Quintin van Jaarsveld selects the 10 best tries of the strangest of Currie Cup seasons.
Rugby’s not a summer sport. The oval ball becomes like a bar of soap and South Africa’s rugby heroes’ high horse-powered engines threatened to overheat in the scorching sun.
It took a special collective effort for the Bulls to battle back from a 10-point deficit to snatch a heart-stopping 26-19 win over the Sharks in extra time of Saturday’s final at Loftus Versfeld to clinch the coveted cup.
Generally, the Covid-19 edition of the competition might not have been champagne rugby, but teams and players still delivered dozens of moments that’ll live on in Currie Cup lore.
From terrific team synergy to moments of individual brilliance, here’s my selection of the 10 most breath-taking tries of the tournament…
10: Behind the Eight Ball
The Sharks put Griquas to the sword in their Round Six clash at Kings Park. Three of the Durban side’s seven tries were out of the top drawer and strongly considered for this list. In the end, resurgent eighthman Sikhumbuzo Notshe won out over wings Werner Kok and Yaw Pence, scoring a “classic” as commentator Andy Capostagno called it as he stepped off his right foot to cut inside two defenders and storm in under the posts.
9: Lions Skin Cheetahs
The traditional Currie Cup catfight in Bloemfontein in Round Three saw the Lions strike from deep with vintage flair. Captain Elton Jantjies cut out three Cheetahs with a skip pass to hooker Jaco Visagie, who did well to turn and offload to centre Dan Kriel who unleashed Jaco Kriel. The flanker sprinted down the touchline, drew three defenders and set scrumhalf André Warner on his way with a beautiful offload.
8: Sbu Soars in Dramatic Decider
Super athlete Sbu Nkosi unlocked the Bulls defence in stunning style to score the opening try of the final. With momentum and a bit of room to work with, the Sharks flyer stepped sharply off his left foot and pulled off the rugby equivalent of Michael Jordan’s famous dunk in 1987 as he leapt from two metres out to beat Cornal Hendricks and dot down in the right-hand corner just before half-time.
7: Simelane Slices and Dices Sharks
Mercurial Lions midfielder Wandisile Simelane showed yet again why he’s widely regarded as a Springbok in waiting in this Round Four fixture at Ellis Park. The fleet-footed 22-year-old danced past three defenders – including breaking Sharks captain Lukhanyo Am’s ankles with a stunning sidestep – and drew two more before offloading to an unmarked Tiaan Swanepoel to round off.
6: Cornal’s Class Helps Seal Famous Win
Cornal Hendricks’ transition from the wing to the midfield has been nothing short of magnificent. Among a season full of highlights was this prolific play against Western Province in Round One. Looking like a seasoned inside centre, he glided through with textbook straight running and put wing Kurt-Lee Arendse in with a perfect long pass, helping the Bulls edge the final North-South derby at Newlands despite losing loosehead Jacques van Rooyen to a red card in the 47th minute.
5: Purring Pumas’ Pearler
In the heat of their historic win over the Bulls in the final match of the regular season in Kimberley, the Pumas served up a piece of perfection from a lineout. Quick ball saw flyhalf Devon Williams chip over the visitors’ rush defence. Omnipresent flank Daniel Maartens grabbed the deft dink out of the air and linked up with Luther Obi. The surging winger drew three defenders and popped a perfectly-timed offload to Maartens, who finished off with world-class support play.
4: Swanepoel on the Double
With the Pumas threatening to upset the Lions in their Round Six meeting in Nelspruit, fullback Tiaan Swanepoel was the visitors’ saving grace, scoring 22 points including two tries. The second was the Lions at their free-flowing best. Hard-working lock Marvin Orie created a turnover with a terrific tackle and the Johannesburg side took full advantage, producing an epic eight-pass team try.
3: It’s a Bird…it’s a Plane…it’s Nkosi
Talk about a super-sub and coming in hot! Sharks speedster Sbu Nkosi left everyone in disbelief with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment of magic in the Durban side’s tournament opener against the Pumas. Returning with a bang, the predatory winger plucked flyhalf Curwin Bosch’s restart out of the air and streaked straight in, leaving jaws hanging across the country.
2: Where There’s a Williams, There’s a Way
Steering the Pumas to a famous win over the Bulls in the minnows’ campaign closer, fullback-cum-flyhalf Devon Williams scored the individual try of the season. Slicing through loosehead Gerhard Steenekamp and flank WJ Steenkamp like a hot knife through butter from just outside his 22, Williams chipped over fullback Clinton Swart and outsprinted opposite number Morné Steyn to collect and cross the whitewash, capping a star-making performance.
1: Poetry in Motion
The Round Two battle of the minnows in Nelspruit produced the best try of the tournament and wouldn’t you know it, it’s the Pumas who produced another sensational team try. Good distribution by the halfback pairing from a scrum deep inside their half saw centre Erich Nortje take out two defenders and feed Etienne Taljaard.
The left-wing channelled his inner Jonah Lomu to beat four defenders before finally being grounded. The ball was quickly recycled and with Griquas scattering at sixes and sevens, No.10 Devon Williams summed up the situation in a flash and found Luther Obi with a pinpoint crosskick, with the right-winger easily starching hooker Hendrik Luus to put a bow on a brilliant collective effort.
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