The 2018 Currie Cup First Division was the second tier of the 2018 Currie Cup, the 80th edition of the annual South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union. It was played between 24 August and 19 October 2018 and featured seven of the eight teams that played in 2017, following Namibian side Welwitschias' withdrawal.
The competition was won by the SWD Eagles, who beat the Falcons 36–27 in the final played on 19 October 2018.
Competition rules and information
There were seven participating teams in the 2018 Currie Cup First Division. They played each other once during the pool stage, either at home or away. Teams receive four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top four teams in the pool stage qualified for the semifinals, which were followed by a final.
Financial crisis and withdrawal of Welwitschias
The start of the 2018 Currie Cup First Division was marred by financial problems following the South African Rugby Union's announcement that First Division teams' budgets would be cut by 52%. The Griffons announced that they would reduce player contracts to 8-month contracts and the Leopards intimated that they might forfeit away matches to save on travel costs. and there were serious concerns about the participation of teams like the Border Bulldogs and Eastern Province Elephants. Namibian side Welwitschias were informed that they would have to pay the travel costs for teams travelling to games in Windhoek, but — after initial reports indicated that they raised the money with the help of World Rugby — they could not raise the required funds and announced their withdrawal from the competition.
Teams
The teams that played in the 2018 Currie Cup First Division are:
Pool stage
Standings
The final log for the 2018 Currie Cup First Division was:
Round-by-round
The table below shows a team's progression throughout the season. For each round, each team's cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.
Matches
The following matches were played in the 2018 Currie Cup First Division:
Round One
The 2018 Currie Cup First Division season kicked off with an away victory for the Leopards in George, beating home side SWD Eagles 27–25 in a close affair. The other two matches of the round was far more comprehensive; the Boland Cavaliers scored ten converted tries in their 70–12 victory over the Eastern Province Elephants in Robertson, with Zandré Jordaan, Tapiwa Tsomondo and Valentino Wellman scoring two each, and the Falcons also scored ten tries in their 66–27 victory over the Border Bulldogs in Kempton Park, where Friedle Olivier and Etienne Taljaard scored braces.
Round Two
The Falcons moved to the top of the log after a 56–52 victory over defending champions the Griffons. For the second match in succession, Friedle Olivier and Etienne Taljaard each scored two tries for the Falcons, while a hat-trick from prop Danie van der Merwe was not enough for the team from Welkom. The Leopards kept in touch with the Falcons, securing their second win of the competition after beating the Boland Cavaliers 35–12 in Potchefstroom, while the SWD Eagles outscored the Border Bulldogs 37–22 in East London, with three players – Ruben Schoeman and Marlo Weich for the SWD Eagles and Sonwabiso Mqalo for the Border Bulldogs – getting two tries in the match.
Round Three
A bye for leaders the Falcons saw the Leopards take over top spot in the competition following their 28–21 bonus point victory over the Eastern Province Elephants in Port Elizabeth. Defending champions the Griffons suffered their second loss in a row, being beaten 7–32 by a SWD Eagles side for whom Marlo Weich scored two tries for the second match in a row, moving into second place on the log in the process. The weekend's other match saw the Border Bulldogs beat the Boland Cavaliers 24–17 in Bredasdorp in their first victory of the season.
Round Four
A fourth different team moved to the top of the log in as many weeks as the SWD Eagles moved into top spot following a 36–34 victory over the Falcons in a match that saw the teams share 12 tries. The Boland Cavaliers kept up the pressure by also securing a narrow away win, beating the Griffons 48–45 in Welkom, with Charlie Mayeza scoring two tries and Elgar Watts contributing 15 points in the match for the visitors, while a hat-trick for Japie Nel and a brace for Cody Basson was in vain for the home side. The Border Bulldogs emerged victorious in the Eastern Cape derby, with doubles from Sonwabiso Mqalo and Sipho Nofemele helping their team to a 39–26 win over the Eastern Province Elephants.
Round Five
The Leopards returned to the top of the log after beating the Border Bulldogs 47–22, with fullback Gerhard Nortier scoring two tries for the team from Potchefstroom. The Boland Cavaliers moved into third place following a low-scoring 20–7 win over the Falcons in Lambert's Bay, while the Griffons won the match between the two winless teams, beating the Eastern Province Elephants 35–22 with wing Rodney Damons scoring a hat-trick for the winning team.
Round Six
The SWD Eagles moved back to the top of the log following a 54–28 victory over the Boland Cavaliers, securing a semifinal spot in the process. Seven different players scored tries for the home side, with fly-half Divan Nel contributing 19 points with the boot, while a brace from loose forward Tapiwa Tsomondo was in vain for the away side. Round Five log leaders the Leopards suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 29–40 to the Griffons in Welkom, but also secured a play-off spot. Three players scored two tries each in the match — Tertius Maarman and Barend Potgieter for the Griffons and Gerhard Nortier for the Leopards — as the Griffons maintained their play-off push by moving up to fifth spot. The biggest victory of the round came in Kempton Park, where the Falcons ran in 15 tries in a 101–29 victory over the Eastern Province Elephants to secure the third semifinal place. Winger Etienne Taljaard scored four tries for the Falcons, with Coert Cronjé, Thabo Mabuza and Friedle Olivier getting two each, while scrumhalf Anrich Richter converted 11 of his side's tries.
Round Seven
In the first match of the weekend, the Falcons leap-frogged the Leopards into second place on the log after winning the match between the teams 41–35, securing a home semifinal against the same opposition. Anrich Richter contributed 18 points for the home team, while a hat-trick for visiting winger Dean Stokes proved futile. The SWD Eagles secured top spot after a 36–7 win over bottom-of-the-log Eastern Province Elephants, with winger Adri Jacobs scoring two tries, and being awarded to penalty tries in the match. The final place in the play-offs was clinched by the Griffons, who beat the Border Bulldogs 40–7 with hooker Anrich Alberts getting a hat-trick, and in the processed moved into fourth spot ahead of the Boland Cavaliers who was not in action in this round.
Play-offs
Title play-offs
Semifinals
Two home victories saw the SWD Eagles and Falcons progress to the final. The Falcons convincingly beat the Leopards in Kempton Park, with four tries from loose forward Martin Sithole and 17 points from scrum-half Anrich Richter helping them to a 59–19 victory. It was a lower-scoring affair in George, where the SWD Eagles won 22–6 against the Griffons, with 17 of the home side's points coming from the boot of fly-half Divan Nel.
Final
The SWD Eagles won their third Currie Cup First Division title — following on from wins in 2002 and 2007 — by beating the Falcons 36–27 in George, despite being 15–27 down as half-time. Eighth man Wayne Wilschut scored a hat-trick of tries for the home team, with Wynand Grassmann and Marlo Weich getting one each, and Divan Nel kicking 11 points. For the Falcons, Etienne Taljaard scored two more tries to finish as the competition's top try-scorer with 13 tries, while Anrich Richter scored a try and 12 points with the boot to finish as the top points scorer with 105.
Promotion play-off
- Free State Cheetahs remained in the Currie Cup Premier Division for 2019.
- SWD Eagles remained in the Currie Cup First Division for 2019.
Honours
The honour roll for the 2018 Currie Cup First Division was as follows:
Players
The squads and player appearance and scoring statistics for the 2018 Currie Cup First Division are as follows:
Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2018 Currie Cup First Division:
See also
- 2018 Currie Cup Premier Division
- 2018 Rugby Challenge
References
External links
- SARU website
