Thursday 23 October 2014 13:19, UK
The domestic competitions of the two top-ranked countries in world rugby come to a conclusion this weekend as Taranaki and Tasman contest the ITM Cup final before Western Province host the Golden Lions for the Currie Cup trophy. Both game are live on Sky Sports.
The ITM Cup
Tasman, coached by Kieran Keane and Leon MacDonald, have an opportunity to become the first ever team to win the ITM Championship and Premiership in consecutive seasons after narrowly beating Hawkes Bay in last years Championship final and advancing immediately to the final in the Premiership.
History will be made regardless of which team wins this weekend as neither side has ever won the competition and this is the first time since finals were introduced to the tournament in 1992 that the decider will be contested by two non-Super Rugby franchise bases.
Favourites Canterbury limped to a 26-6 loss to Tasman in Nelson last weekend, which brought to an end their six-year streak of sucessive ITM Cup finals - all of which they won – paving the way for a new team to stake claim to the trophy. These teams are an indication that domestic rugby in All Black country is strong, and this promises to be an uncompromising but enterprising encounter between two of New Zealand's smaller unions.
Taranaki hosted the second semi-final at the Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth last weekend and had to fight hard against a talented Auckland team. Both sides would have felt the pressure when the final whistle blew with the game poised at 30-all but it was Taranaki who took charge of extra time, putting 19 points on the board to secure their maiden appearance in the final.
These two sides last met in September in what was one of the most thrilling encounters of this year's competition. Tasman were leading the game 30-24 and had the ball in hand when the final whistle went, but kept the ball in play in an attempt to score a fourth try and earn the bonus point. In their eagerness the Tasman side conceded a penalty which Taranaki took quickly, swept their way up the field and scored a dramatic try, which was then successfully converted by fly-half Marty McKenzie to give his side a famous 31-30 win.
Taranaki v Tasman, Saturday 7.35am, Sky Sports 2 HD
The Currie Cup
The Currie Cup has reached its climactic finale with a match-up between two of the three most successful teams in the tournament's history.
Western Province will host the final after finishing top of the table at the end of the regular season and beating a resurgent Bulls outfit 31–23 at Newlands in the semi-final on Saturday.
But it was the Lions who were first to lay down their marker for the Newlands final with a 50–20 hammering of the defending champions, the Sharks, in Johannesburg earlier in the day. The Sharks had only conceded an average of two tries per game in the round-robin stage of the tournament – the lowest of all the teams – while the Lions had scored the most tries in the regular season, with 44 to their name. In the end it was attack, not defence, that won the day as the Lions scored six tries past the men from Durban on their way to the final.
Western Province on the other hand won in far more traditional terms in their battle with the Bulls in Cape Town. Fly-half Demetri Catrakillis scored 16 points as his side earned their spot in the final of South Africa's domestic competition. The Cape Town side were helped by two wide-ranging tries from fullback Cheslin Kolbe, but it was Western Province's pivot who steered them to the win over old rivals the Bulls.
It will be guille against raw speed and power as the experienced Western Province take on the youthful Lions outfit who, despite having almost no internationals to speak of, have been playing with the most ambition in this year's Currie Cup.
The Lions have made the semi-finals in each of the last four Currie Cup competitions, but this is only the second time they've made it into the final. Conversely their Cape opponents have enjoyed more success in recent times, and they are attending their third final in as many years.
Western Province v Lions, Saturday 3.55pm, Sky Sports 4 HD
