The Carling Currie Cup kicks off this weekend and South Africa’s oldest premier rugby competition will once again be keenly-contested by the eight participating teams.
Over the years there have been immense battles, heartache and glory, and when it comes to derby matches, South African teams never back down from a challenge.
For the Hollywoodbets Sharks, this competition once again offers the opportunity to prove their worth both as a franchise, and as a union that backs the youth. These young guns will come out and throw everything at their opponents over the next couple of months.
Here’s what you can expect from our opposition in the coming weeks.
Round One (Saturday 26 July): Fidelity ADT Lions vs Hollywoodbets Sharks, Ellis Park
Known as the Team of the 90s, the Hollywoodbets Sharks were matched by the Fidelity ADT Lions in Currie Cup Final appearances in the 1990s, with four titles for the men from Durban and three for the Joburg team, and two apiece against one another.
After winning the title in 1999, the Fidelity ADT Lions next won in 2011, with only one further title, in 2015 to bring to a total of 11 titles in the history of the competition.
Having lost to the Hollywoodbets Sharks in last year’s final at home, the Fidelity ADT Lions will be coming out with revenge in the back of their minds in the opening round this year.
Round Two (Saturday 2 August): Vodacom Blue Bulls vs Hollywoodbets Sharks, Loftus Versfeld
As Northern Transvaal and then the Blue Bulls, the team from Pretoria are the second most successful in the history of the competition, having captured 25 titles in their 34 final appearances. They last won the tournament in 2021.
Who can ever forget the 1990 final when the Durban side went to Loftus as complete underdogs, but came away with their first title, completely upsetting their hosts? Since that fateful day 35 years ago, the two teams have met in four more finals with the men from Pretoria winning three of them.
Round Three (Saturday 9 August): Hollywoodbets Sharks vs Toyota Free State. Hollywoodbets Kings Park
For a period of time, Free State proved to be the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ nemesis, somehow managing to be a bogey team in the fixture list, although this trend has all but disappeared in recent years.
Interestingly enough, during the modern era, the teams have never met in a Currie Cup Final, but the Durban side edge the men from Bloemfontein with nine titles to seven overall, with Free State’s most recent win coming in 2023 when they edged out the Pumas 25-17 at Free State Stadium.
Round Four (Friday 15 August): Suzuki Griquas vs Hollywoodbets Sharks. Suzuki Stadium
The men from Kimberley were powerhouses in the early years of Currie Cup rugby and have continued to be a constant thorn in the side of their opponents. In recent years they have always been competitive, but haven’t managed to add to their three titles since their last, achieved in 1970, to go with the other two, in 1899 and 1911.
Many teams have come up short against the Suzuki Griquas, either at home or in Kimberley, and a smart team respects the challenge.
Round Five (Friday 22 August): Hollywoodbets Sharks vs DHL Western Province, Hollywoodbets Kings Park
With 34 titles, the Cape Town provincial side is acknowledged as the most successful franchise in the tournament’s rich history.
Another proud union, there are few derby fixtures to excite the tastebuds as a Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers match-up, and this game will be no different.
Since 2010, the two teams have met five times in the final, interestingly enough, only one home team won. Who can forget Patrick Lambie proving assassin-in-chief at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in 2010?
Round Six (Saturday 30 August): Hollywoodbets Sharks vs Sanlam Boland Kavaliers, Hollywoodbets Kings Park
There isn’t much history between these two teams in the Carling Currie Cup. Suffice to say the Hollywoodbets Sharks will be looking to use home ground advantage to full effect against the tournament newcomers.
Boland last contested a final in 1952, hosting Transvaal in Wellington, with the Joburg side emerging narrow, 11-9 victors.
Round Seven (Friday 5 September): Hollywoodbets Sharks vs Airlink Pumas, Hollywoodbets Kings Park
The history between these two sides is best characterised as brutal and competitive. Over the past decade, under the tutelage of a local legend, Jimmy Stonehouse, the Airlink Pumas have more than punched above their weight, frequently taking victories off their more fancied opponents.
Champions as recent as 2022, when they defeated the Suzuki Griquas (26-19 in Kimberley) prove that they are not to be underestimated.
