WeeklySA_AdminTHRILLER: The Gauteng team have been menacing on attack, however, the Durbanites also possess a dangerous attacking arsenal themselves
By Sports Reporter
The 2024 Carling Currie Cup Premier Division will come to a thrilling conclusion in Johannesburg on Saturday when the Fidelity ADT Lions and Hollywoodbets Sharks XV meet in the final – the first between these two teams since 2011 – which is scheduled to kick off at 16h00 at Emirates Airline Park.
The Highvelders will attempt to lift the famous gold trophy for the first time since 2015, when they defeated DHL Western Province in the Lions’ Den, although they also appeared in the 2019 decider, where they lost a cliffhanger to the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. This coming Saturday will be the first time since 2021 when the Durbanites make an appearance in a final again, when they were on the receiving end of a 44-10 defeat to the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The last time the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV lifted the Carling Currie Cup, was when they beat DHL WP in the 2018 final.
A quick glance into the history of Carling Currie Cup successes for these two teams, sees the Joburg outfit leading their east coast rivals by 11 titles (once shared) to eight, while during the past 10 years the Durbanites have appeared in four finals, which is one more than the Highvelders.
This season, the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV were the only team that managed to inflict a defeat on the Fidelity ADT Lions – a 35-22 win in the fourth round at the end of July in Johannesburg, which signalled their turnaround after a stuttering start of three straight losses at the start of the campaign.
After winning in Joburg in July, the KwaZulu-Natalians stacked up five wins and two draws in an impressive eight-game unbeaten streak, which includes last week’s epic semi-final stalemate with the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria.
The Highvelders, on the other hand, marched impressively towards their home final, winning nine of their regulation games, with the home loss to the Durbanites their only blemish to date.
A closer look at the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV shows why they have been in such great form the past two months. They have successfully integrated several promising youngsters – includeing a handful of Junior Springboks – with battle hardened campaigners and several Vodacom United Rugby Championship stalwarts, which opposing teams have found difficult to handle.
Also, as demonstrated last week, they displayed their mental strength and character by fighting back for a memorable draw at Loftus, despite playing with 12 men at one stage late in the game.
Looking back at the outcome of the last 10 meetings between these sides, dating back to 2019, then the results are almost even between them. The KZN outfit only just edged their Joburg opponents by five wins to four, with one match cancelled.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s big occasion will be refereed by Morne Ferreira who is set to take the whistle in his first Carling Currie Cup Final. His will be assisted by Griffin Colby and Stephan Geldenhuys on the sidelines, while Egon Seconds will do duty as the television match official.
