Keep the Currie Cup spicy

rugby365.com columnist Robbie Fleck looks ahead to the weekend’s Currie Cup semifinals, whilst he also touches on the success of UCT star Mathew Turner, who is now playing for Bristol in England.

A lot has happened since we last spoke, with the 2008 Currie Cup semifinals in wait for us this weekend. What a rugby year it’s been; the FNB Varsity Cup, the Super 14, the June Tests, the Tri-Nations and now the Currie Cup play-offs.

I can safely say that I am as excited about the Currie Cup semifinals as I have been for any of the above-mentioned action, but as I have said in previous columns, the Currie Cup is NOT the Currie Cup without the Springboks.

Some of the rugby on offer last weekend was fantastic and I am expecting two high-quality semifinals between four very good teams.

Yes, the Currie Cup is a very important breeding ground for the next generation of Springboks, but these cannot be expected to develop without playing alongside the John Smits, Victor Matfields, Schalk Burgers and Bryan Habanas of this world.

The powers that be need to have a serious re-think about the current structure of the South African season; the best players need to play in the Currie Cup, but, at the same time, they cannot be overplayed.

It’s nothing new, of course, as in my day we used to leave for our end-of-season tour a day after the Currie Cup Final, so maybe they should start by looking to shorten the Currie Cup.

An ideal solution would be to cut the tournament down into a five-team strength-versus-strength scenario, but that would rule out relegation and make the First Division quite big.

But I am digressing now and back to this weekend’s action! I really can’t look past the Sharks and the Blue Bulls in terms of winners this weekend…

In the first semifinal, the Sharks host the Lions in Durban and even though the Lions have done well to make it into the semi’s, they won’t be able to beat the best-drilled team in South Africa at the moment.

John Plumtree, along with Rassie Erasmus, is probably the best coach in SA and it’s pretty obvious when the Sharks play just how well prepared they are.

They’re a confident team after topping the log, but their strength at the breakdown and set-phase work is absolutely superb too.

Looking at their team on paper, which side in the world can afford to leave one of the best ever Test captains on the bench in John Smit?

John is probably the best ever Springbok captain, yet the Sharks have opted for Bismarck du Plessis to start this match – probably due to his match fitness more than anything else I am sure!

In all, the Sharks have 11 Boks in their starting XV and another four internationals on their bench – an astounding number of Test players at any level of provincial or club rugby.

In the other semifinal, the Blue Bulls are hosting the defending champions, the Cheetahs, in Pretoria.

This Bulls team is very good. Whether they have what it takes to beat the Sharks remains to be seen, but they certainly have more than enough firepower to take down the Cheetahs.

Make no mistake, the Cheetahs are a good side, with a clever coach in Naka Drotské at the helm, but aside from Juan Smith, Duanne Vermeulen and Jongi Nokwe nobody else in their side will threaten the Bulls that much.

The Bulls have bounced back well after a disappointing Super 14 campaign, but coach Frans Ludeke has simply taken up the legacy left for him by Heyneke Meyer and kept the same structures in place. The return of Victor Matfield from Toulon has also been a huge boost for the Bulls as he is an icon to his teammates and supporters.

But those factors aside, the unsung hero in the Bulls team at the moment is Pieter Rossouw, their backline coach.

Pieter is an old Bok, Stormers and WP teammate of mine and it’s been great to see the effect he has had on the Bulls in the Currie Cup. He didn’t have much time to work with during the Super 14, having just come into the mix, but his influence is pretty obvious at the moment, with guys like Morné Steyn and Wynand Olivier playing some great rugby under his tutelage.

The Bulls backs are confident and not scared to have a go and that’s all down to Rossouw, who has given their backline a new spring in its step – much like Todd Louden did to their Super 14-winning side in 2007.

Hopefully this Bulls team will take the same confidence and maturity into the 2009 Super 14. If they do, expect them to be a real force again in the Super 14 – as they were in 2006 and 2007.

So, there you have it, I’m picking a Sharks-Bulls Final in Durban in two weeks’ time. Of course, it won’t be a walk in the park for the Sharks and the Bulls, but I’m expecting one helluva Final come the 25th of this month!

Regular readers of my column will remember the name Mathew Turner, a wing/fullback who I coached at UCT this past season.

Mat is a real talent and a star for the future and he has hit the news headlines in the United Kingdom this week, having just made the move to Premiership club, Bristol, and scoring two tries on debut last weekend.

Mat is a big loss – to us at UCT, to Western Province and South Africa, but I believe he has made the right choice to leave and play rugby abroad, for now.

If he had stayed in SA he would have had to be content with another year or two of Varsity Cup rugby and maybe, finally, forcing his way into the Western Province Under-21 squad. Why he was not there in the first place beggars belief and WP have missed the boat in terms of letting a very, very talented youngster escape from their clutches.

That scenario would have delayed his development as a professional rugby player by two or three years. Now, after moving to England, he is getting exposure to top level rugby and he will become a better player for it.

Unfortunately, Mat – who has a British passport – seems to have convinced himself that England is the place for him in the future, too, and there has already been talk of him playing Sevens for England later this year, which, of course, would rule him out of Springbok selection.

I’m a patriotic guy and as a proud former Springbok, I would like to see Mat return to South Africa at the end of his contract at Bristol. He would come back older and wiser and be ready for Currie Cup or Super 14 rugby, but sadly that does not look like happening now.

It’s a tough choice for a 20-year-old to make, with the prospect of international Sevens exposure there for the taking were he to pledge his allegiance to England.

Either way, I only hope Mat is well looked after in England.

There is no need to rush him, despite what some people are saying about him being an England Test contender for the November Tests or a possible bolter for the British & Irish Lions tour to SA next year.

Instead, if the England selectors are interested in him, they need to blood him via the various representative teams; starting with the England Saxons (their ‘A’ team) and Sevens teams.

He is a real asset, whether he plays here or in England, and I would hate to see him fail because certain people are pushing him too fast.

Chat soon,
Robbie

* Email Fleckie at rugby365@365digital.co.za with any comments.

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