2014 Currie Cup First Division

2014 Currie Cup First Division
Countries South Africa
Date 29 August – 17 October 2014
Champions Griffons (2nd title)
Runners-up Falcons
Matches played 18
Tries scored 136 (average 7.556 per match)
Top point scorer Elric van Vuuren (88)
Top try scorer Tertius Maarman (5)
2013
2015

The 2014 Currie Cup First Division was contested between 29 August and 17 October 2014. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces.

Competition

There were six participating teams in the 2014 Currie Cup First Division. A proposed expansion of the Premier Division to eight teams[1] was initially rejected,[2] but was then subsequently approved on 13 February 2014.[3] This meant that the First Division was reduced to six teams for 2014.

Regular season and title play offs

The six teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away. The first series of fixtures were played as part of the 2014 Currie Cup qualification competition, with all results carried forward to the First Division except for the match against the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division qualifier. A second set of fixtures then followed between the remaining six teams.

Each team received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored 4 or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by 7 points or less. Teams were ranked by points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).

The top 4 teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.

Promotion

All the teams qualified for the 2015 Currie Cup qualification series, since Griquas, a non-entrenched team, finished in the bottom two of the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division.

Teams

The six participating teams were:

Location of teams in the 2014 Currie Cup First Division

Team Listing

2014 Currie Cup First Division teams
Team Sponsored Name Stadium/s Sponsored Name
Boland Cavaliers Regent Boland Cavaliers Boland Stadium, Wellington Boland Stadium
Border Bulldogs Border Bulldogs Buffalo City Stadium, East London Buffalo City Stadium
Falcons Falcons Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park Barnard Stadium
Griffons Down Touch Griffons North West Stadium, Welkom North West Stadium
Leopards Leopards Olën Park, Potchefstroom Profert Olën Park
SWD Eagles SWD Eagles Outeniqua Park, George Outeniqua Park

Log

The final log of the round-robin stage of the 2014 Currie Cup First Division was:[4]

2014 Currie Cup First Division log

Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 Leopards 10 8 0 2 514 254 +260 75 32 9 1 42
2 Griffons 10 6 0 4 314 330 −16 41 44 7 1 32
3 SWD Eagles 10 6 0 4 296 317 −21 38 39 5 1 30
4 Falcons 10 5 0 5 303 323 −20 40 43 5 1 26
5 Boland Cavaliers 10 4 0 6 275 278 −3 36 37 6 3 25
6 Border Bulldogs 10 1 0 9 211 411 −200 27 62 2 2 8

The teams' playing records from the 2014 Currie Cup qualification series brought forward to the First Division are as follows:

Playing records brought forward
Pos Team Pl W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 Leopards 5 5 0 0 324 108 +216 47 13 5 0 25
2 Griffons 5 3 0 2 159 170 −11 21 23 4 1 17
3 SWD Eagles 5 3 0 2 151 188 −37 21 24 3 0 15
4 Boland Cavaliers 5 2 0 3 137 135 +2 17 18 2 2 12
5 Falcons 5 2 0 3 168 183 −15 22 25 2 0 10
6 Border Bulldogs 5 0 0 5 113 268 −155 15 40 1 1 2

Fixtures and results

All the results from the 2014 Currie Cup qualification tournament were carried forward into the First Division season. The results against the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division qualifier were discarded.[5]

For results of the first seven rounds, see 2014 Currie Cup qualification.

Round Eight

Round Nine

Round Ten

Round Eleven

Round Twelve

Title Play-Off Games

Semi-Finals

Following the match between the Leopards and the Falcons, the former lodged a complaint with the South African Rugby Union regarding the eligibility of Falcons fly-half Clinton Swart. The Leopards argued that Swart was only eligible for the final two matches of the Currie Cup First Division competition and therefore not eligible to play in the Semi-Finals. However, SARU Judicial Officer Rob Stelzner SC, ruled that Swart fulfilled the eligibiliy criteria and rejected the complaint.[27]

Final

Honours

2014 Absa Currie Cup
First Division Champions
Griffons
2nd title

Players

Player Statistics

The following table contains points which have been scored in the 2014 Currie Cup First Division and excludes points scored in the 2014 Currie Cup qualification series.[29]

All point scorers
No Player Team T C P DG Pts
1 Elric van Vuuren SWD Eagles 1 19 15 0 88
2 Jaun Kotzé Falcons 0 13 11 0 59
3 Louis Strydom Griffons 0 13 8 2 56
4 André Pretorius Leopards 1 16 4 0 49
5 Coyi Banda Border Bulldogs 1 6 7 0 38
Eric Zana Boland Cavaliers 2 8 3 1 38
7 Franna du Toit Griffons 0 7 5 0 29
8 Tertius Maarman Griffons 5 0 0 0 25
Rhyno Smith Leopards 3 5 0 0 25
10 Boela Abrahams Griffons 4 0 0 1 23
11 Johan Deysel Leopards 4 0 0 0 20
Dirk Dippenaar Falcons 4 0 0 0 20
Kyle Hendricks Falcons 4 0 0 0 20
Sylvian Mahuza Leopards 4 0 0 0 20
Norman Nelson Griffons 4 0 0 0 20
16 Alshaun Bock SWD Eagles 3 0 0 0 15
Danwel Demas Boland Cavaliers 3 0 0 0 15
Morné Hugo Boland Cavaliers 0 3 3 0 15
Adri Jacobs Leopards 3 0 0 0 15
Dwayne Kelly SWD Eagles 3 0 0 0 15
Hoffman Maritz Leopards 3 0 0 0 15
Bruce Muller Falcons 3 0 0 0 15
Wynand Pienaar Griffons 3 0 0 0 15
Anrich Richter Falcons 3 0 0 0 15
Rynardt van Wyk Border Bulldogs 3 0 0 0 15
Jacques Verwey Falcons 3 0 0 0 15
27 Chris Ehlers Griffons 2 0 0 0 10
Morné Hanekom Leopards 2 0 0 0 10
Zandré Jordaan Boland Cavaliers 2 0 0 0 10
Strand Kruger Boland Cavaliers 2 0 0 0 10
Richard Lawson Boland Cavaliers 2 0 0 0 10
Makazole Mapimpi Border Bulldogs 2 0 0 0 10
Vuyo Mboto Griffons 2 0 0 0 10
Aubrey McDonald Griffons 2 0 0 0 10
Lithabile Mgwadleka Border Bulldogs 2 0 0 0 10
JP Mostert Falcons 2 0 0 0 10
Japie Nel Griffons 2 0 0 0 10
Lundi Ralarala Border Bulldogs 2 0 0 0 10
Daniel Roberts SWD Eagles 2 0 0 0 10
Brian Skosana SWD Eagles 2 0 0 0 10
Dillon Smit Leopards 2 0 0 0 10
HP Swart Leopards 2 0 0 0 10
George Tossel Leopards 2 0 0 0 10
Clinton Wagman SWD Eagles 2 0 0 0 10
Rhyk Welgemoed Leopards 2 0 0 0 10
Cheswin Williams Boland Cavaliers 2 0 0 0 10
47 Junior Bester SWD Eagles 1 0 0 0 5
Deon Carney Leopards 1 0 0 0 5
Coert Cronjé Falcons 1 0 0 0 5
Jovelian de Koker Boland Cavaliers 1 0 0 0 5
Christo du Plessis SWD Eagles 1 0 0 0 5
Martin du Toit SWD Eagles 1 0 0 0 5
Leighton Eksteen SWD Eagles 1 0 0 0 5
Roy Godfrey SWD Eagles 1 0 0 0 5
Hansie Graaff Border Bulldogs 0 1 1 0 5
Shane Kirkwood Falcons 1 0 0 0 5
Clemen Lewis Boland Cavaliers 1 0 0 0 5
Earl Lewis Boland Cavaliers 1 0 0 0 5
Mihlali Mpafi Border Bulldogs 1 0 0 0 5
Lindani Ndlela Border Bulldogs 1 0 0 0 5
Friedle Olivier Falcons 1 0 0 0 5
Buran Parks SWD Eagles 1 0 0 0 5
Ulrich Pretorius Boland Cavaliers 1 0 0 0 5
Christian Rust Boland Cavaliers 1 0 0 0 5
Ashwin Scott SWD Eagles 1 0 0 0 5
Frans Sisita Griffons 1 0 0 0 5
Nicky Steyn Griffons 1 0 0 0 5
Sergio Torrens Leopards 1 0 0 0 5
Albert Trytsman Boland Cavaliers 1 0 0 0 5
Joe van der Hoogt Griffons 1 0 0 0 5
Andrew van Tonder Falcons 1 0 0 0 5
Jacques Vermaak Leopards 1 0 0 0 5
Mzwanele Zito SWD Eagles 1 0 0 0 5
74 Clinton Swart Falcons 0 0 0 1 3
penalty try Falcons 2 0 0 0 10
Leopards 1 0 0 0 5
* Legend: T = Tries, C = Conversions, P = Penalties, DG = Drop Goals, Pts = Points.

Squad Lists

The teams released the following squad lists:[30][31][32][33][34][35]

See also

References

  1. "Promotion-relegation battle may not matter". SA Rugby Magazine. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  2. "No Currie Cup expansion". Rugby365. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  3. "Currie Cup format expanded". Sport24. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  4. "Full Log : 2014 Currie Cup First Division". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  5. "Competition Format 2014" (PDF). South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 "First Division opens up as Leopards suffer defeat". South African Rugby Union. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  7. "Match Breakdown: Border Bulldogs vs Valke". South African Rugby Union. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  8. "Match Breakdown: SWD Eagles vs Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  9. "Match Breakdown: Boland Cavaliers vs Down Touch Griffons". South African Rugby Union. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Leopards, Griffons maintain lead, Valke create upset". South African Rugby Union. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  11. "Match Breakdown: Leopards vs Boland Cavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  12. "Match Breakdown: Valke vs SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  13. "Match Breakdown: Down Touch Griffons vs Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 "First Division pool stages set for a thrilling end". South African Rugby Union. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  15. "Match Breakdown: SWD Eagles vs Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  16. "Match Breakdown: Down Touch Griffons vs Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  17. "Match Breakdown: Boland Cavaliers vs Valke". South African Rugby Union. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  18. Martin, Peter (19 September 2014). "Lights out for Bulldogs as Leopards win". MWP. South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  19. "Match Breakdown: Border Bulldogs vs Leopards". South African Rugby Union. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  20. 20.0 20.1 "Leopards, Griffons book First Division home semifinals". South African Rugby Union. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  21. "Match Breakdown: SWD Eagles vs Boland Cavaliers". South African Rugby Union. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  22. "Match Breakdown: Valke vs Down Touch Griffons". South African Rugby Union. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 "SWD, Valke book First Division semifinal berths". South African Rugby Union. 28 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  24. "Match Breakdown: Boland Cavaliers vs Border Bulldogs". South African Rugby Union. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  25. 25.0 25.1 "Match Breakdown: Leopards vs Valke". South African Rugby Union. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  26. 26.0 26.1 "Match Breakdown: Down Touch Griffons vs SWD Eagles". South African Rugby Union. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  27. "Verdict delivered in Absa Currie Cup First Division eligibility complaint". South African Rugby Union. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  28. "Match Breakdown: Down Touch Griffons vs Valke". South African Rugby Union. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  29. "2014 Currie Cup First Division Points Scorers". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  30. "2014 Boland Cavaliers Currie Cup season". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  31. "2014 Border Bulldogs Currie Cup season". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  32. "2014 Falcons Currie Cup season". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  33. "2014 Griffons Currie Cup season". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  34. "2014 Leopards Currie Cup season". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  35. "2014 SWD Eagles Currie Cup season". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 25 August 2014.

External links