2020/21 Carling Currie Cup

[Sards]

Siestog! Die arme siel raak al bles op 23. Seker van al die kopvryf.

Dude...he's a Shark superstar. That can only be from rubbing headboards

Is he fucking dwarfs?

That was last Saturday

[assfly]

This place needs more Bulls fans.

[Sards]

This place needs more Bulls fans.

Sadly so. I will post a sympathy article for them

[Sards]

Brute

[Sards]

He is growing on me

[Sards]

https://iono.fm/e/987410

Its refreshing to listen to an intelligent flyhalf

[Chilli]

https://supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup ... yson_rugby

That is a great read. Professionalism has killed off most of the true spirit of the game.

[Chilli]

Brute

Ok, but who is he?

[Chilli]

He is growing on me

He is a damn side better than Nohamba, who has been a huge dissapointment.

[Sards]

He is growing on me

He is a damn side better than Nohamba, who has been a huge dissapointment.

This...he is nuggets and quick and skillful ball in hand...

Herschel has been the massive disappointment

[Chilli]

He is growing on me

He is a damn side better than Nohamba, who has been a huge dissapointment.

This...he is nuggets and quick and skillful ball in hand...

Herschel has been the massive disappointment

One of the worst 9's in the CC.

[Sards]

“(As a wing) you still need to stamp mark your mark in a game like that, you must just do it differently,” said Nkosi.

“When the game is tight and on point then you don’t need to make magic every time touch the ball. You just need to have all the fundamentals in place. Semifinals are won by the team that makes the least mistakes. In a play-off game I am more concerned about my fundamentals than my X-factor.”

Very mature of Sbu...referring to finals

[Chilli]

“(As a wing) you still need to stamp mark your mark in a game like that, you must just do it differently,” said Nkosi.

“When the game is tight and on point then you don’t need to make magic every time touch the ball. You just need to have all the fundamentals in place. Semifinals are won by the team that makes the least mistakes. In a play-off game I am more concerned about my fundamentals than my X-factor.”

Very mature of Sbu...referring to finals

X factor.... isn't that what Wazza has?

[Sards]

“(As a wing) you still need to stamp mark your mark in a game like that, you must just do it differently,” said Nkosi.

“When the game is tight and on point then you don’t need to make magic every time touch the ball. You just need to have all the fundamentals in place. Semifinals are won by the team that makes the least mistakes. In a play-off game I am more concerned about my fundamentals than my X-factor.”

Very mature of Sbu...referring to finals

X factor.... isn't that what Wazza has?

I got dizzy watching that kid. Depending on the camera work you sometimes think he's making ground with his jinks, but when you see another angle he has jinked his way from one end of the field to the other end without gaining a metre

Going tit-for-tat with Damian Willemse, Fassi used the pressure-cooker platform that is a play-off match away from home to prove he not only has the confidence on attack but also the temperament on defence to hang at the highest level. His left boot and attacking mindset make him an ideal successor for Springbok incumbent Willie le Roux, while Willemse’s versatility stands him in good stead.

He never stood a chance against Fassi. They should try him at inside center rather...and Gelant is far far better

[Chilli]

Very mature of Sbu...referring to finals

X factor.... isn't that what Wazza has?

I got dizzy watching that kid. Depending on the camera work you sometimes think he's making ground with his jinks, but when you see another angle he has jinked his way from one end of the field to the other end without gaining a metre

Going tit-for-tat with Damian Willemse, Fassi used the pressure-cooker platform that is a play-off match away from home to prove he not only has the confidence on attack but also the temperament on defence to hang at the highest level. His left boot and attacking mindset make him an ideal successor for Springbok incumbent Willie le Roux, while Willemse’s versatility stands him in good stead.

He never stood a chance against Fassi. They should try him at inside center rather...and Gelant is far far better

Maybe he'll make it at hooker <AssFly>

[assfly]

Brute

Ok, but who is he?

Steve Haag Spor. Upcoming flanker.

[OomStruisbaai]

Jake White discovered a gem in young x Paarl Gim's Stravino Jacobs.

[Sards]

Brute

Ok, but who is he?

Steve Haag Spor. Upcoming flanker.

He was one of our most promising signings last year...not always in the run on side and still to really make his mark for me....but a great young talent.

[Sards]

Jake White discovered a gem in young x Paarl Gim's Stravino Jacobs.

Thanks for that ouboet...

Please post his school boy videos so we can see what he is like before he becomes a Springbok

[assfly]

Jake White discovered a gem in young x Paarl Gim's Stravino Jacobs.

Thanks for that ouboet...

Please post his school boy videos so we can see what he is like before he becomes a Springbok

May I request a video of his birth? Then we can really tell if he has what it takes.

[handyman]

These saarks supporters have turned into nasty pieces of work.

[FalseBayFC]

He is growing on me

Reminds me a lot of a young Ruan Pienaar. Excellent boot, tall and pacy. Outweighs Nohamba by 17kg His brother Jordan has similar qualities and plays both scrumhalf and flyhalf. No 9's who can kick for goal are highly prized in Europe. Kockott, Faf, Ruan all did well. They'll soon attract interest.

[Sards]

Jake White discovered a gem in young x Paarl Gim's Stravino Jacobs.

Thanks for that ouboet...

Please post his school boy videos so we can see what he is like before he becomes a Springbok

May I request a video of his birth? Then we can really tell if he has what it takes.

Also is it Jacobs as in Jakobs.....we are not interested if he is a rooinek

[assfly]

Also is it Jacobs as in Jakobs.....we are not interested if he is a rooinek

Of course. A DNA test will be necessary to confirm his direct ancestry to Jan van Riebeek.

I assume Jacobs was both conceived and born in the middle of the A-field at Paarl? And his birth was celebrated with the mandatory 100 up-and-under salute from the local townsfolk?

[Sards]

Also is it Jacobs as in Jakobs.....we are not interested if he is a rooinek

Of course. A DNA test will be necessary to confirm his direct ancestry to Jan van Riebeek.

I assume Jacobs was both conceived and born in the middle of the A-field at Paarl? And his birth was celebrated with the mandatory 100 up-and-under salute from the local townsfolk?

And we want proof that he wasn't poached from another school.

[Sards]

Its much more fun being in our position tbh........

[Chilli]

Enjoy it cvnts!

[OomStruisbaai]

Jake White discovered a gem in young x Paarl Gim's Stravino Jacobs.

Thanks for that ouboet...

Please post his school boy videos so we can see what he is like before he becomes a Springbok

May I request a video of his birth? Then we can really tell if he has what it takes.

The rocket man played schoolboy in 2019

[OomStruisbaai]

This place needs more Bulls fans.

Chilli usually supports the Bulls, but he is a Sharks supporter nowadays.

I will support the Bulls. they will fuck you up big time. 50+ .

[handyman]

This place needs more Bulls fans.

Chilli usually supports the Bulls, but he is a Sharks supporter nowadays.

I will support the Bulls. they will fuck you up big time. 50+ .

Fair play oom, you are a better man than me, conversing with these lowlives.

[Sards]

Thanks for that ouboet...

Please post his school boy videos so we can see what he is like before he becomes a Springbok

May I request a video of his birth? Then we can really tell if he has what it takes.

The rocket man played schoolboy in 2019

Meh.....those tacklers were worse than Bosch

[Sards]

This place needs more Bulls fans.

Chilli usually supports the Bulls, but he is a Sharks supporter nowadays.

I will support the Bulls. they will fuck you up big time. 50+ .

Fair play oom, you are a better man than me, conversing with these lowlives.

Really nasty arent you....bitter much

[assfly]

Sharks with the same matchday squad

[Sards]

Sharks –
15 Aphelele Fassi,
14 Sbu Nkosi,
13 Lukhanyo Am (c),
12 Marius Louw,
11 Yaw Penxe,
10 Curwin Bosch,
9 Jaden Hendrikse,
8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe,
7 Henco Venter,
6 Dylan Richardson
5 Ruben van Heerden,
4 JJ van Mescht,
3 Thomas du Toit,
2 Fezokuhle Mbatha,
1 Ox Nche.

Subs: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 Michael Kumbirai, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Thembelani Bholi, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Jeremy Ward, 23 Manie Libbok

[Sards]

Sharks with the same matchday squad

Jayden starting positional change

[Chilli]

This place needs more Bulls fans.

Chilli usually supports the Bulls, but he is a Sharks supporter nowadays.

I will support the Bulls. they will fuck you up big time. 50+ .

Oom? I am definitely not a Sharks supporter!

[Chilli]

Brute

Ok, but who is he?

Steve Haag Spor. Upcoming flanker.

Didn't even make the matchday 23 . Would play behind Kolisi at WP.

[OomStruisbaai]

May I request a video of his birth? Then we can really tell if he has what it takes.

The rocket man played schoolboy in 2019

Meh.....those tacklers were worse than Bosch

Meh.. jou [poes. Oakdale dont have Souties like you. Do you laaitie know how to tackle. Probably smoke zol like you.

[Rinkals]

https://supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup ... rdrale8HYE

For having a team captained by an English-speaking law graduate from Maritzburg with an unruly mop of hair named Craig Jamieson was a massive departure from the norm. Free State and Transvaal occasionally challenged, but the trophy was generally hogged by two teams - Northern Transvaal and Western Province. It was a time when players like Jamieson were considered outliers and outsiders.

General Bantu Holimisa, then the leader in the old Transkei, picked up on that. I can well recall him being interviewed by the old Capital Radio 604 in the days after the 1990 final, where Natal beat Naas Botha’s Northern Transvaal 18-12, and lauding Natal for forwarding the cause of the underdog, the down-trodden, the excluded.

The culture of Natal rugby, now the Sharks, has changed since those days. Success has ushered in a new attitude, a different vibe. A changed perspective. Back then, three decades ago, they were rank underdogs. Former Natal captain Tommy Bedford dubbed Natal the Last Outpost of the British Empire, and for some players that’s how it felt.

A Natal based player, just one of them, being selected to play for the Springboks, was a rare event that made front page news in the Durban newspapers.

THE CINDERELLA PROVINCE

The Cinderella Province. That is what they called Natal, now KZN, back then. At least when it came to sport. Yes, the cricketers generally did okay. Big Vince van der Bijl was captain of the Natal team that became the first side to win the double - the Currie Cup and the Gillette Cup - in my first season of following that sport in the 1976/1977 season. If my memory serves me correctly, that was the 17th time they won the Currie Cup, and they did so again in 1980/81.

But rugby? Forget it. As someone who was a regular King’s Park patron during the B Section years from 1982 to the end of 1986, I can tell you no-one ever thought of Natal winning the Currie Cup.

In fact, although they did beat WP a few times, with a 27-9 win at King’s Park at the end of 1975 and a De Wet Ras inspired 19-16 win in 1979 springing to mind, their successes against Northern Transvaal, known then already as the Blue Bulls, were few and far between. In fact, it happened just once in the modern era before the 1990 final, and that was almost exactly 10 years before that, in 1980 when Wynand Claassen, a Bulls old boy himself, was leading the Banana Boys.

As it turned out, the one survivor from that 1980 team Northerns team to play in the final was the captain, Naas Botha. Nasty Booter, as he was monnikered by former English rugby writer John Reason, missed an easy penalty kick towards the end of that 1980 game that would have levelled the scores.

It was good he did, for it gave me a foretaste then, as a Standard 7 schoolboy at Northlands Boys High, of what was to come a decade later. It was just one Currie Cup win, and it didn’t even win the trophy for Natal, who ended third in the B Section, but the Durban media and the Natal sporting fraternity as a whole went to town on that moment.

That one win could be celebrated in such ecstatic fashion was an indication of the inferiority complex, the Cinderella status, that pervaded. And it wasn’t really until the start of that 1990 season that it began to change.

THE DAY IT CHANGED

I remember the day it changed vividly. There was a test Unions day at King’s Park. It was late March, I’d just been posted back to my home town after basics in Potchefstroom. It was the one perk of doing national service as not only already a graduate, but also married and a father to boot.

Shirts off, warm sun beating down, myself and some friends watched in awe as Natal, having benefitted from the importation of some behemoth forwards such as Wahl Bartmann and Guy Kebble (Rudi Visagie had already been in Durban for two years by then), not just beat WP but hammered them. If my memory is accurate, the final score was 28-6.

Scrummed off the park was what happened to WP the next time they came to Durban for the Currie Cup game, by which time a healthy debate was raging between myself and some of my colleagues at Hotel Command who had Cape or Pretoria roots. Could Natal win the Currie Cup? None of the others thought so, they laughed at me. But I argued the point with some conviction - “Well with that pack, of course we have a chance”.

Even my confidence was eroded though when Jamieson’s men were thumped 29-6 by Northerns in the final league match, which was played just two weeks before the final. The national media wrote Natal off, just like they should the current vintage of Sharks who are preparing for Saturday’s Currie Cup final at the same venue.

JUST SO MUCH BANANA PEEL IN THE SKY

“Thoughts of Natal winning the Currie Cup next Saturday amount to just so much banana peel in the sky,” was how the Sunday Times’ Mark Smit saw it in his preview. I remember it well. I also remember how the other newspaper writers and broadcast commentators wrote Natal off.

While that league defeat made me doubt, there were a few things that still offered hope. The Currie Cup final match-up had already been decided by that game, so it was effectively a dead rubber. There was also another thing that to me changed in those two weeks - Hugh Reece-Edwards, the well-built Natal fullback with a booming field kicking boot, returned to full match readiness after being injured for much of the season. Natal needed him if the Botha field kicking threat was to be blunted.

Then there was another thing that no-one outside of the Natal camp would have known about. Andre Botha, a former Natal captain and a lock who had played in the afore-mentioned 1980 game, had been retired all season. But wily Natal coach Ian McIntosh engaged him in conversation and Botha ended up travelling clandestinely with the Natal team when they made an early, unpublicised move to the highveld.

In the match program the Natal locks were Steve Atherton and Rudi Visagie. John Plumtree was down as the No 7 flank. But when the black and white clad Natal team, with a confident looking Jamieson leading them, ran onto the field, there was Botha kitted out in the No 4 jersey, and Atherton was on the flank. Plumtree was benched.

As this happened, the Bulls were also set back by bad luck, with one of their players injuring himself running out of the tunnel. He didn’t make it onto the field, whereas Natal had a player who hadn’t played all year waiting for them on the lush Loftus playing field.

[Sards]

Ok, but who is he?

Steve Haag Spor. Upcoming flanker.

Didn't even make the matchday 23 . Would play behind Kolisi at WP.

And the Sharks