Blue Bulls have the edge in Currie Cup finals

[pieter blackie]

Saturday's Currie Cup final between the Blue Bulls and the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus is not about history, but it remains interesting to compare the records of Currie Cup finals over the years.

The Blue Bulls, formerly Northern Transvaal, are well ahead with wins since Currie Cup finals were first played in 1939.

They are also much better off against the Free State in the eight times these two teams have clashed in finals, and have the best record of all South Africa's teams over the past ten years with finals played and trophies won.

The Blue Bulls have won the Cup outright 17 times and shared it four times (once each with Transvaal and Free State, and twice with Western Province) in their 30 finals.

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The Blue Bulls/Northern Transvaal record against the Free State (Cheetahs) in finals is:

1973: Northern Transvaal won 30-22 in Pretoria
1975: Northern Transvaal won 12-6 in Bloemfontein
1977: Northern Transvaal won 27-12 in Pretoria
1978: Northern Transvaal won 13-9 in Bloemfontein
1981: Northern Transvaal won 23-6 in Pretoria
2004: Blue Bulls won 42-33 in Pretoria
2005: Free State won 29-25 in Pretoria
2006: Free State and Blue Bulls drew 28-28 in Bloemfontein.


Currie Cup Final Winners

Blue Bulls: 20 (of which four shared)
Western Province: 12 (of which two shared)
Golden Lions: 8 (of which one shared)
Sharks: 5 Free State: 4 (of which one shared)
Griqualand West 1.

Currie Cup final venues

16: Loftus Versfeld
11: Newlands
6: Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Durban
1: Wellington, Kimberley, Springs.


http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=22786

[The InnFORCEr]

Anyone know telecast details???

[travelling_gerry]

Sunday 1 Nov 1.30am Fox 3

[tdevil]

Those stats are only from 1939 if you look at when the Currie cup started in 1889 and battle for the cup in 1892 the stats looks like this:

Western Province 32 (4 shared)
Blue Bulls(NorthenTransvaal) 22 (4 shared)
Lions(Transvaal) 9 (1 shared)
Sharks 5
Cheetahs(Free state) 4 (1 shared)
Griquas 3
Border 2 (2 shared)

[Action Hardcore]

Blue bulls> Blue balls...

[pieter blackie]

Strauss leads, Nokwe dropped

Bloemfontein – Springbok hooker Adriaan Strauss will lead the Free State Cheetahs in Saturday’s Currie Cup final against the Blue Bulls.

Strauss takes over the captaincy from lock Nico Breedt, while two other Springboks – flanker Hendro Scholtz and wing Jongi Nokwe – have not made the 22-man squad.

Strauss’s inclusion is a huge boost for the Cheetahs ahead of the final.

He captained the Cheetahs to six victories from eight league games as they recovered from a shocking start of four consecutive defeats.

Strauss spent time working on his fitness while he was sidelined with his hand in plaster.

“I am delighted about that. His throwing in at the lineouts is exceptional, so he is definitely ready,” said Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské.

Strauss could not play for a while because of an operation to his broken thumb.

Drotské has picked Danwel Demas at the expense of Jongi Nokwe, and included Fabian Juries in the squad.

Nokwe has recovered from a hamstring injury, but Demas was preferred because of his kicking boot and consistency under the high ball.

“Our big problem is that the Bulls kick a lot and will do so again in the final. Lionel Mapoe (right wing) is very good under the high ball, but he can’t really kick and neither can Jongi. In that case there will be a lot of pressure on Hennie Daniller (fullback),” said Drotské.

Juries’s utility value won him the nod on the substitutes bench ahead of Nokwe.

Juries can play wing or fullback, and can give the Blue Bulls nightmares with his running skills.

He scored one of the best tries of the series in Pretoria about four weeks ago when he left a host of Bulls defenders clutching air.

Replacement hooker Richard Strauss has also recovered from a knock to his eye and will provide back-up for his cousin.

That means Scholtz has lost his place in the 22-man squad.

Drotské said it was not an easy decision to leave out the veteran.

“You feel for him, but we can’t have only Ashley Johnson (No 8) as back-up hooker,” he said.

“He (Johnson) is not yet up to speed with the throwing in and that is why we need two hookers in the squad.

“I had to choose between Hendro and Kabamba Floors, and between Jongi and Fabian. We believe Fabian and Kabamba are the best calls as impact players if we want to score tries in the second half

---------- Post added at 15:42 ---------- Previous post was at 15:40 ----------

Final is Matfield's 50th game

Pretoria - Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke announced an unchanged starting line-up and bench from the team that beat Western Province in the semi-final for Saturday's Currie Cup final against the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus.

A feature of the side is that 14 of the starting line-up ran on in the final of the Super 14, which the Bulls won 61-17 against the Chiefs at Loftus an the end of May.

The exception is Francois Hougaard. He is on the wing in place of Akona Ndungane, who broke his leg in his first Currie Cup outing of the season two months ago.

Captain Victor Matfield and vice-captain Fourie du Preez both run onto Loftus in a match that will be made even more special by their individual milestones.

It will be Du Preez's 51st Currie Cup match and he will be given the ovation that he deserves on his home field, as will Matfield in his 50th Currie Cup match.