2005 Currie Cup

The 2005 ABSA Currie Cup was a South African domestic rugby union tournament that took place from late August to late October 2005. In a rematch of the previous year's final, the Free State Cheetahs reversed the result, coming from behind to defeat the Blue Bulls 29–25 to win their first Currie Cup since 1976.

Qualification

Qualification for the Premier Division of the Currie Cup began on 24 June 2005. The fourteen provincial teams were divided in two equal strength sections (X and Y) according to the standings of the teams at the end of the 2004 competition. The construction of the sections for the 2005 Vodacom Cup would be the done in the same way.

The teams that comprised Section X were the Blue Bulls, Golden Lions, Natal Sharks, Eagles, Boland Cavaliers, Falcons and the Mighty Elephants.

The teams that comprised Section Y were Western Province, Free State Cheetahs, Griquas, Pumas, Border Bulldogs, Leopards and the Griffons.

In the initial Qualifying Round, the two sections played a single round within their section, meaning every team played six matches - three at home and three away. No points from this round were carried over to the Premier Division or First Division.

The final standings for both pools were (teams marked in green qualified for Premier Division):

SECTION X
Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	BP	Pts
Natal Sharks	6	6	0	0	247	102	4	28
Golden Lions	6	5	0	1	223	98	5	25
Blue Bulls	6	4	0	2	261	141	5	21
Boland Cavaliers	6	3	0	3	201	174	4	16
Mighty Elephants	6	2	0	4	146	243	3	11
Eagles	6	1	0	5	75	273	0	4
Falcons	6	0	0	6	116	235	3	3

SECTION Y
Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	BP	Pts
Free State Cheetahs	6	6	0	0	209	54	3	27
Western Province	6	5	0	1	235	117	6	26
Griquas	6	3	0	3	188	140	4	16
Leopards	6	3	0	3	182	246	3	15
Pumas	6	2	0	4	133	203	3	11
Border Bulldogs	6	1	0	5	119	210	3	7
Griffons	6	1	0	5	119	215	2	6

Round 1

2005-08-19
	Natal Sharks	55–17	Leopards	ABSA Stadium, Durban Attendance: Referee:
	Tries: JP Pietersen (4), Adrian Jacobs (2), Waylon Murray (2), Steven Sykes Cons: Ruan Pienaar (4), Brett Hennessey		Tries: Colin Lloyd, Coenraad Groenewald Cons: Naas Olivier (2) Pen: Naas Olivier

2005-08-20
	Boland Cavaliers	29–22	Western Province	Boland Stadium, Wellington Attendance: Referee:
	Tries: Jongi Nokwe (2), Henk Eksteen, Renfred Dazel Cons: Charl Blom (3) Drop: Antonius Verhoeven		Tries: Zhahier Ryland (2), Adri Badenhorst, Gus Theron Con: Chris Rossouw

2005-08-20
	Golden Lions	53–11	Griquas	Ellis Park, Johannesburg Attendance: Referee: Tappe Henning
	Tries: Wylie Human (3), Marius Hurter, Cobus Grobbelaar, Jorrie Muller, Rudi Coetzee Cons: Tiaan Snyman (5), Nel Fourie Pens: Nel Fourie (2)		Try: MJ Mentz Pens: Braam van Straaten (2)

2005-08-20
	Blue Bulls	26–16	Free State Cheetahs	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria Attendance: Referee:
	Tries: Morné Steyn, Wynand Olivier Cons: Morné Steyn (2) Pens: Morné Steyn (4)		Try: Ollie le Roux, Trompie Nontshinga Pens: Willem de Waal, MJ Smith Cards: Ollie le Roux  48'

Round 2

2005-08-26
	Leopards	21–37	Golden Lions	Olën Park, Potchefstroom Attendance: Referee:
	Tries: Ronnie Cooke (2), Colin Lloyd Cons: Naas Olivier (3)		Tries: Roland Bernard, Lukas van Biljon, KleinJan Tromp, Conrad Jantjes, Gerhard Vosloo Cons: Tiaan Snyman (3) Pen: Tiaan Snyman Drop: Tiaan Snyman

2005-08-27
	Griquas	27–28	Natal Sharks	ABSA Park, Kimberley Attendance: Referee:
	Tries: Frans Viljoen, Bobby Joubert Con: Braam van Straaten Pens: Braam van Straaten (5)		Tries: Waylon Murray, Danie Saayman, Jaco Gouws Cons: Ruan Pienaar (2) Pens: Ruan Pienaar (3)

2005-08-27
	Free State Cheetahs	46–15	Boland Cavaliers	Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein Attendance: Referee:
	Tries: Trompie Nontshinga (2), Trevor Leota (2), Hendro Scholtz, Barend Pieterse Cons: Willem de Waal (5) Pens: Willem de Waal (2)		Tries: Jaco Engels, Piet van Zyl Con: Justin Peach Pen: Justin Peach

2005-08-27
	Western Province	10–18	Blue Bulls	Newlands, Cape Town Attendance: Referee:
	Try: Gus Theron Con: Earl Rose Pen: Chris Rossouw		Tries: Heini Adams, John Mametsa Con: Morné Steyn Pens: Morné Steyn (2)

Round 3

2005-09-02
	Blue Bulls	69–24	Leopards	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria Attendance: Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
	Tries: Marius Delport (3), Pedrie Wannenburg (2), Johan Wasserman, John Mametsa, Johan Roets, Akona Ndungane Cons: Morné Steyn (7), Derick Hougaard (2) Pens: Morné Steyn (2) Cards: Pedrie Wannenburg 26' to 36'		Tries: Naas Olivier, Naudé Beukes, Anvor Schooney Cons: Naas Olivier (3) Pen: Naas Olivier Cards: André Swanepoel 33' to 43'

2005-09-03
	Golden Lions	23–38	Western Province	Ellis Park, Johannesburg Attendance: Referee:
	Tries: Jorrie Muller, Oginga Siwundla Cons: Tiaan Snyman, Nel Fourie Pens: Tiaan Snyman (3)		Tries: Zhahier Ryland (3), Tonderai Chavhanga, De Wet Barry Cons: Peter Grant (5) Pen: Peter Grant

2005-09-03
	Natal Sharks	18–29	Free State Cheetahs	ABSA Stadium, Durban Attendance: Referee: Tappe Henning
	Tries: Ruan Pienaar, Deon Carstens, Louwtjie Louw Pen: Ruan Pienaar		Tries: Ryno van der Merwe, Eddie Fredericks Cons: Willem de Waal (2) Pens: Willem de Waal (5)

2005-09-03
	Boland Cavaliers	20–36	Griquas	Boland Stadium, Wellington Attendance: Referee:
	Tries: Tommy Dixon, Jongi Nokwe, Rayno Benjamin Con: Justin Peach Pen: Justin Peach		Tries: Vuyani Dlomo (2), Dries Scholtz, Gareth Krause Cons: Tiger Mangweni (2) Pens: Tiger Mangweni (3), Quintin van Tonder

External links

• Currie Cup 2005 - How It Works
• Currie Cup 2005 fixture and match reports