The 2015 Currie Cup final will be a repeat of last year's showpiece game, this time, however, the Lions will be at home against Western Province. Here rugby writer Jacques van der Westhuyzen looks back at the teams’ run to the final game of the domestic season
ROUND 1
Kings 14, Lions 51
Johan Ackermann’s men had little difficulty dispatching the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth in their opening fixture, running in six tries to their hosts’ two. The Lions were 28-0 up after a 17-minute blitzkrieg from converted tries by Courtnal Skosan, Howard Mnisi and a double by Kwagga Smith. The Lions scored two more tries in the second period, one of them by Smith, for a hat-trick. Marnitz Boshoff kicked six conversions and three penalties.
Griquas 19, WP 43
It was a tricky start to the competition for the defending champions, having to travel to Kimberley and take on a team not too many observers knew much about. Province though scored three good first half tries to lead 24-7 at the break and after half-time added further five-pointers through Seabelo Senatla, who got two in the game, Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Juan de Jongh. In the end it was a comfortable first up win.
ROUND 2
Lions 44, Pumas 27
The Lions made it back-to-back five-point hauls after strolling to another victory, this time against their Super Rugby compatriots from Nelspruit. It wasn’t the dominant display many had predicted of the Lions, with referee Stuart Berry awarding them two penalty tries, to go with tries by Skosan, Harold Vorster and Stokkies Hanekom. Boshoff contributed 19 points with the boot.
WP 9, Cheetahs 3
In one of the most drab matches of the season, played in poor conditions at Newlands, the Cheetahs led 3-0 at the break thanks to a Fred Zeilinga penalty, but Province No10 Demetri Catrakilis responded with three penalties of his own after half-time to secure the win for his team.
ROUND 3
Sharks 16, Lions 31
This was the Lions’ first big test of the campaign; an away fixture against the Sharks.
A disappointing first half ended with the Lions 7-6 up, which included a Mnisi try, but after the break the Sharks went ahead after Odwa Ndungane scored a five-pointer.
The Lions though finished strongly with Hanekom, Skosan and Anthony Volmink crossing for tries.
Bulls 47 WP 29
In the first big north-south clash of the season, Province travelled to Pretoria for a meeting with the unbeaten Bulls ... and were given a wallopping. Province scored the only try of the first half through Senatla to lead 17-16, but the Bulls hit back strongly in the second 40 with the back-three of Warrick Gelant, Travis Ismaiel and Jamba Ulengo making a name for themselves with their dynamic play and finishing. Burger Odendaal also scored for the Bulls.
ROUND 4
Pumas 11, Lions 41
The Lions again ran the Pumas off their feet in a strong second half showing, scoring a comfortable win that included tries by prop Jacques van Rooyen and Smith, who got two, as well as a penalty try. Boshoff scored 21 points via the kicking tee, but he did miss his first kick at goal of the season.
Cheetahs 28, WP 21
John Dobson’s men hit a wobble after suffering a second consecutive defeat, this time against the unpredictable Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. Three tries by the Cheetahs inside 25 minutes stunned the visitors before Senatla and Rynhardt Elstadt crossed before half-time.
The second half turned into a kicking duel, with no further tries coming, with Province left with too much to do to over-turn a poor first 40 minutes.
ROUND 5
Lions 37, Kings 21
Ackermann’s men again got off to a fast start, leading 19-0 after 13 minutes before the Kings hit back with two tries of their own. With the Lions 27-14 up another hiding looked to be on the cards, but the Kings played well in the second half and allowed the Lions to score just 10 more points, which included an 84th minute try by Ruan Combrinck. It was a close call for the runaway log leaders.
WP 33, Griquas 15
The defending champions got back on the bike with a victory against Griquas, but just 13-9 up at the break a third successive defeat looked in the offing. Second half tries by Elstadt, Jaco Taute and Robert du Preez though, to go with Nic Groom’s first half score, gave Province the full haul of five points.
ROUND 6
Bulls 28, Lions 36
The teams headed into the clash as the only unbeaten sides in the competition and what a game it turned out to be. The Lions were sensational in the first half, racing into a 30-0 lead before Ulengo scored a try for the Bulls on the stroke of half-time. The Bulls then dominated the second period, with Ulengo, Deon Stegmann and Arno Botha getting tries. A 78th minute penalty by Boshoff ensured victory for the visitors.
Sharks 27, WP 37
Western Province again showed they’re a strong second half team; this time turning around a 10-17 half-time score to win fairly comfortably after 80 minutes. Elstadt and Dillyn Leyds scored tries soon after the restart to put Province ahead and when hooker Bongi Mbonambi scored his team’s fourth in the 53rd minute, it was too big a lead for the Sharks to haul in.
ROUND 7
Lions 26, Sharks 18
The return fixture against the the Sharks was a tight affair with Boshoff and Joe Pietersen exchanging first half penalties that saw the hosts into a 6-3 lead. The game fortunately opened up after the interval, but not before 20 minutes had elapsed. Then Lourens Erasmus and Skosan scored converted tries for the Lions to put them in the clear. Tries though by Pietersen and Francois Kleynhans in the final five minutes made it a little too close for comfort.
WP 29, Bulls 14
Province would register another important win against a top team and get their revenge for what had happened at Loftus a few weeks earlier. Leyds and Huw Jones scored early tries for the hosts and they’d enjoy a 15-9 advantage at the break. A tight second half resulted in few try-scoring chances but Ismaiel would give the Bulls hope with eight minutes to go just for Jano Vermaak to seal the deal with a try on 77 minutes.
ROUND 8
Cheetahs 31, Lions 73
Ackermann’s men produced their most scintillating performance of the season in Bloemfontein, running in 10 tries to the Cheetahs’ five in a thrilling display of ball-in-hand rugby. Skosan and Jaco Kriel got two tries each and flyhalf Boshoff converted every kick at goal for a haul of 23 points.
WP 50, Pumas 19
Western Province, too, recorded a resounding victory against the Pumas at Newlands. In a fairly evenly matched first half, the teams changed sides with the visitors 19-15 up after out-scoring the defending champions three tries to two. WP though would score 35 unanswered points in the second period, that included tries by Kobus van Wyk, Du Preez (two), Jurie van Vuuren and Allistair Vermaak.
ROUND 9
Lions 62, WP 32
In the only meeting between the teams this season, Ackermann’s team produced top-notch rugby to smash the defending champions in a 94-point thriller at Ellis Park. The Lions raced into a 29-6 lead after 30 minutes and at half-time held a handy 36-20 lead. After the break they ran in a further four tries, to go with the five scored in the first half to register a stunning victory. Boshoff contributed 18 points with the boot, and he also scored his only try of the campaign.
ROUND 10
Lions 29, Griquas 19
With their place at the top of the table secured and guaranteed of a home semi-final Johan Ackermann opted to rest 13 of his first choice starting XV, to freshen them up for the semi-finals. It was not a performance to write home about, but the Lions rookies kicked on after changing sides locked at 14-all to win with a bonus point. Youngster Jacques Nel got two tries, while Smith and Mastriet also crossed the whitewash.
WP 45, Kings 14
Western Province finished their regular season with a six-try to one thumping of the EP Kings. The defending champions scored three tries in each half, Leyds getting a brace in the second period and Western Province keeping their opponents pointless after the break.
semi-final
Lions 43, Cheetahs 33
In what has been described as their “worst performance” of the season by Ackermann, the Lions were made to sweat for their victory against the fourth-placed Cheetahs. An error-ridden, and hardly entertaining, first half ended with the visitors 16-13 up, but the second half was thrill-a-minute stuff with the lead changing on several occasions and six tries being scored. In the end it came down to Boshoff’s accurate kicking to seal the win for the Lions as the Cheetahs out-scored the Lions five tries to four.
Bulls 18, WP 23
Not given much of a chance in their battle at Loftus Versfeld, Western Province gave as good as they got from the Bulls. The teams changed sides locked at 9-all and then a brilliant try by Cheslin Kolbe put the visitors ahead before the fullback played a major part in Jano Vermaak’s five-pointer to help see his team into the final. The Bulls were kept tryless for the first time in the season. - The Star