2008 Currie Cup First Division

2008 Currie Cup First Division
Official logo
Champions	Griffons
Matches played	33
Tries scored	228 (average 6.909 per match)
Top point scorer	Clayton Durand, Leopards (176)
Top try scorer	Deon van Rensburg, Leopards (11)
← 2007 2009 →

The 2008 Absa Currie Cup First Division season was contested from 27 June through to 10 October. The Currie Cup is an annual domestic competition for provincial rugby union teams in South Africa.

History

• The Absa Currie Cup First Division, as it is today known, is the ninth season of the competition.
• The competition was first contested in 2000 when it was known as the Bankfin Cup and played alongside the Bankfin Currie Cup. It later became known as the Absa Cup and, from 2004, the Absa Currie Cup First Division.
• The first winners of the competition were the Vodacom Blue Bulls who, just two seasons later, would go on to win the Absa Currie Cup title three years in succession.
• Boland Kavaliers have won the title three times.
• Boland Kavaliers and the Platinum Leopards have met in the final three times – 2001, 2003 and 2006 – with the Platinum Leopards winning all three matches.

No of First Division titles

Pos.	Team	Champion	Runner-up
1st	Boland Kavaliers	4 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2006)
2nd	SWD Eagles	2 (2002, 2007)
3rd	Vodacom Blue Bulls	1 (2000)
	Pumas	1 (2005)
Griffons	1 (2008)
4th	Platinum Leopards	-	4 (2001, 2003, 2006, 2008)
5th	Mighty Elephants	-	2 (2000, 2007)
	Border Bulldogs	-	2 (2002, 2004)
6th	Valke	-	1 (2005)

Overview

The winner of the final plays against the team that are at the bottom of the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division standings and the runner-up plays the 2nd last team on the log for a chance to be promoted to the Premier Division. The SWD Eagles won the final of the 2007 Currie Cup First Division 38 – 3 against the Mighty Elephants, and faced the Valke in the playoff matches. The Mighty Elephants faced the Boland Kavaliers in their two leg matches.

Teams

The SWD Eagles and the Mighty Elephants did not get promoted to the Premier Division. They both lost both their matches against the Valke and the Boland Kavaliers.

• The teams are listed in alphabetical order:
• Mighty Elephants from Port Elizabeth
• Border Bulldogs from East London
• Griffons from Welkom
• Platinum Leopards from Potchefstroom
• Pumas from Witbank
• SWD Eagles from George

Final standings

2008 Absa Currie Cup First Div
Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	BP	Pts
Platinum Leopards	10	8	0	2	438	262	176	57	29	9	41
Griffons	10	7	0	3	303	214	89	30	23	4	32
SWD Eagles	10	5	0	5	307	262	45	41	28	9	29
Pumas	10	4	0	6	268	362	-94	33	48	8	24
Border Bulldogs	10	4	0	6	232	366	-134	26	47	3	19
Mighty Elephants	10	2	0	8	238	320	-82	27	39	5	13

Updated 29 September 2008:^[1]

Points Breakdown

• Four points for a win
• Two points for a draw
• One bonus point for a loss by seven points or less
• One bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match

Table Notes

• P = points
• W = Won
• D = Drawn
• L = Lost
• PF = points for
• P = Points Against
• PD = Points Difference (PF - PA)
• TF = Tries For
• TA = Tries Against
• BP = Bonus points
• Pts = Total Points

---

Compulsory Friendlies

Week One

Bye
Platinum Leopards	Border Bulldogs

Week Two

Bye
Pumas	SWD Eagles

Week Three

Bye
Griffons	Mighty Elephants

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Week Seven

Week Eight

Bye
SWD Eagles	Pumas

Week Nine

Bye
Griffons	Mighty Elephants

Week Ten

Week Eleven

Week Twelve

Bye
Platinum Leopards	Border Bulldogs

Knock Out Stage

	Semi-finals				Final
	2008-10-03 - Profert Olën Park, Potchefstroom
	Platinum Leopards	50
	Pumas	18
					2008-10-10 - Profert Olën Park, Potchefstroom
					Platinum Leopards	26
					Griffons	31
	2008-10-04 - North West Stadium, Welkom
	Griffons	27
	SWD Eagles	17

Semi finals

Finals

2008 Absa Currie Cup First Division Champions

Griffons

1st title

Promotion/Relegation

Round 1

Round 2

Promotion/Relegation Table

Promotion/Relegation
Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	BP	Pts
Platinum Leopards	2	2	0	0	56	43	13	4	4	0	8
Boland Kavaliers	2	1	0	1	96	65	31	14	9	2	6
Griffons	2	1	0	1	65	96	-31	9	14	1	5
Valke	2	0	0	2	43	56	-13	4	4	1	1

Results

• Boland Kavaliers manage to stay in the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division.
• Platinum Leopards are promoted to the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division.
• The Griffons just lost out to the Boland Kavaliers to remain in the First Division.
• The Valke are relegated to the Absa Currie Cup First Division after losing both their matches against the Platinum Leopards.

Statistics

Top 5 point scorers

Name	Team	Tries	Conversions	Penalties	Drop goals	Total
Clayton Durand	Platinum Leopards	0	43	29	1	176
Kennedy Tsimba	Griffons	4	14	24	0	120
Jeff Taljard	Border Bulldogs	3	14	16	0	91
Ambrose Barends	SWD Eagles	0	15	18	0	84
Rudi Vogt	Pumas	1	14	16	0	81

Top 5 try scorers

Name	Team	Tries
Deon van Rensburg	Platinum Leopards	11
Jan van Zyl	Platinum Leopards	10
Vuyo Zangqa	Platinum Leopards	10
Cecil Afrika	Griffons	8
Norman Nelson	Mighty Elephants	7

Disciplinary Records by Team

Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards	Total Cards
Pumas	0	9	9
Mighty Elephants	1	6	7
Border Bulldogs	0	5	5
Platinum Leopards	0	5	5
Griffons	0	4	4
SWD Eagles	1	2	3

Top 5 Disciplinary Records by Player

Name	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards	Total Cards
Michael Vermaak	Mighty Elephants	1	0	1
Doppies le Roux	SWD Eagles	1	0	1
Shaun Jacques Nel	Mighty Elephants	0	3	3
Nomani Tonga	Border Bulldogs	0	2	2
Jacques Coetzee	Pumas	0	2	2

References

• Currie Cup
• 2008 Currie Cup Premier Division
• ABSA

External links

• "SA Rugby Results – 2008 ABSA Currie Cup First Div". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 6 May 2016.