Currie Cup hurry up

As human dramas go you would have to go a long way to beat the Absa Currie Cup.

As always, at the start of another competition, there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm for the old golden Cup but from the perspective of the players there is much to play for.

The competition represents a vast tapestry of individual ambitions and emotions with almost every team in virtually any game containing players with something to prove.

For instance there is the question of South Africa finding a complete flyhalf.

With Jaco van der Westhuyzen having been unconvincing in the role and with the big tests against the All Blacks and the Wallabies still ahead, it would be amazing if Jake White were not keeping an eye on the flyhalves in the Currie Cup.

First and foremost there is Derick Hougaard – the young man who announced himself by setting an all-time points record in a final.

The chunky Blue Bull, however, has not lived up to that promise and one of the features of the new season will be whether he can justify coach Heyneke Meyer’s confidence that he can be the No1 No10 in the country.

With André Pretorius continuing his battle with chronic knee problems and Butch James still injured there will also be some time in the spotlight for the like of Nel Fourie, Willem de Waal and Conrad Barnard.

Barnard is highly thought of in Bloemfontein and will relish the chance to play on a bigger stage in Durban while De Waal – in spite of Andre Markgraaff’s ludicrous explanation of why he directed him to Free State and not to Natal – showed promise when usurping Hougaard in the Bulls during the Super 12.

So who will it be? If anyone?

The Currie Cup is full of such personal quests as players try to break into a Springbok side that, from the outside looking in, appears to be a pretty cosy and exclusive club.

Gary Botha for instance. By common consensus if there is one player who has been wronged in the naming of White’s Springboks it is the bustling Blue Bulls hooker so his aspirations will go beyond helping the Northern Transvaalers retain their grip on the cup.

Equally Geo Cronje. It seems nonsensical that a lock forward who has the makings of a second Bakkies Botha, and what an attribute that would be in the Springbok side!, should be left on the sidelines and the Currie Cup will give him the chance to drive home his challenge.

With AJ Venter having been called up by White, obviously with an eye to confronting the threats now represented by big blindside flankers Jonno Gibbes in the All Blacks and Radike Samo in the Wallabies, the green-and-gold has been pulled a little further away from a man such as Wikus van Heerden.

The Lions skipper is typical of a hoard of players – such as Richard Bands, Jorrie Muller, Adrian Jacobs, Lawrence Sephaka, Christo Bezuidenhout, Danie Rossouw, Conrad Jantjes, Trevor Halstead, Johan Ackermann, Henno Mentz, Hendrik Gerber, Daan Human and Craig Davidson (if he is forgiven!) - who have been part of the Boks and would like to get back while the competition will also provide rehabilitation opportunities for “wounded soldiers” such as Dean Hall, Gcobani Bobo and Joe van Niekerk – especially Joe van Niekerk who should be given the chance to play his way back into the big-time rather than constantly being thrown in before he is ready.

For some, such as Tonderai Chavhanga and Kabamba Floors, this could be the most important Currie Cup of their lives while for others such as Rassie Erasmus, still dreaming of holding the cup in triumph, Deon Kayser, Ricardo Loubscher, Charl van Rensburg, Johan Ackermann and Jannes Labuschagne it may be the season in which they say farewell to this game of bumps and bruises.

Others such as Frikkie Welsh, Ettienne Botha, Enrico Januarie, BJ Botha, Gurthro Steenkamp, Luke Watson, Roland Bernard, Pieter Dixon and Johan Roets have the ability to be Springboks while in time-honoured fashion the Currie Cup will push to the fore new faces and new names to toss into the Springbok debate.

So never mind the talk of the Boks being away and of the competition being watered down. There is much to play for, much to be motivated by and come September/October the Currie Cup will be as riveting as ever.