1996 Currie Cup

1996 Currie Cup
Champions Natal Sharks
Runners-up Gauteng Lions
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The 1996 Currie Cup (known as the Bankfin Currie Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 57th season in the competition since it started in 1889.

Contents

Competition

Regular season and title play offs

There were 14 participating teams in the 1996 Currie Cup, divided into two sections - Section A and Section B. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.

Teams received two points for a win and one points for a draw.

The top 4 teams in each section qualified for the title play-offs. In the quarter finals, the team that finished first in each section had home advantage against the team that finished fourth in the other section, while the team that finished second in each section had home advantage against the team that finished third in each section. The winners of these quarter finals will advance to the semi-finals (where the first placed team in each section will have home advantage over the second placed team in the other section if the quarter final ties went according to form). The semi-finalist winners will advance to the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.

Teams

Location of teams in the 1996 Currie Cup
Section A
Section B

Changes from 1995

Following the 1995 Rugby World Cup, rugby union was declared in a professional sport in South Africa. This caused a major restructuring in the rugby unions, which saw the total number of unions reduced from 22 to 14. All of these teams played in the 1996 Currie Cup, which was increased from 6 teams to 14. There were also several name changes to reflect the professional era:

Name changes:

Promoted teams:

Team Listing

Team Stadium
Blue Bulls Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Boland Cavaliers
Border Bulldogs
Falcons
Free State Cheetahs Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Gauteng Lions Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Griffons
Griquas
Leopards
Mighty Elephants Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Natal Sharks Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Pumas
SWD Eagles
Western Province Newlands Stadium, Cape Town

Log

1996 Currie Cup Section A Log
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Tries For Tries Against Points
1 Natal Sharks 12 12 0 0 673 212 +461 97 20 24
2 Gauteng Lions 12 9 1 2 456 252 +204 53 25 19
3 Falcons 12 6 2 4 292 363 +71 30 42 14
4 Boland Cavaliers 12 6 0 6 250 308 -58 25 35 12
5 Mighty Elephants 12 3 1 8 245 341 -96 25 38 7
6 Border Bulldogs 12 2 2 8 244 422 -178 26 50 6
7 Leopards 12 1 0 11 268 530 -262 22 68 2
1996 Currie Cup Section B Log
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Tries For Tries Against Points
1 Blue Bulls 12 11 0 1 707 207 +500 93 23 22
2 Free State Cheetahs 12 9 1 2 558 280 +278 75 28 19
3 Western Province 12 8 0 4 537 249 +288 74 27 16
4 Griquas 12 7 1 4 437 322 +115 58 31 15
5 Pumas 12 3 0 9 281 552 -271 34 77 6
6 Griffons 12 3 0 9 243 529 -286 24 73 6
7 SWD Eagles 12 0 0 12 216 840 -624 23 122 0
The top 4 teams in each section qualified for the Title Play-Off Quarter Final games.

Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw

Title Play-Off Games

Quarter Finals


 Free State Cheetahs 21 – 3 Falcons

Natal Sharks 51 – 3 Griquas

Blue Bulls 55 – 23 Boland Cavaliers

Gauteng Lions 56 – 22 Western Province

Semi-Finals


 Natal Sharks 35 – 20 Free State Cheetahs

Gauteng Lions 31 – 21 Blue Bulls

Final


 Natal Sharks 33 – 15 Gauteng Lions

External links

Premier Teams 2012
First Division Teams 2012
Premier Seasons
First Div Seasons