The 1997 Currie Cup was the 59th season of the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

, South Africa's premier domestic

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

competition, since it started in 1889. The competition was known as the Bankfin Currie Cup for sponsorship reasons and was contested from 28 May to 25 October 1997. The competition was won by for the 29th time in their history; they beat the 14–12 in the final played on 25 October 1997.

Competition rules and information

There were fourteen participating teams in the 1997 Currie Cup. These teams played all the other teams once over the course of the season, either at home or away. Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded). The top 4 teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals advanced to the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.

Teams

Team Listing

Changes from 1996

The two sections used in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, Section A and Section B, were merged into a single division for 1997, with all teams playing each other once. The team also adopted the new rugby union bonus points system, which was previously used in the

1996 Super 12 season The 1996 Super 12 season was the inaugural season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 1996, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular se ...

. Also, there were several name changes: * were renamed the . * were renamed the . * were renamed the . * were renamed the . * were renamed the . * were renamed the . * were renamed .

Competition rules and information

Teams

Team Listing

Changes from 1996

Log

Matches

Round One

Round Two

Round Three

Round Four

Round Five

Round Six

Round Seven

Round Eight

Round Nine

Round Ten

Round Eleven

Round Twelve

Round Thirteen

Round Fourteen

Round Fifteen

Round Sixteen

Round Seventeen

Round Eighteen

Semi-Finals

Final

Honours

Notes

References