CAPE TOWN - “All is good and well with Currie Cup rugby”. Those are the words of Western Province fullback Dillyn Leyds. The competition has copped a lot of criticism in recent years and crowd attendance figures have also been far from impressive.
And this season’s shortened competition format hasn’t done a lot to boost the domestic competition’s appeal. But Leyds believes the competition is still going strong. “I think all is good and well with Currie Cup rugby,” Leyds said ahead of Saturday's final against the Sharks at Newlands.
“A lot has been said about the Currie Cup and the way it has gone on. We are just thankful that people still want to turn up to Newlands to come and watch us play. I think we have done ourselves proud up until now by playing the type of rugby to draw the crowd back to Newlands.”
Following their semi-final, extra-time win over the Blue Bulls at Newlands, WP coach John Dobson said that they wanted to be stress tested ahead of the final. And they sure were. And it was the post-match sideline scenes that Leyds used to highlight the kind of moments the Currie Cup can still produce.
“It was really special. You can see by the emotion shown on the bench and by every single player and every single management member who was on the sideline.” Leyds also said they’re hoping to see a big crowd at Newlands when they host the Sharks in the Currie Cup final on Saturday.
Just over 18 000 fans turned out when WP hosted the Bulls in Cape Town at the weekend, and according to the Springbok back, the defending champions “took a lot of energy from the crowd”. “Hopefully this weekend we will see an even bigger crowd. The boys took a lot of energy from the crowd in those 20 minutes of extra-time," Leyds said.
The Currie Cup final between WP and the Sharks will be a repeat of last year’s title decider. WP won the prestigious gold cup last year by beating the Cell C Sharks by 33-21 @DirectAxis @NashuaLTD pic.twitter.com/sLCtspXk5x
— The Currie Cup (@TheCurrieCup) October 20, 2018