South Africa: Referee 'Red Card Aimee' Rules the Currie Cup

9 June 2023
Scrolla (Johannesburg)
By Lucky Maree

A frightening sign for the World Cup is the red card that was handed to Elrigh Louw just before halftime in the match between the Blue Bulls and the Cheetahs at Loftus. While referee AJ Jacobs was happy to award a yellow for "foul play with a low degree of danger", TMO Aimee Barrett-Theron stamped her brutal authority on the game. "Have another look," she insisted and convinced the referee that it should be a red card, changing the course of the match. One can only hope cards will not be the deciding factor at the World Cup - especially for the Springboks. Rugby is a game of 15 versus 15 Fortunately for the Blue Bulls, they did enough to score two bonus points to sneak into fourth place to get into the play-offs for the Currie Cup.

The only thing remarkable about the Griffons vs the Lions match in Welkom Free State is that the Griffons scored 22 points. In a match that made no difference to anybody except the players, the Lions scored five tries with scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba, literally leading the pack. But scoring tries is only part of the job, Lions. It must serve as an early warning for next season for the Johannesburg team that they allowed the Griffons, the whipping boys of the tournament, to score three tries. The Lions better sharpen up their defence or they will have another dismal Currie Cup next year.

It was nowhere near a convincing performance by the Pumas, the Currie Cup champions, but at last they showed some of the spirit they are famous for in beating the Griquas. While they scored three tries to two, cementing their position at third on the log and a place in the finals of the tournament, nobody can call it a convincing performance.

Western Province played a masterful game but if ever there was a case of too little too late, this was it. They firmly slammed the gate shut as the cow was happily bolting down the road. They destroyed the Sharks, scoring six tries with the Sharks scoring one try after fulltime. Of course, it highlights the challenges of a franchise playing in three different competitions at the same time. With the coaching focus back in the province, they were unbeatable. The Sharks, sadly, did not respond.

Griffons (3 tries) 22-39 (5 tries) Lions

Griquas (2 tries) 17-27 (3 tries) Pumas

Blue Bulls (4 tries) 27-31 (4 tries) Cheetahs

Western Province (6 tries) 44-5 (1 try) Sharks

Pictured Above: Sanele Nohamba as always leading the pack of Lions.

Image: Instagram

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