Currie Cup Rugby


The South African Currie Cup tournament is the both the oldest and the most important local rugby union competition. The origins of the tournament can be traced back to as far as 1891 and is widely regarded as the foundation of South African rugby.

In 1891 the first foreign rugby team toured South Africa, with the British Isles team set to play against a number of South African teams.

Sir Donald Currie, the owner of the Union-Castle Lines, the shipping company that transported the British side to South Africa had strict instructions that the travelling side should award the Currie Cup that he sent along to the opposing team that proved to be the fiercest opposition.

The Griqualand West rugby team put up an especially spirited display against the touring side and were subsequently awarded the Currie Cup. The trophy was later handed to the South African rugby board where it became the floating trophy for the Currie Cup tournament.

The first iteration of the rugby tournament was held in 1892 when Western Province earned the honour of claiming the first official title.

The tournament has since become a cornerstone of South African rugby heritage with the gold cup becoming the most prestigious and coveted prize in South African domestic rugby with a vast amount of rugby supporters placing their rugby bets at online sportsbooks.

The annual tournament typically takes place between July and October and sees a number of teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. The current tournament format is split into two divisions, namely the Premier Division and the First Division.

The Premier Division currently comprises seven teams that play against each other twice over the course of the rugby tournament – once at home and once away. Teams are then ranked according to their log points then points difference with the top four franchises progressing on to the quarter-finals which is then followed by a final.

The seven franchise unions that took part in the 2017 iteration of the Currie Cup were the Sharks, Western Province, Golden Lions, Blue Bulls, Free State Cheetahs, Pumas and Griquas.

The Currie Cup became significantly more competitive following the introduction of Rugby Union professionalism in the early 1990’s, with the top unions in South Africa each claiming multiple wins in the last 20 years.

The Golden Lions claimed the trophy three times, the Western Province five times, the Blue Bulls 5 times and the Free State Cheetahs three times, not forgetting the shared title of 2006 when the Free State Cheetahs drew against the Blue Bulls.

Even though the Currie Cup has been overshadowed by larger rugby competitions such as the Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship it still holds a special place in South Africa’s rugby heritage with the Currie Cup serving as the pre-eminent domestic tournament and a popular betting event amongst rugby punters.

Sunbet, Sun International’s sportsbook offers a large number of exciting rugby markets to bet on, with all the televised Currie Cup matches traded live in-play. This affords the punter to take advantage of any unforeseen circumstances which may occur while the match is being played. On top of that, live in-play betting or in-running betting also gives punters the opportunity of gaining valuable insights into a team’s performance, their strengths as well as their weaknesses before striking a bet.

Rugby punters can also place their wagers on one of the many rugby markets such as total points, half-time total points, half-time/full-time, the first scoring play as well as the team to score the first try and much more.

Sunbet also offers popular handicap betting where a points handicap is assigned to either team, this gives punters the opportunity of backing a side even if they’re considerably weaker in comparison to their opponents.

Sunbet is the top destination for rugby punters who demand competitive odds, a great variety of rugby events as well as the very best service.

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