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Abridged Currie Cup here to stay

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John Dobson, Western Province’s coach Picture:Gallo Images
John Dobson, Western Province’s coach Picture:Gallo Images
Gallo

Despite its brevity and a general afterthought feel to it, the current format of the Currie Cup is apparently here to stay.

The configuration of the oldest domestic rugby competition in the world – a single-round tournament between the seven teams that make up the Premier Division – has been criticised by the coaching and marketing people, with games leading up to this weekend’s semifinals all but taking place out of mind and out of sight.

Chief among the things that didn’t tally up with most in this shortened season’s set-up, a fifth different one in succession, was how long byes took and how the draw became a lottery in which a team could be drawn away from home for all its difficult fixtures.

An example is how the Blue Bulls at one stage of the competition played a game on September 14 with their next fixture taking place only on October 13.

Also, it’s tough for a union to sell season tickets when it’s guaranteed only three home games.

Earlier in the campaign, John Dobson, the coach of defending champions Western Province, said: “In the past five years, we’ve had five different formats. A tournament struggles for integrity if it changes every year.

“We’re very much treating it like an afterthought and people are getting that. I think this year’s single-round competition has contributed – when you play home and away, you get an equitable finish to the tournament. Now you can draw tough teams away and the weaker sides at home.”

That said, the powers that be could also point out that in yesterday’s semifinals – which saw Province play against the Bulls and the Sharks against the Lions – the right teams ended up in the knockout stages.

An SA Rugby official said: “We’ll probably continue with the format. The problem is money; you don’t just change to a single round for the sake of it – a single-round competition is more affordable. The coaches don’t like it because, with only one round, they don’t have time to recover if they’ve had a bad start, but they can also be driven by self-interest.”

A case in point that the lack of time to recover the single-round competition has introduced is the Cheetahs, who also campaign in the Pro 14.

Having lost their first game with their strongest team, they weren’t able to regain their footing, losing the rest of their games to record an unprecedented winless season.

The official cited the collective tightening of belts in all sports when it came to sponsorships as a reason, pointing out that the days of treating those deals as pet projects were long gone and that companies were unlikely to part with money if they couldn’t see a return on their investment.

The many changes to the competition’s format has seen the sale of season tickets suffer.

In the eight years since 2010, the sales have declined by 70%, which means the tournament now no longer has value for a suite owner.

It’s a situation that spills over into beverage sales, sponsorship and stadium advertising.

Asked if there was anything that could be done to make the competition front and centre on the South African rugby calendar again, Dobson said: “We have to play home and away in a six-team tournament playing strength versus strength. Promotion and relegation would also make it good, and if we wanted to make it a powerful competition, we’d make it a qualifier for Super Rugby the next year.”

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