1997 Currie Cup

1997 Currie Cup
Countries South Africa
Date 28 May – 23 October 1997
Champions Western Province (29th title)
Runners-up Free State Cheetahs
Matches played 94
1996
1998

The 1997 Currie Cup was the 59th season of the Currie Cup, South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, since it started in 1889. The competition was known as the Bankfin Currie Cup for sponsorship reasons and was contested from 28 May to 23 October 1997.[note 1]

The competition was won by Western Province for the 29th time in their history; they beat the Free State Cheetahs 14–12 in the final played on 23 October 1997.[note 1]

Competition rules and information

There were fourteen participating teams in the 1997 Currie Cup. These teams played all the other teams once over the course of the season, either at home or away.

Teams received 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 4 teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals advanced to the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.

Teams

Team Listing

1997 Currie Cup teams
Team Sponsored Name Stadium/s Sponsored Name
Boland Bokomo Boland Boland Stadium, Wellington Boland Stadium
Border Border Waverley Park, East London Waverley Park
Eastern Province Eastern Province PE Stadium, Port Elizabeth PE Stadium
Free State Cheetahs Free State Cheetahs Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Vodacom Park
Gauteng Falcons Gauteng Falcons Bosman Stadium, Brakpan Bosman Stadium
Isak Steyl Stadium, Vanderbijlpark Isak Steyl Stadium
Gauteng Lions Gauteng Lions Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Ellis Park Stadium
Griqualand West Griqualand West Griqua Park, Kimberley ABSA Park
Mpumalanga Pumas Mpumalanga Pumas Johann van Riebeeck Stadium, Witbank Johann van Riebeeck Stadium
North West North West Olën Park, Potchefstroom Olën Park
Northern Free State Northern Free State North West Stadium, Welkom North West Stadium
Northern Transvaal Northern Transvaal Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria Minolta Loftus
Pietersburg Pietersburg
Sharks Sharks University of Natal, Durban University of Natal
SWD Eagles SWD Eagles Outeniqua Park, George Outeniqua Park
Western Province Norwich Western Province Newlands Stadium, Cape Town Fedsure Park Newlands

Changes from 1996

The two sections used in 1996, Section A and Section B, were merged into a single division for 1997, with all teams playing each other once. The team also adopted the new rugby union bonus points system, which was previously used in the 1996 Super 12 season.

Also, there were several name changes:

Log

The final log of the round-robin stage of the 1997 Currie Cup:[6][7] [note 2]

1997 Currie Cup log

Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 Western Province 13 12 0 1 567 286 +281 79 30 10 0 58
2 Sharks 13 12 0 1 566 241 +325 76 24 8 1 57
3 Free State Cheetahs 13 11 0 2 651 234 +417 85 26 9 1 54
4 Gauteng Lions 13 9 0 4 562 399 +163 74 48 8 1 45
5 Northern Transvaal 13 8 0 5 382 341 +41 39 33 6 2 40
6 Griqualand West 13 7 1 5 410 313 +97 54 33 8 1 39
7 Boland Cavaliers 13 6 1 6 464 386 +78 66 43 9 3 38
8 SWD Eagles 13 7 0 6 362 365 −3 42 42 4 4 36
9 Mpumalanga Pumas 13 4 0 9 321 438 −117 36 53 4 2 22
10 Gauteng Falcons 13 3 0 10 349 600 −251 40 83 5 1 18
11 Border 13 3 0 10 277 569 −292 35 77 3 2 17
12 Northern Free State 13 3 0 10 344 744 −400 37 104 5 0 17
13 North West 13 3 0 10 346 507 −161 43 74 4 0 16
14 Eastern Province 13 2 0 11 284 462 −178 31 67 2 2 12
Final standings.

Matches

The following matches were played in the 1997 Currie Cup:[8][note 1]

Round One

Bye/s: Boland, Border, Eastern Province, Free State Cheetahs, Gauteng Falcons, Gauteng Lions, Mpumalanga Pumas, North West, Northern Free State, Northern Transvaal, Sharks, Western Province

Round Two

Bye/s: Border, Free State Cheetahs, Griqualand West, Mpumalanga Pumas, Northern Transvaal, SWD Eagles

Round Three

Bye/s: Gauteng Lions, Sharks

Round Four

Bye/s: Boland, Eastern Province, Free State Cheetahs, Gauteng Falcons, Gauteng Lions, Griqualand West, North West, Northern Free State, Northern Transvaal, Western Province

Round Five

Bye/s: Boland, Eastern Province, Free State Cheetahs, Gauteng Falcons, Gauteng Lions, Mpumalanga Pumas, Sharks, North West, Northern Free State, Northern Transvaal, SWD Eagles, Western Province

Round Six

Round Seven

Bye/s: Boland, Border, Free State Cheetahs, Gauteng Falcons, Gauteng Lions, Griqualand West, Mpumalanga Pumas, Sharks, North West, Northern Free State, Northern Transvaal, Western Province

Round Eight

Bye/s: Mpumalanga Pumas, SWD Eagles

Round Nine

Round Ten

Bye/s: Eastern Province, Gauteng Falcons

Round Eleven

Bye/s: Border, SWD Eagles

Round Twelve

Bye/s: North West, Northern Free State

Round Thirteen

Round Fourteen

Bye/s: Border, Griqualand West

Round Fifteen

Round Sixteen

Bye/s: Boland, Eastern Province, SWD Eagles, Western Province

Round Seventeen

Bye/s: Griqualand West, Sharks

Round Eighteen

Semi-Finals

Final

Honours

The honour roll for the 1997 Currie Cup was:

1997 Currie Cup Honours
Champions: Western Province (29th title)

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 There are some discrepancies. The match dates are given to be Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, which is unlikely, since matches are generally played on Saturdays. It is also unlikely that the Sharks would have played all their matches at the University of Natal, rather than their traditional home, the Kings Park Stadium.
  2. The log on the South African Rugby Union's page seems to use the old points scoring system of two points for a win and one for a draw, instead of the system that has four points for a win, two points for a draw and bonus points for losing by less than seven points or scoring more than four tries in a match. The log also incorrectly includes the results of matches in the semi-final and final.

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