Top 20 Tries of the 2023 Currie Cup

This year’s Currie Cup captivated and produced cracking tries, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he reveals his top 20 touchdowns of the competition. 

Players dazzled on the domestic front. Many looked to make a name for themselves, others sought reinvention while all chased higher honours and aimed to propel their teams to glory. The result was remarkable moments of individual brilliance, unique touches that won’t easily be duplicated and fluid teamwork. 

The defending champion Pumas fell just short of retaining the silverware, going down 25-17 to the Cheetahs in the final in Bloemfontein last weekend, but the men from Nelspruit are number one on this list as they produced a phenomenal five-pointer that’ll live on in Currie Cup lore.

Without further ado, here’s my list of the 20 best tries of the 2023 campaign: 

20: Eat That

A rock-solid scrum and swift distribution teed up Luke Burger to have a proper go and the young Western Province wing brought the boom as he bashed straight over Cheetahs fullback Cohen Jasper and cantered home. 

19: Papier Cut

Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier created something out of nothing from a messy scrum as he shot straight through a sea of Griquas forwards and burned Rosko Specman to score. 

18: Through The Back Door

Former Blitzbok Ruhan Nel’s ball skills created this try for Western Province against Griquas in Kimberley, the centre conjuring up a behind-the-back pass to free up Leolin Zas, who gave the scoring pass to Paul de Wet.

17: Pitch Perfect

The Lions struck with a move straight off the training pitch against Western Province at Athlone Stadium, a slick lineout on the halfway line seeing the ball shifted to Sanele Nohamba, with Edwill van der Merwe coming on the wraparound, stepping Jean-Luc du Plessis and racing home. 

16: Super Heavyweight

Every prop dreams of scoring a screamer like Bulls brute Gerhard Steenekamp did when he steamrolled his way over from 20 metres out against Griquas in Pretoria.

15: Saving The Best For Last

Western Province saved their best for their season-ending encounter against the Sharks. Clayton Blommetjies made the visitors pay for an aimless kick into the 22 as he broke Nevaldo Fleurs’ tackle and unleashed Jarrod Taylor, who showed impressive pace over some 45 metres to crash over in the corner. 

14: Lion On The Loose

Lions fullback Quan Horn’s great work at the breakdown and quick thinking to go wide presented an opportunity for his captain Jaco Visagie, who beat two Griffons defenders and ran 75-odd metres for a memorable try in Welkom.

13: Specmagic

Leave it to Griquas’ Rosko Specman to pull a rabbit out of a hat as he ran onto Lubabalo Dobela’s grubber and fantastically lobbed the ball ahead for Jay-Cee Nel, who did well to collect and touchdown. 

12: Hand of Applause

Young Western Province lock Dylan de Leeuw made a name for himself with a Man of the Match performance in the North-South derby at Newlands, which was highlighted by a hulking solo try in which he handed off two Bulls and beat another to score his maiden Currie Cup try.     

11: Pure Determination

In a sequence that summed up the Pumas’ determination, Lundi Msenge leapt high to retain Chriswill September’s box kick with the scrumhalf swerving into a gap and feeding Wian van Niekerk, whose pace and momentum saw him dot down against the Griffons in Nelspruit.

10: Bulls Strike From Deep

Embrose Papier’s pop pass off the ground saw Harold Vorster split two Lions defenders and link up with Nizaam Carr, who went on the charge before being taken down. From there, quick recycling and good vision by Stedman Gans led to David Kriel stretching over for one of his joint-tournament-leading seven tries.

9: One-Man Army

There was no stopping Western Province fullback Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as he broke the Griffons’ line, re-gathered his pass that didn’t go to hand and beat three more defenders to hammer the ball down. 

8: Across The Jukskei

After a lineout steal by Ruan Schoeman, Edwill van der Merwe went on an electrifying run from his 22, the diminutive dynamo blitzing through two Bulls back-rowers, swerving past David Kriel and riding Embrose Papier’s tackle to touchdown in the corner during the thrilling Jukskei derby at Ellis Park. 

7: Miracle Ball

Western Province centre Jean-Luc du Plessis created something out of nothing with one of the most outrageous offloads you’ll ever see in the North-South derby at Loftus Versfeld. Suleiman Hartzenberg was the recipient and cut inside to command the attention of three Bulls defenders before Clayton Blommetjies added a top-class finish.

6: De Beer You Beauty

Pumas flyhalf Thinus de Beer flexed his playmaking prowess against the Cheetahs in Nelspruit, sending a cut-out pass wide to Devon Williams, who showcased his fast feet before the ball ended back up with De Beer, who popped a ridiculous reverse offload to Stefan Coetzee to dot down. 

5: Too Hot To Handle

The Pumas made the most of their licence to thrill in Welkom as they put 10 tries and 60 points past the Griffons with an exhibition of skills summed up by this free-balling five-pointer by Giovan Snyman.  

4: Lighting Up Loftus

After a three-hour mid-match delay due to a power failure, the Griffons lit up Loftus with this tremendous team try. Both centres did brilliantly, Marquit September shipping a through-the-legs ball to CJ Coetzee, who took it on his bootlaces and popped a one-handed offload to Duan Pretorius. He freed up Randy Fielies, who sped ahead and chipped back inside for his captain to collect and score.

3: You Make Your Own Luck

Griffons centre Marquit September took Ernest Hemingway’s quote “You make your own luck” to heart when he back-heeled Duan Pretorius’ pass into the hands of Domenic Smit. The fullback shipped the ball to CJ Coetzee, who ran straight and true to stun Western Province in just 40 seconds.  

2: Blue Wave

The ball skills and handling of this team try by the Bulls from a lineout inside their half in the Durban humidity were absolutely exquisite with Janko Swanepoel, Simphiwe Matanzima and Jan-Hendrik Wessels all producing special offloads before Zak Burger and Franco Knoetze sent Sibongile Novuka over in the corner. 

1: Nelspruit Globetrotters

The Pumas hit the ground running in extraordinary fashion at Loftus, launching their title defence with a record 63-15 rout of the Bulls. Rugby’s equivalent to basketball’s Harlem Globetrotters, the men from Nelspruit produced this awe-inspiring team try finished off by Andre Fouche after 14 passes and two crosskicks. 

Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.