the decade a feat which has never been achieved. The following year most people believed Northern Transvaal just needed to turn up to beat Natal. The banana boys made sure the Blue Bulls slipped up, though, as they sneaked home 18-12, inspired by fly-half Joel Stransky. The 1990s saw further improvement by Natal and the rise of Francois Pienaar’s Transvaal but, from the moment the Springboks were allowed back into the international fold in 1992, the significance of the Currie Cup steadily started to diminish.

These days the competition lags well behind the Super 14 and Tri-Nations in the order of importance for most of South Africa’s top players. In 2005, Free State won the Currie cup for the first time in 29 years. The Bulls came on a runners up, but nevertheless proved their worthiness in the Super 12.

Trophy[link]

When the first overseas team to tour South Africa stepped ashore in 1891 they carried with them a particularly precious bit of cargo. Among the bags, boots and balls was a golden cup given to the British Isles squad by Sir Donald Currie, owner of Union-Castle Lines, the shipping company that transported them to the southern tip of Africa. The gold trophy was donated by Sir Donald Currie in 1891 before the arrival of the touring British Isles team. 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, Griqualand West became the first ever holders of the Currie Cup. To this day the trophy remains the holy grail of South African rugby. They then donated the trophy to the rugby board, and it became the prize for the Currie Cup competition. The inaugural Currie Cup tournament was held in 1892 with Western Province as the first winners.

Format[link]

The current Currie Cup format sees the competition split into two divisions. Eight teams are in the Premier Division, and contest for the Currie Cup trophy. The other six teams are in the Currie Cup First Division, and play for the chance to be promoted to the Premier Division. The format has changed many times over the years, but this format is due to remain in place until 2011 at least.

The qualifying rounds are contested in a double round-robin format, with each team playing all the others home and away. This makes 14 games in the Premier division and 10 in the First Division. Teams are awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, and zero for a loss. Single bonus points are awarded to teams by two possible outcomes; scoring four tries in a match, or losing a match by seven points or less. Thus, the winner of a match can receive four or five points, whereas a loser can receive up to two points for a loss depending on whether they gain any bonus points.

At the close of the round-robin phase, the top four teams in each division, based on points totals, advance to the knock-out stages. The bottom two teams are forced into promotion/relegation play-offs. The semi-finals are hosted by the teams finishing first and second on the log, and they play the third and fourth placed teams respectively. The final is held at the home ground of the highest ranked semi-final winner. The winner of the Premier Division final wins the Currie Cup trophy.

The first division semi-finals and finals work in the same way, with the winning team receiving a different trophy. The top two teams from the round robin log, irrespective of semi-final performance, take part in the promotion/relegation play-offs. These are two-legged matches, played with the same points system as the regular season. The top ranked First Division team plays the last placed Premier Division team and the second placed First Division team plays the second last placed Premier Division team. The winners of each promotion/relegation series play in the following seasons Premier Division, while the losers play in the First Division.

Teams[link]

Map of South Africa displaying the borders of the 14 teams in the Currie Cup^{[citation needed]}.

Currently, South Africa is divided into 14 unions. Four draw players from an entire province:

• Griquas - Northern Cape (home matches in Kimberley)
• Leopards - North West (home matches in Potchefstroom)
• Natal Sharks - KwaZulu-Natal (home matches in Durban)
• Pumas - Mpumalanga (home matches in Witbank)

The Eastern Cape contains two unions:

• Border Bulldogs - eastern (home matches in East London)
• Eastern Province Kings - western (home matches in Port Elizabeth)

as does Free State:

• Free State Cheetahs - central and western (home matches in Bloemfontein)
• Griffons - eastern (home matches in Welkom)

Western Cape has three unions:

• Boland Cavaliers (Afrikaans: Boland Kavaliers) - northern (home matches in Wellington)
• Eagles - eastern (home matches in George)
• Western Province - Cape Town metropolitan area

Gauteng has two unions that draw exclusively from portions of that province:

• Falcons (Afrikaans: Valke) - the East Rand and other municipalities to the east and south of Johannesburg (home matches in Brakpan)
• Golden Lions - Johannesburg and municipalities to its west (home matches in Johannesburg)

Finally, one union draws players from part of Gauteng plus the entirety of another province:

• Blue Bulls - Pretoria, the two Gauteng municipalities to its east, and Limpopo Province (home matches in Pretoria)

Results[link]

Overall winners[link]

Records and statistics[link]

• Most career matches

• Most career points
  • 1. 1699 Naas Botha (Northern Transvaal) 1977–1992
  • 2. 1412 Willem de Waal (Leopards/Free State/WP) 2002–2010
  • 3. 1402 Eric Herbert (Northern Free State(Griffons)/Free State) 1986–2001
  • 4. 1210 De Wet Ras (Free State/Natal) 1974–1986
  • 5. 1165 Andre Joubert (Free State/Natal) 1986–1999

• Most career tries
  • 1. 74 John Daniels (Golden Lions/Boland Cavaliers)
  • 2. 66 Breyton Paulse (Western Province)
  • 3. 65 Chris Badenhorst (Free State)
  • 4. 58 Andre Joubert (Free State/Natal)
  • 5. 51 Gerrie Germishuys (Free State/Transvaal)
  • 5. 51 Carel Du Plessis (Western Province/Transvaal)
  • 5. 51 Niel Burger (Western Province)
  • 5. 51 Jan-Harm Van Wyk (Free State/Pumas)

• Most individual points in a season
  • 1. 268 Johan Heunis (Northern Transvaal) 1989
  • 2. 263 Gavin Lawless (Golden Lions) 1996
  • 3. 252 Casper Steyn (Blue Bulls) 1999
  • 4. 230 Kennedy Tsimba (Cheetahs) 2003
  • 5. 228 Kennedy Tsimba (Cheetahs) 2002

• Most team points in a season
  • Natal Sharks (792 in 1996)

• Most individual tries in a season
  • 1. 21 Bjorn Basson (Griquas) 2010
  • 2. 19 Carel Du Plessis (Western Province) 1989
  • 2. 19 Colin Lloyd (Leopards) 2006
  • 4. 18 Ettiene Botha (Blue Bulls) 2004
  • 5. 16 Jan-Harm Van Wyk (Free State) 1997
  • 6. 15 Phillip Burger (Cheetahs) 2006

• Most team tries in a season
  • Natal Sharks (112 in 1996)

• Most points in match
  • Jannie De Beer – 46 v. Northern Free State in 1997

• Most tries in a match
  • Jacques Olivier – 7 v SWD in 1996

• Most final appearances
  • Burger Geldenhuys 11 (Northern Transvaal—between 1977 and 1989)
  • Naas Botha 11 (Northern Transvaal—between 1977 and 1991)

See also[link]

• Rugby union in South Africa
• Super Rugby
• Super Rugby franchise areas
• Vodacom Cup

External links[link]

• Latest Currie Cup News
• Currie Cup News from Prime Rugby
• Currie Cup history from Planet Rugby
• ABSA Currie Cup records (correct to the end of 2006)
• Thau, Chris (2006-11-06). "100 years of South African rugby: Part one". irb.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20070608122124/http://www.irb.com/EN/News/Features/061107+SL+CT+RSA1.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-25. 
• "History of the Currie Cup". sarugby.com. 2006-10-11. http://www.sarugby.com/news/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5246. Retrieved 2007-05-25. 
• "Good news for Currie Cup". sarugby.com. 2006-11-30. http://www.sarugby.com/news/News/article/sid=5538.html. Retrieved 2007-05-25. 
• SA Rugby - Currie Cup News

Coordinates: 55°53′45″N 3°18′27″W / 55.895956°N 3.307439°W / 55.895956; -3.307439

Currie
Scottish Gaelic: Currach
Currie  Currie shown within Edinburgh
Population	14,271 (2001)
OS grid reference	NT182677
Civil parish	Currie
Council area	City of Edinburgh
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CURRIE
Postcode district	EH14
Dialling code	0131
Police	Lothian and Borders
Fire	Lothian and Borders
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Edinburgh South West
Scottish Parliament	Edinburgh Pentlands
List of places: UK • Scotland • Edinburgh

Currie (Scottish Gaelic: Currach) is a civil parish and suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated 10 kilometres south west of the city centre. A former village within the County of Midlothian, it lies to the south west of the city, between Juniper Green (NE) and Balerno (SW) on the Lanark Road. Administratively, Currie falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council.

In 1995 the population of Currie was 6,343 and it contained 2,300 houses, 850 of them less than 20 years old.

History[link]

There is no accepted derivation of the name Currie but it is possibly from the Scottish Gaelic word curagh/curragh, a wet or boggy plain, or from the Brythonic word curi, a dell or hollow. The neighbouring suburb of Balerno derives its name from Scottish Gaelic, whilst the nearby Pentland Hills derive their name from Brythonic, so either is possible.

The earliest record of a settlement in the Currie area is a Bronze Age razor (1800 BC) found at Kinleith Mill and the stone cists (500 BC) at Duncan's Belt and Blinkbonny. There are a few mentions of this area in mediaeval and early modern documents. One of the first is when Robert of Kildeleith became Chancellor of Scotland in 1249. Kildeleith means Chapel by the Leith, and survives today as Kinleith. Robert the Bruce gave Riccarton as a wedding present in 1315 and in 1392 the land passed to the family of Bishop Wardlaw. In 1612 the land went to Ludovic Craig, a Senator of the College of Justice. In 1818 it passed to the female line and became the property of the Gibson-Craigs.

There has been a Christian community in the area for more than 1,000 years. In 1018, the archdeacons of Lothian set up their headquarters in the area. John Bartholomew's Civic and Ecclesiastical maps of the 13th century do not show Currie, but the Index of Charters 1309-1413 records Currie as being 'favourite hunting grounds' for the Lords and Knights of Edinburgh Castle. A settlement began to take shape around Currie Kirk and the main Lanark Road, which was the main route south and continues to be known as 'The Lang Whang'.

The weaver poet James Thomson was brought up in the village in the late 18th century, and is commemorated by the dell of the Kinleith Burn being named the "Poet's Glen" where it runs down from beside his cottage at Mid Kinleith Farm to join the Water of Leith.

The period 1921-1951 brought great changes with the building of more council houses in Currie and private building along Lanark Road. Wider scale development began in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the construction of a private housing estate to the east of Curriehill Road. House builders began to promote Currie as a pleasant commuting suburb of Edinburgh and much house building took place to the north of Lanark Road West. Currie High School was constructed on its present site in 1966 and extensively refurbished and renewed in 1997. There was a short loop railway running over what is now the Water of Leith Walkway. The physical topography has ensured that the original historic core to the south of Lanark Road West including the Water of Leith has remained undeveloped. In March 1972 the historic centre of Currie was declared a Conservation Area.

Famous Residents[link]

• James Thomson (weaver poet)

Education[link]

The earliest record of education in the area is contained in the Minutes of Edinburgh Town Council in 1598, when Baillie Lawrence Henderson was sent to "the toun o Currie to help the gentlemen of the Parish select a Schoolmaister"; however it is not stated where the school was situated. In 1694, the heritors appointed a Mr Thomson to teach scholars in the Church until Thomas Craig of Riccarton found a place for the building of a school and house for the schoolmaster. The foundations of the school were laid in 1699. The school and school house cost 500 merks and the salary of the Schoolmaster, a Mr Thomson, was 20 pounds Scots per year.

Currie is served by Currie High School, Nether Currie Primary School and Currie Primary School, formed by an amalgamation in 2005 of Curriehill Primary School and Riccarton Primary School which shared neighbouring campuses.

From the 1970s onwards, Heriot-Watt University moved from its city centre location to occupy the lands of the former Riccarton Estate, gifted to the university by the then Midlothian District Council. The move has now been completed and the main campus of Heriot-Watt University occupies and manages a wooded area with enough space for future expansion.

Sport[link]

Football[link]

Currie has two youth football teams Currie Boys Club and Currie Star FC (Currie Star play their games in the Kingsknowe area of Edinburgh)

Rugby[link]

Currie has one rugby team, Currie RFC who are based and play their home games in the neighboring village of Balerno

Culture and attractions[link]

On the first Saturday of May The Currie Riding of the Marches takes place.

Local newspaper[link]

The Currie and Balerno News^[1] is Currie's community newspaper which also includes coverage of nearby Balerno, Baberton and Juniper Green. Published monthly, the paper features local news, a monthly police neighbourhood watch update, an SSPCA appeal and coverage of local planning applications and developments.

Local History Society[link]

Currie and District Local History Society meets 12 times a year and has speakers on all aspects of the area.

The society meets every first and third Monday in the month and their year starts in October. The venue is in the Gibson Craig Hall on the Lanark Road in Currie.

Transport[link]

The A70 runs through the area and Currie is serviced by the 44 bus route, which is operated by both Lothian Buses and First Edinburgh. Currie is served by rail by Curriehill railway station on the Glasgow-Edinburgh via Shotts Line. Currie is also close to the City of Edinburgh bypass and is bordered by the Union Canal to the north and the Water of Leith to the south. Edinburgh Airport is located approximately 4 miles north of Currie and the M8 motorway to Glasgow is around 2 miles north. It also has connections to Livingston in West Lothian through Prentice Westwood's 424, between Juniper Green and Livingston.

Famous residents[link]

• Dougal Haston - pioneer of Scottish mountaineering
• Jamie Dick - Youth Olympic Gold Medalist in Curling
• Matthew Lloyd - Australian Rules footballer, Essendon

See also[link]

• Heriot-Watt University
• Currie High School

References[link]

External links[link]

• Currie Community Council
• Currie Community High School
• Currie Rugby Football Club
• Heriot-Watt University
• Currie Primary School
• Nether Currie Primary's page on Scottish Schools Online
• Currie and District Local history Society
• Nether Currie Primary School

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