Currie Cup Preview & Betting Guide

Currie Cup Preview

Who won the Currie Cup?

The reigning champions of the Currie Cup, having won it in 2024, are The Sharks. They beat the Lions 16-14 in last season's final at Ellis Park Stadium.

When is the Currie Cup?

The Currie Cup will take place from July until September, having been moved in 2024 to avoid clashing with European competitions.

Who are the favourites to win the Currie Cup?

The 2025 Currie Cup is yet to be priced up by the bookies, but you would expect the reigning Champs, The Sharks, to be prominent in the betting along with Western Province and the Blue Bulls.

Who will win the Currie Cup?

Head over to the OLBG Rugby Tips to see who they are tipping to win, not only the outright winner but also matches throughout the tournament.

Additionally, if you only want to view the tips from the top tipsters, those who have shown a profit on rugby over the past year, then head over to the Best Rugby Tipsters page.

What is the Currie Cup Format?

If the same as the 2024 season, then eight teams will compete over ten rounds to decide the regular season table.

The top four teams from that table advance to the playoffs which are 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd, the two winners compete in the final to be crowned champions.

Currie Cup Broadcast & Scheduling Info

The Currie Cup matches can be watched live on Sky Sports for UK residents, those at home in South Africa can watch it on SuperSport.

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Currie Cup Past Winners

Not many teams in recent history have been able to backup their championship the following year. Since 2008, only the Blue Bulls (2020 & 2021) have been capable when defeating the Sharks in both finals.

The Sharks win in 2024 moved them onto nine titles, there are only three teams who have manged more than ten titles in the history of the tournament.

The Western Province leads the way with 34 titles, they have also been beaten finalists 13 times, their last success came in 2017.

Next on the list is the Blue Bulls (previously known as the Northern Transvaal) who have made the final 34 times and picked up the title on 25 occassions.

The other team as the Golden Lions who have also gone under the names Transvaal and Gauteng Lions who have won 11 titles, although they have lost more finals than they have won being runner-up 13 times.

Currie Cup Favourite Statistics

The consistency of the favourites has not always been reliable in the Currie Cup. As you can see below, we have had seasons where favourites have won 90% of the game and then others where that drops to as low as just 50%!

The last three seasons have been a bit more consistent with 66%, 66% & 70% of favourites winning during those seasons. On average, over the past ten seasons, 69% of favourites have been successfull.

If looking at teams, then The Lions have been the most reliable, over the past ten seasons they have been favourites in 62 games and they have gone on to win 47 of those, a 76% win rate.

Three other teams also have win rates over 70% or more when favourites and those are the Cheetahs (72%), the Bulls (70%) and the Sharks (70%).

Currie Cup Odds Statistics

Here we look at how teams perform between certain odds. What we know a bettors is that those shorter in price should win more games, simple as that!

What we see in the chart below is those priced up 1.19 or shorter meet expectations in this tournament but as the price increases the teams start to underperform.

Those between 1.40 & 1.49 certainly underperform, they are expected to win between 67.1% & 71.4%, however, they have only won 53.38% of games which is well below those figure.

The same can be said about those between 1.60 (62.5%) & 1.69 (59.2%), just 37.5% of those teams have been successful.

Those with bigger prices generally do alright, those 1.80 or bigger cover seven ranges, five of those are in blue, hence exceeding the expectations.

Tournament Betting Comparison

Here is a comparison between some of the top rugby union tournaments for winning favourites.

As you can see, the Currie Cup is at the bottom of the pile and the only tournament of those on the list with a win percentage of under 70%.

Currie Cup Teams

Four of the eight teams for the 2025 Currie Cup will be the four URC teams who are the Blue Bulls, Western Province, Sharks & Golden Lions.

The other four teams will be made up of the top four teams from the 2024 SA Cup, who were Griquas, Pumas, Griffons & Free State Cheetahs.

That, of course, means the 2025 lineup is the exact same as it has been for the past two seasons.

• Team: Bulls
• Sponsored Name: Vodacom Bulls
• Stadium: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (51,762)

The Bulls were founded in 1938 and are based in Pretoria. They are 25-time winners of the Currie Cup, with their latest coming in 2021 when backing up their win in 2020.

• Team: Free State Cheetahs
• Sponsored Name: Toyota Free State Cheetahs
• Stadium: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein (48,000)

Founded in 1895, the Free State Cheetahs are based in Bloemfontein. After going 1-9 in their first ten Currie Cup finals, they have gone 6-1 since 2005, meaning 7 titles to their name, with the latest being in 2023.

• Team: Golden Lions
• Sponsored Name: Fidelity ADT Lions
• Stadium: Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg (62,567)
• Alternative: Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg (5,000)

As we have previously touched on, the Golden Lions have made it to 24 Currie Cup finals and have lost more than they have won with an 11-13 record. Their last success came in 2015. They were founded in 1889 and are based in Johannesburg.

• Team: Griffons
• Sponsored Name: Novavit Griffons
• Stadium: North West Stadium, Welkom (17,000)

The Griffons, who are based in Welkom, were founded in 1968, and they are yet to taste success in the Currie Cup. Their 2024 season was one to forget; they had an imperfect record of 0-10, picking up just three points in the regular season.

• Team: Griquas
• Sponsored Name: Suzuki Griquas
• Stadium: Griqua Park, Kimberley (11,000)

Founded in 1886, the Griquas are based in Kimberley. This franchise has tasted success three times in the Currie Cup with titles in 1899, 1911 & 1970. As you can see, it's been a while since their last title; their final defeat in 2022 is their only final appearance since.

• Team: Pumas
• Sponsored Name: Airlink Pumas
• Stadium: Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela (40,929)

Another relatively new team compared to the others, the Pumas were founded in 1969. They are based in Mbombela, and they have won the Currie Cup just once. That success came in 2022, their only other final appearance was a year later when beaten.

• Team: Sharks
• Sponsored Name: Hollywoodbets Sharks
• Stadium: Kings Park Stadium, Durban (54,000)

Based in Durban, the Sharks were founded in 1890. They are one of the Currie Cup teams that also compete in the URC. They are nine-time Currie Cup champions, with their last coming in 2024, and they have been runners-up twelve times!

• Team: Western Province
• Sponsored Name: DHL Western Province
• Stadium: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town (55,000)
• Alternative: Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch (16,000)

The Western Province is based in the South African capital, Cape Town and was founded in 1883. They are the most successful franchise in the Currie Cup with 34 titles; the most recent of those came in 2017. They have made a total of 47 finals.

Currie Cup Records

Most Career Matches in the Currie Cup

Hugh Reece-Edwards, who played for Natal in the 80s and 90s, leads the way; he competed in a total of 165 games.

That is 9 more than Jacques Botes, who finished his career on 156 appearances whilst playing for the Pumas and Sharks.

Most Currie Cup Career Points

Naas Botha, who played for the Northern Transvaal between 1977 & 1992, scored a total of 1,699 points, which makes him the all-time leading Currie Cup points scorer.

Behind him is Willem de Waal, who is more recent with a career spanning 2002-10, where he played for three franchises, he scored a total of 1,412 points.

Most Currie Cup Career Tries

John Daniels, who played for both the Golden Lions & Boland Cavaliers, is the all-time try scorer in the Currie Cup, having scored a total of 74 during his career.

The closest anyone has come to him was Breyton Paulse, who scored 66 during his career with the WP and then Chris Badenhorst (Free State) who scored 65.