Durban — The quaint Afrikaans saying “hy kla met ‘n witbrood onder die arm” can be roughly interpreted as “he is complaining about lacking something but he has (the luxury) of a loaf of white bread under his arm”.
The Sharks’ new Currie Cup coach, Joey Mongal,o used this exact idiom in his first press conference to make his point that South Africans should not knock the dear old Currie Cup.
The prestige of the grand old dame of South African rugby has taken a hammering for a few years now because the best players seldom play in it as they are involved in more prestigious competitions, such as the United Rugby Championship, but the feisty Mongalo does not see it that way.
“I get annoyed when people question the quality of the Currie Cup,” he said. “If you offered David Nucifora, the head of rugby in Ireland, a competition where the next best players, coaches and management could be in a high-pressure environment for 16 weeks to the final, he would jump on it.
“But in South Africa, we have that. The Currie Cup is a great product, there is no need for us to look down on the Currie Cup. It is a fantastic competition, it is the place where the next URC players will come from - in fact, the next Springboks.
“The Currie Cup is a breeding ground. I am proud to be coaching in it and I feel strongly about it being elevated to the prestige that it deserves.”
I think that is well said by this bright up-and-coming coach. Other top rugby countries are jealous that South Africa has the Currie Cup conveyor belt of talent and in my opinion, there has never been a boring Currie Cup.
Yes, its status has changed as the professional rugby landscape evolves but it remains intriguing, and anybody who says that last year’s final between the Pumas and Griquas was anything but riveting is deluded.
Mongalo makes his debut as a head coach on Saturday when his “melting pot of URC, Under-20, and club players,” as he puts it, hosts the Griffons.
It has been a while since the men from Welkom were in the Currie Cup premier league and it is their reward for winning the First Division last year.
Older Sharks fans will recall the trepidation of watching the Purple People Eaters regularly beat Natal when they were in the Currie Cup B Section, so nobody will underestimate this current crop against a Sharks team that really is a melting pot of players at contrasting stages of their careers.
Currie Cup fixtures
Friday: Griquas v Cheetahs, 4pm.
Saturday: Sharks v Griffons, 1.30pm.
Lions v Western Province, 3.30pm
Sunday: Bulls v Pumas, 1pm.
Sharks – 15 Nevaldo Fleurs, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Marnus Potgieter, 12 Murray Koster (c), 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Zee Mkhabela, 8 Celimpilo Gumede, 7 Siya Ningiza, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Ockie Barnard, 4 Thembelani Bholi, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Khwezi Mona.
Subs: 16 Masikane Mazwi, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Athenkosi Khetahani, 20 Marco de Wit, 21 Damon Royal, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Alwayno Visagie.
IOL Sport