It’s been more than 30 years since THAT tackle at Loftus, but the names Morne du Plessis and Naas Botha still perfectly sum up why Western Province-Blue Bulls clashes are so special. Saturday’s Currie Cup semifinal at Newlands will be no different.
In 1977, Du Plessis felled the darling of Loftus with a great tackle, perfectly within the laws, but marginally late. The crowd exploded, and the gangly Du Plessis, hated up north at the best of times, had to be escorted off the field by police after the final whistle.
Botha was stretchered off and Pierre Edwards nailed the winning penalty for Northern Transvaal.
‘this rivalry is the one that stirs the blood the most’
It remains one of the most talked-about incidents in the history of South African rugby.
Fast forward to 2009. Du Plessis and Botha are legends of the South African game, but they are still polarised by provincialism.
Du Plessis this week equated WP-Bulls games with Tests between the Springboks and the All Blacks.
“You know, without any disrespect to the other provinces, I just think that, as far as I can remember, it seems to be that this rivalry is the one that stirs the blood the most. It’s almost akin to the Springboks playing the All Blacks.
“There is just something in it that, through the ages, has grown,” said Du Plessis.
Botha couldn’t hold back when he got an opportunity to get a jibe in at the former WP and Springbok captain – but all in a good spirit of course. “That tackle was part of the play, but it cost Western Province a Currie Cup. It didn’t win it for them, it cost them.
“Pierre (Edwards) kicked over the penalty. When they lost there, they were out of the Currie Cup. It was us and Free State in the final.”
@Karen – Luister na die buurman se maag wat grom…..en verbeel jou dis ‘n leeu 🙂
@Karen – not sure , i hear its going to rain but thats not confirmed yet
@K9-MonsterLeeu – Nee o hel hy was ‘n stoere WP supporter wat verlede jaar ‘n smurf geword het.
Ok Sharky_forver – hopefully it does not rain.
@K9-MonsterLeeu – karen moet net nie die ou se poepe ruik daarna nie LOL
54@Karen – halla karen, jy klink senuweeagtig. Sterkte vir jou span.
@sharky_forever Рwel sy s̻ mos die kaap is windstil vandag.
@Karen – lol karen , en ek hoop ook so
64@sharky_forever – ja, ek wou vir haar sê, vat groot happe, dan is hul gou weg, maar sy klink biejtie kwaai …
@bdb – ag nee wat….Karentjie is soos haar span….net ‘n briesie.
@K9-MonsterLeeu – @bdb – LOL
die kaap is mos soos n baba , as hy nie nat is nie is hy vol winde LOL
eish guests dont just read lol join the fun
Capetonians have been urged to dress in the blue and white as Western Province take on the Bulls in the biggest rugby match at Newlands in years.
The city is expected to come to a standstill as a capacity crowd of 48 000 crams into the stadium for WP’s first Currie Cup play-off match in four years.
Because of the overwhelming demand, the union made more tickets available on Friday but would not say how many, said marketing and events manager Gavin Lewis. The new tickets had orginally been allocated to sponsors who had subsequently cancelled.
Morning all,
Good luck to all the teams! Hopefully my Bulls will do the job, but if they dont – then WP deserve respect!
Enjoy the ruggas! Will talk tonight…
Go Bulls!!!!!!!!!!!!!
72@sharky_forever Рdie spanning bou op, bloggers weet nie meer wat om te s̻ nie.
Sportsman’s Warehouse in Canal Walk said it had sold out in most sizes of WP jerseys, which range from R500 to R600.
A salesman at Totalsports said that the WP jerseys had started flying off the shelves as soon as the team made it to the top four.
He said Blue Bulls jerseys had been sold out ages ago, and because of the high demand, the supply had been difficult to replenish.
When WP were at the bottom of the log, no one had rushed out to buy the gear.
At some stores around the city, the prized jerseys cost up to R700.
@bdb LOl true
– @Supa Die Bloubul – morning supa dupa ^5
Het nou net Boots and All gekyk. Hier is die manne se voorspellings:
Naas: Ctahs en BB
Owen: Ctahs en BB
BoB: Sharks en WP
Daren: Sharks en BB
@superBul – I love this part
“Blue Bulls jerseys had been sold out ages ago, and because of the high demand, the supply had been difficult to replenish”
77@sharky_forever –
Morning Sharky! Good lcuk for your team, we might have Puma’s “Dream final”. hehe
Lets see at 19:00.
A few predictions…
Deysel toe run somebody into a wheelchair…
Brussouw to steal everything from ruck balls to watches and wallets…
Luke to cry at the end of the game…win or lose…together with Grant10
Bakkies to klap at least three players with one shot…
Out..cheers all!
@bdb – Ek dink Daren is die mees sensible pick.
@bdb – so hulle almal mis die WP en Cthas scenario. mmmmmm
superBul, very nice article if it is your own work. North and South mean exactly that, Shark are not south by a mile!
@Boerboel – but we are as far south as the northeners like to go
you know the vaalies like durbs by the sea 😆
How close the Bulls and WP are is also shown in lists of top scorers and top try scorers.
WP used 2 kickers this year, W de Waal and Joe Peterson
The Bulls used 3 Morne Steyn, Francious Brummer and Burton Francis.
WP kickers 211 vs Bulls 210
Top try scorer in SA so far is Jongi Nokwe with 12
Bulls and WP are tied in 2nd place with both Luke Watson and Gerhard vd Heever on 11 tries each.
in 11th place Bulls have
11 Francois Hougaard 5
11 Jaco Pretorius 5
and also in 11th place WP have
11 Tonderai Chavhanga 5
11 Johan Pietersen 5
Nice article super,
Well I certainly remember those days. Believe or not that time was still only living in Joburg and a TVL supporter. N. TVL used to mostly always beat us then so supported Western Province back then when it came to a N.TVL/WP game. Yip, those were the days. It sure has changed now.
I started supporting Natal when I moved there in 1981 and for me think it is now a Sharks/Bulls rivalry in this new era.
Today though it will bring back some good old memories of the rivalry between N.TVL/WP. Now days though will always support Bulls over WP.
Go Bulls good luck.
@Boerboel – 83
LOL. We are south but not as far as you okes in the Cape.
@Supa Die Bloubul – 80
hehehe. We are going to have the Dream Final..LOL.
You doing well on in the cricket on SuperBru. Damn, damn really wanted to go with the WI side (forget their name) but went for New South Wales. Missed opportunity there.
Forgot, morning all. Especially to my brudda from another mudda….hehe. Howzit Sharky.
@Puma – good moanin brudda ^5 lol
did you read the previous thread??? its brilliant and tells much about the sharks behind the scenes
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