The 2012 South African rugby season is just one week away from completion, with three DHL Western Province teams hoping to add to the union’s already impressive year come this weekend’s Absa Currie Final in Durban.
As things stand now, WP Rugby have already won eight trophies and they have an opportunity to add the Provincial Under-19 and Under-21 and the Absa Currie Cup trophies to their already impressive collection.
The year began on a high with unprecedented Vodacom Cup success, as well as the Vodacom Super Rugby South African Conference Trophy (for the second year in a row), before attention switched to youth level where Western Province triumphed at schools level – at the LSEN Week (Learners with Special Education Needs), Grant Khomo Week (Under-16) and Academy Week (Under-18) tournaments.
At Under-13 level, the WP side lost the final match of the tournament to the Bulls, whilst the WP Craven Week (Under-18) side lost just once – to eventual winners, the Blue Bulls.
Three other WP teams have also already lifted silverware in 2012.
The WP Disa side won the SARU Sub-Union tournament yet again and the WP Women’s team won the SARU Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship title. The WP Amateurs were crowned the Southern SARU Amateur Provincial Competition winners in August, but unfortunately they went down to the Golden Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday in a bid to become National Amateur Champions once again.
The South African Rugby microscope will be on Durban this weekend, however, as three DHL WP sides head up to Sharks country to contest three finals – showing just how much depth has been created this season in the process.
But it’s been a proper team effort from all three sides in trophy contention, especially when one considers the amount of injuries at senior level this year, with as many as ten injured players missing out on the final this weekend. Those injuries, in turn, have had a knock-on effect on the Under-21s (who at one stage this season were without a dozen players due to call-ups and their own injuries) and Under-19s who will both face up to Blue Bulls sides in Durban.
The likes of Tiaan Liebenberg, Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Siya Kolisi, Nizaam Carr, Rynhardt Elstadt, Dewaldt Duvenage, Gary van Aswegen, Kurt Coleman and Jean de Villiers are all unavailable for the final due to various injuries – some having missed large chunks of the 2012 rugby season – meaning that as many as six Under-21s played in the semifinal and will do so again in the final.
What people tend to forget is that the whole front row in the senior team, Steven Kitshoff, Scarra Ntubeni and Frans Malherbe, is still eligible for the WP Under-21 team – along with Springbok lock wonder Eben Etzebeth and also reserve lock Wilhelm van der Sluys and centre Damian de Allende.
In fact, the average age of the starting XV that defeated the Lions 21-16 in last week’s semifinal was 23 – less than the average age of the side that thrashed the Bulls 42-6 in September – with the average age of the entire matchday squad this past weekend ‘swelling’ to 24.
The Under-21 side, meanwhile, have covered for their senior team call-ups by playing three Under-19 players in their dramatic 19-18 semifinal victory, with the log-topping U19 team, in turn, relying heavily on the depth that has been fostered at the WP Rugby Institute in Stellenbosch as they beat the Lions 24-14 in their home semifinal clash.
Whilst some might look solely at the top-end result – the Currie Cup Final – to measure success, no other South African union has the Vodacom Cup and Super Rugby Conference Trophy in their cabinet already, whilst no other union has three teams in all three finals on Saturday.
That in itself is a thought worth pondering this week.
2012 HIGHLIGHTS THUS FAR:
– Vodacom Cup winners – DHL WP beat Griquas 20-18 in the final on May 18, finishing the tournament unbeaten
– Vodacom Super Rugby SA Conference winners – the DHL Stormers managed seven (from eight) wins vs SA opposition, 14 from 16 league wins overall
– LSEN Week winners – the team finished unbeaten
– Grant Khomo Week (Under-16) winners – the team finished unbeaten
– Academy Week (Under-18) winners – the team finished unbeaten
– SARU Sub-Union champions – DHL WP Disa side
– SARU Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship champions – DHL WP Women’s team
– Southern SARU Amateur Provincial Competition champions – DHL WP Amateur side
DHL WP’s win/loss ratio across all professional competitions in 2012:
(Under-19, U21, Vodacom Cup, Super Rugby, Currie Cup)
64 matches played, 50 won – overall win percentage of 78%
New signings already announced for 2013:
– Seniors: Pat Cilliers (prop, Lions – Springbok), Ruan Botha (lock, Lions) and Michael Rhodes (lock/flank, Lions).
– Juniors: Steven Meiring (No.8, Blue Bulls), Ryno Eksteen (flyhalf, Blue Bulls – SA Schools) and Pieter Jordaan (flyhalf, FS Cheetahs – SA Schools).
CLICK HERE to read the original State of the WP Nation article.
