This year’s Currie Cup produced a catalogue of cracking tries, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects the 20 best touchdowns of the tournament.
It was champagne rugby this season as teams and players whipped up wonderful scores that’ll live on in Currie Cup lore. However, wet weather meant last Saturday’s final was a tactical chess match, which went down to the wire with Jordan Hendrikse slotting a 59-metre penalty goal to seal a thrilling 16-14 win for the Sharks over the Lions at Ellis Park.
The Durbanites also scored the best try of the season. From smooth-as-silk interplay to individual excellence, here are my 20 finest five-pointers of the tournament:
20: Channelling Pieter Hendriks
Shades of Springbok winger Pieter Hendriks against the Wallabies in the 1995 World Cup, Griquas flyer Dylan Maart left Eduan Keyter for dead with a thrilling inside-outside sprint to the tryline.
19: Slippery Slide
A powerful scrum by the Bulls saw the athletic Cameron Hanekom break off the back and offload to Embrose Papier, who kicked ahead and showed his pace to win the race to the ball and slide over in the Durban rain.
18: The Free State Magician Strikes
Ethan Wentzel fired the opening shot of the Cheetahs’ semi-final clash against the Lions with a brilliant chip-and-chase try that started in his own half.
17: Diamond Heist
A stolen lineout led to this electrifying try by Sango Xamlashe and helped Griquas complete an epic comeback to triumph 34-31 over a Springbok-boosted Sharks side.
16: Pinpoint Precision
Ethan Wentzel’s vision and execution were top-class once again when he put a chip through, re-gathered and popped the ball to Munier Hartzenberg, who ran an excellent support line to score against the Pumas.
15: Prolific Pair
Darren Adonis and Stefan Coetzee proved to be a prolific pair for the Pumas when they combined to punish the Lions from inside their 22. Fielding a kick, Adonis unleashed his fullback, who went on a wonderful run before sending the winger over.
14: Deon Doubles Down
A textbook jackal by Clinton Swart and sublime offloads by Eduan Swart, Deon Slabbert and Ntsika Fisanti saw ever-present Slabbert score his second try inside eight minutes in the Pumas’ home game against Griquas.
13: Get Off Me
Munier Hartzenberg showed his power and grace as he shrugged off Aphiwe Dyantyi and Boeta Chamberlain and stepped Stravino Jacobs to score this stunning individual try for the Cheetahs.
12: A Thing Of Beauty
Asenathi Ntlabakanye scored a prop try for the ages in the Ellis Park semi-final, the Lions leviathan skipping into action and rumbling over from the 22.
11: The Boogieman Bursts Onto The Scene
Junior Springbok prodigy Jurenzo “The Boogieman” Julius wasted no time announcing himself on the Currie Cup stage as he ran in this storming solo try from inside his own half in his debut for the Sharks against the Lions.
10: Unlikely Hero
Trevor Nyakane chose the perfect time to score his first Currie Cup try, dummying and smashing his way over for a 98th-minute try in the semi-final thriller against the Bulls, which Lionel Cronje converted to level the scores at 40-all and send the Sharks through to the decider due to their superior try count of six to four.
9: Dropping A Dime
Attacking from a lineout, Griquas went side to side with Marco de Witt, in his first game as captain, making a half break with a perfectly-timed run and offloaded off the ground to Man of the Match Lubabalo Dobela, who put in on the toe for hooker Dandre Delport, running like a winger, to grab and dot down.
8: Cheetahs Make It Rain
The Cheetahs didn’t let the teeming Cape Town rain curb their attacking ambition as they busted out this try from a scrum near the halfway line. Ali Mgijima’s chip bounced perfectly for Michael Annies, who stepped Luke Burger and linked up with Cohen Jasper, who unselfishly gave Daniel Kasende the honours of touching down.
7: Keep Rollin’
Replacement Lions hooker Morne Brandon must’ve listened to Limp Bizkit in the change room before the semi-final against the Cheetahs because he kept rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ to score this thrilling try.
6: Tickled Pink
Pouncing from a scrum inside their half, the Pumas attacked through Stefan Coetzee, whose chicken wing offload freed up Danrich Visagie, who found Ross Braude on his inside. The scrumhalf still had a lot to do and used his side-stepping ability to leave three Sharks in his dirt.
5: Black Venom
The Sharks were full of running early on against Griquas in Kimberley and stretched their lead to 17 with this cracking long-range team try. Good touches from Springbok duo Aphelele Fassi and Andre Esterhuizen, a surging run from Yaw Penxe and a great offload from Bradley Davies saw captain Nick Hatton take it to the house.
4: Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way
Man of the Match James Venter willed his way through a wall of Bulls defenders in the drama-filled semi-final at Loftus Versfeld, scoring a sensational solo try through a combination of power and agility.
3: Welcome Back Williams
Devon Williams had his Bulls teammates to thank for making a try-scoring return to his former stomping ground in Nelspruit. Fast hands created space for captain Nizaam Carr, who found Sintu Manjezi on his inside. The lock linked up with Canan Moodie, whose audacious reserve flick put Williams away.
2: New Colossus On The Block
Impressive young Lions loose forward Renzo du Plessis proved to be Western Province’s nightmare at Ellis Park. Typically, lethal on the counter-attack, the home side made the visitors pay for a nothing kick with Rynhardt Jonker popping a reverse pass to Du Plessis, who proceeded to bounce off two would-be tacklers for the first of what would be a hat-trick of tries.
1: Shark Attack
The Sharks unlocked phenomenal fluidity to score this terrific team try in their season opener against the Lions, taking the ball through the hands like the Harlem Globetrotters with Diego Appollis dotting down.
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