Currie Cup gladiators

I arrived at Absa Stadium at about 4.30pm on Saturday. Strolling across from our parking at the Collegians club towards the stadium, I was shaken by the roars erupting from the 30% full stadium. As the goosies rippled across my body, I wondered, “What’s it going to be like when this thing fills up?”

The answer was delivered shortly thereafter when the empty seats started to be populated and the crowd was treated to Scottish bagpipes, the Sharkettes and, of course, the Flasher Girls.

The first major eruption came when the stadium announcer asked the partisan crowd, “Who thinks the Currie Cup belongs in Natal this season?”.

That’s when the entire place went berserk and I got the first glimpses of the image that would fill my mind the entire afternoon. You know the one from the film Gladiator when Russell Crowe, aka “Maximus”, strolls out into the arena and the whole place goes absolutely ballistic.

Then when The Sharks took to the field, another colossal, guttural belly roar and, corny as it may sound, the emotions started to reverberate around the stadium. What is it about tribalism that provokes such extreme emotion? There’s something immensely powerful about belonging, and the 40 000 or so Sharks fans at the ground on Saturday were united in their membership of the Sharks tribe. This feeling was further heightened by a rousing rendition of the national anthem.

The players themselves didn’t disappoint, there were some awe inspiring hits on the field: Like when Pat Lambie laid down a little marker, skipping his way through the Province defence and swatting away a desperate Schalk Burger on his way to the first try of the match. Again Burger was involved when he was unceremoniously dumped by a marauding Louis Luddik (rumoured to be the fiercest tackler in The Sharks squad). Flying Sharks winger Lwazi Mvovo (a superstar in the making I reckon) was involved in a hefty contact with a number of Province players right in front of where we were sitting: “Whack”. He walked away holding his head. Province number 22 was badly concussed in a coming together of heads . . . nasty. And the hit of the match: Keegan Daniel slamming into Bryan Habana as he tried to offload the ball. Serious ouch.

It was frenetic, skillful and incredibly tough action and must rate as one of the most hotly contested matches in the wonderful history of King’s Park. When watching a match like this the fans must be quite happy that it’s limited to 80 minutes of action; I don’t know how much more tension the poor blighters can take.

Congratulations to every player who took the field for the Currie Cup final. It was outstanding entertainment, well worth the hundreds of rands I didn’t have to pay, thanks to the generosity of a good friend. Take a bow The Sharks and Western Province.

Looking around as The Sharks players finally headed off towards the tunnel (after a well deserved, raucous victory lap), I couldn’t help thinking how many magic moments, and how much history and tradition has taken place at this ground. The question on many people’s minds is: How much longer will the gladiators of this local and provincial success story, The Sharks, continue applying their trade, and writing history, at this wonderful cauldron of competitive rugby?  – Garth Johnstone