The Griquas downed a full-strength Lions in the Currie Cup final at Ellis Park, but won’t play again until the SA Cup in March.
It’s easy to sympathise with Griquas coach Pieter Bergh, who added his voice to calls for more rugby, particularly international competition, for South Africa’s smaller unions.
After the Currie Cup final, he reminded the media that his Kimberley side, which had “20%” of the Lions’ budget, beat a full-strength URC team on a three-game winning streak and playing at home.
The Griquas finished second in the Currie Cup league phase, then brushed aside the Cheetahs 25-5 in the semi-final, before downing the Lions at Ellis Park. Along the way, they beat Boland, Western Province, Sharks, Bulls and Cheetahs in the round robin.
While South Africa’s biggest unions largely fielded second-string teams in the competition to build depth, the Griquas, along with semi-finalists Boland, punched above their weight. The Lions even brought in Springboks Quan Horn, Ruan Venter and Asenathi Ntlabakanye for the final, and still lost.
Yet Kimberley’s season is now over until the SA Cup in March next year, while the 18-round URC kicks off for the bigger unions this weekend, followed by the Champions and Challenge Cups.
Griquas ‘catalyst moment’?
“To put a bigger union’s B or C team in the SA Cup means more games but won’t bring more revenue or sponsors,” Bergh said.
“If we can get an international competition we can spend more money, maybe get more broadcast money, get bigger sponsors. Hopefully something like this can be a catalyst moment.”
Bergh’s point is clear: unions should be rewarded on merit, not size.
Bigger unions take Euro competitions for granted
Yet the four biggest unions — Bulls, Stormers, Sharks and Lions — are permanent URC participants with no risk of relegation.
The Bulls and Stormers have held their own, but the Lions have never reached the play-offs in four seasons, consistently finishing in the bottom half and falling back on the Challenge Cup, where they’ve only once made the quarter-finals once.
Last season, both the Bulls and Sharks dropped into the second-tier competition after winning just once in their Champions Cup pools, while the Stormers also managed only one victory before being shown the door in both competitions.
If the carrot isn’t working, perhaps the stick — relegation or giving a Currie Cup winner a Challenge Cup berth — should be on the table.
