2009 Currie Cup Premier Division Explained

Year:	2009 Currie Cup Premier Division
Format:	Currie Cup Premier Division
Countchamp:	23
Total Matches:	63
Matches:	63
Tries:	354
Top Point Scorer:	Naas Olivier, (151)
Top Try Scorer:	Jongi Nokwe, (12)
Prevseason:	2008
Nextseason:	2010

The 2009 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division season was the 71st season in the competition since it started in 1889. The competition was contested from 10 July through to 31 October.

It was won by the Blue Bulls, who defeated the Free State Cheetahs 36-24 in the final at Loftus Versfeld. The Boland Cavaliers, who finished bottom of the Premier Division, were relegated after losing their promotion-relegation playoff to the First Division Champions, the Pumas, while the Leopards, who finished second from bottom in the Premier Division, narrowly retained their place in the top division after defeating the South Western District Eagles in the other playoff.

Teams

width=175	Team	width=175	City	width=250	Home Ground
Blue Bulls	Pretoria	Loftus Versfeld
Boland Cavaliers	Wellington	Boland Stadium
Free State Cheetahs	Bloemfontein	Vodacom Park
Golden Lions	Johannesburg	Coca-Cola Park
Griquas	Kimberley	Park
Leopards	Phokeng	Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace
	Durban	Absa Stadium
Western Province	Cape Town	Newlands Stadium

Fixtures and results

• Fixtures are subject to change.
• All times are South African (GMT+2).

Round one

Round One Summary

• The Boland Cavaliers held off the fast finishing Leopards to claim a 26-18 win in their Absa Currie Cup Premier Division match at Boland Stadium in Wellington on Friday 10 July.
• Griquas showed plenty of fight and spirit as they registered a fine 28-18 victory over the Free State Cheetahs in a thrilling Absa Currie Cup match in Bloemfontein on Friday 10 July.
• The Blue Bulls overcame a spirited Golden Lions' side to triumph 19-13 in a scrappy Absa Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday 11 July.
• Flyhalf Willem de Waal scored 19 points to steer Western Province to a comfortable 29-15 win over defending ABSA Currie Cup champions the Sharks at Newlands on Saturday 11 July.

Standings Afters Round One

Round two

Round Two Summary

• The dismantled a gallant Boland Cavaliers side to record a 46-10 victory in their Absa Currie Cup match at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Friday 17 July.
• The roar is back in the Golden Lions team as they mounted a spirited comeback to beat the Free State Cheetahs 31-22 at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on Saturday 18 July.
• Scrum-half Sarel Pretorius scored two tries and continued to push for selection to higher honours as he steered Griquas to a 36-11 victory over the Leopards in their Absa Currie Cup match in Kimberley on Saturday 18 July.
• The Blue Bulls held off a spirited Western Province to triumph 30-22 in their Absa Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday 18 July.

Standings Afters Round Two

Round three

Round Three Summary

• The overcame three yellow-cards to claim a scrappy 19-13 win over the Blue Bulls in their Absa Currie Cup match at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Friday 24 July.
• Western Province consigned the Free State Cheetahs to a third consecutive Absa Currie Cup defeat with a 19-13 victory at Newlands on Friday 24 July.
• The log-leading Griquas made it three out of three in the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division with an 80-7 victory over the Boland Cavaliers in Kimberley on Saturday 25 July.
• The Xerox Lions dismantled the Leopards 40-19 in their Absa Currie Cup match at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Phokeng on Saturday 25 July.

Standings Afters Round Three

Round Four

Round Four Summary

• Griquas built up enough of a lead in the first half and then produced an inspired defensive effort in the second to beat the Xerox Lions 23-19 in their Absa Currie Cup Premier Division match in Johannesburg on Friday 31 July.
• Luke Watson scored a hat-trick of tries as Western Province made it three wins out of four in the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division with a 48-7 victory over the Leopards at Newlands in Cape Town on Friday 31 July.
• The Blue Bulls cantered to a 50-18 win over the Boland Cavaliers in their Absa Currie Cup game at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Friday 31 July.
• A superb kicking performance from Rory Kockott saw hand the Free State Cheetahs a 21-12 defeat in their Absa Currie Cup match at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on Friday 31 July.

Standings Afters Round Four

Round Five

Round Five Summary

• Griquas made it five wins out of five in the Currie Cup Premier Division with a nail-biting 33-32 victory over Western Province in Kimberley on Friday 7 August.
• The Golden Lions edged out the Boland Cavaliers 19-13 in their Absa Currie Cup Premier Division match at Boland Stadium in Wellington on Friday 7 August.
• Defending Absa Currie Cupchampions moved into second place on the log with a 44-15 victory over the Leopards at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Phokeng on Friday 7 August.
• The Free State Cheetahs captured their first win of the season as they beat the Blue Bulls 24-15 in their Absa Currie Cup match at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on Friday 7 August.

Standings Afters Round Five

Round Six

Round Six Summary

• The Free State Cheetahs ran in 11 tries as they smashed the Leopards 71-17 in their Absa Currie Cup match at Olen Park in Potchefstroom on Friday 14 August.
• The Blue Bulls scored a try in the dying minutes of the match to beat the Griquas 25-24 in their Absa Currie Cup clash at Park in Kimberley on Saturday 15 August.
• Western Province eased to a 38-7 win over the Boland Cavaliers in their Absa Currie Cup match at Boland Stadium in Wellington on Saturday 15 August.
• There may be a new order running the show at Coca-Cola Park, but the same old basic errors were on display out on the field as the Golden Lions were beaten 30-19 by in their Absa Currie Cup match in Johannesburg on Saturday 15 August.

Standings Afters Round Six

Round Seven

Standings Afters Round Seven

Round Eight

Standings Afters Round Eight

Round Nine

Standings Afters Round Nine

Round Ten

Standings Afters Round Ten

Semi finals

FB	15	Stefan Terblanche
RW	14
OC	13	Adrian Jacobs
IC	12	Riaan Swanepoel
LW	11	JP Pietersen
FH	10	Juan Martín Hernández
SH	9	Ruan Pienaar
LP	1	Tendai Mtawarira
HK	2	Bismarck du Plessis
TP	3	John Smit
LL	4	Steven Sykes
RL	5
OF	6	Jacques Botes
BF	7
N8	8	Ryan Kankowski

		Substitutes:
HK	16	Craig Burden
PR	17	Jannie du Plessis
LK	18
N8	19
FL	20	Rory Kockott
CE	21
FH	22	Andries Strauss
Coach:
John Plumtree

FB	15	Hennie Daniller
RW	14	Lionel Mapoe
OC	13	Corne Uys
IC	12	Meyer Bosman
LW	11
FH	10	Jacques-Louis Potgieter
SH	9
LP	1
HK	2
TP	3	W. P. Nel
LL	4	Nico Breedt
RL	5	David de Villiers
BF	6	Heinrich Brüssow
OF	7
N8	8	Ashley Johnson

		Substitutes:
HK	16
PR	17	Izak van der Westhuizen
LK	18
FL	19
SH	20
FH	21	Louis Strydom
WG	22
Coach:
Naka Drotské

----

FB	15	Joe Pietersen
RW	14
OC	13	Juan de Jongh
IC	12
LW	11	Frikkie Welsh
FH	10	Peter Grant
SH	9	Dewaldt Duvenhage
LP	1	Wicus Blaauw
HK	2	Tiaan Liebenberg
TP	3	Brok Harris
LL	4
RL	5	Andries Bekker
OF	6	Francois Louw
BF	7	Duane Vermeulen
N8	8	Luke Watson

		Substitutes:
HK	16	Deon Fourie
PR	17	JC Kritzinger
LK	18	De Kock Steenkamp
N8	19
FL	20	Ricky Januarie
CE	21
FH	22
Coach:
Allister Coetzee

FB	15	Zane Kirchner
RW	14	Francois Hougaard
OC	13	Jaco Pretorius
IC	12	Wynand Olivier
LW	11
FH	10	Morné Steyn
SH	9	Fourie du Preez
LP	1	Gurthro Steenkamp
HK	2
TP	3	Werner Kruger
LL	4
RL	5	Victor Matfield
OF	6
BF	7
N8	8	Pierre Spies

		Substitutes:
HK	16
PR	17	Rossouw de Klerk
LK	18
N8	19
FL	20	Tewis de Bruyn
CE	21	Louis Strydom
FH	22
Coach:
Frans Ludeke

Final

Blue Bulls:

15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuun, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.

Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Pedrie Wannenburg, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Gerhard van den Heever

Free State Cheetahs:

15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Corne Uys, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Danwel Demas, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 JP Joubert, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Frans Viljoen, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 David de Villiers, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Wian du Preez

Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Izak van der Westhuizen, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Louis Strydom, 22 Fabian Juries

Promotion/relegation Matches

Round 2

The Pumas are promoted to the Premier Division while the Boland Cavaliers are relegated to the First Division. The Leopards retain their place in the Premier Division while the SWD Eagles remain in the First Division.

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month
	Manager	Province	Player	Province
July 2009^[1]	Dawie Theron	Griquas	Sarel Pretorius	Griquas
August 2009^[2]	John Plumtree		W. P. Nel	Free State Cheetahs
September 2009^[3]	Allister Coetzee	Western Province	Lionel Mapoe	Free State Cheetahs
October 2009^[4]	Naka Drotské	Free State Cheetahs	Ashley Johnson	Free State Cheetahs

External links

• Latest Currie Cup News

Notes and References

1. News: Theron and Pretorius clinch awards . SA Rugby . SA Rugby . 30 July 2009 . 30 July 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090818194054/http://www.saru.co.za/newsarticle.aspx?newsid=310029&leagueid=&fixturescatid=&resultscatid=&vidcatid=&piccat=&statscatid=&statsteam=&newscat= . 2009-08-18 . dead .
2. News: Absa Currie Cup awards for Plumtree and Nel . SA Rugby . SA Rugby . 27 August 2009 . 27 August 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160323021218/http://www.sarugby.co.za/newsarticle.aspx?newsid=313473&leagueid=733&fixturescatid=&resultscatid=&vidcatid=6&piccat=&statscatid=&statsteam=&newscat=%27sarugby%2Fcurriecup%27%3D . 2016-03-23 . live .
3. News: COETZEE, MAPOE SCOOP ABSA CURRIE CUP AWARDS . SA Rugby . SA Rugby . 1 October 2009 . 1 October 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160323021218/http://www.sarugby.co.za/newsarticle.aspx?newsid=313473&leagueid=733&fixturescatid=&resultscatid=&vidcatid=6&piccat=&statscatid=&statsteam=&newscat=%27sarugby%2Fcurriecup%27%3D . 2016-03-23 . live .
4. News: CHEETAHS DOMINATE ABSA CURRIE CUP AWARDS FOR OCTOBER . SA Rugby . SA Rugby . 22 October 2009 . 22 October 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160323021218/http://www.sarugby.co.za/newsarticle.aspx?newsid=313473&leagueid=733&fixturescatid=&resultscatid=&vidcatid=6&piccat=&statscatid=&statsteam=&newscat=%27sarugby%2Fcurriecup%27%3D . 2016-03-23 . dead .