The Golden Years
Even though the Lions are regarded as one of the most successful teams in South African rugby history, the union was for a long time regarded as the perennial underachievers. After winning the Currie Cup in 1972 for the sixth time, supporters had to wait a further 21 years for the trophy to return to Johannesburg. Even though the pain of not securing the Currie Cup was somewhat soothed by winning the Lion Cup (a now extinct knock out competition, similar to English Football’s F.A. Cup in 1986, 1987 and 1992, it was Currie Cup glory supporters were really craving.
The union did come close on a few occasions, but always seemed to fail at the final hurdle losing the Currie Cup Final in 1974, 1986, 1987, 1991 and 1992. Finally however, under the guidance of Kitch Christie as head coach and Francois Pienaar as captain, Transvaal was able to win the Currie Cup in 1993 with a 21-15 victory over Natal in Durban. Memorably, Uli Schmidt (hooker) scored the winning try after chasing down a kick. The union repeated their success in 1994 by beating the Orange Free State by 56-35 in Bloemfontein. This was however not the end of the unions success.
They also managed to win the 1993 Super 10 with a 20-17 win over Auckland from New Zealand in Johannesburg – thus making the union the first South African team to win a Super Rugby title. In 1995 Transvaal reached the final of the Super 10 again but lost to the Australian side Queensland. The union also managed to scalp the 1993 and 1994 M-Net night series, a pre-season warm up competition. It was also during the 1993 season that the team managed to go on an unbeaten run of 19 games (18 wins, 1 draw). The Lions won the Currie Cup again in 1999 when they beat the Sharks 32-9 in Durban, and were on the losing side in the 2002 and 2007 finals. They ended their 12 year trophy drought in 2011, beating The Sharks 42-16 in Johannesburg.
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Famous quotes containing the words golden and/or years:
“All saints revile her, and all sober men
Ruled by the God Apollo’s golden mean—”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)
“For 350 years we have been taught that reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man. Football’s place is to add a patina of character, a deference to the rules and a respect for authority.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)