# 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division

The 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 75th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 10 August to 26 October 2013. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) was the top tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition.

## Competition
### Regular season and title playoffs

There were 6 participating teams in the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that score 4 or more tries in a game, as well as to teams losing a match by 7 points or less. Teams were ranked by log points.
The top 4 teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semifinals, 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 played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.

### Relegation playoffs

The bottom team on the log qualified for the promotion/relegation play-offs. That team played off against the team placed first in the 2013 Currie Cup First Division over two legs. The winner over these two ties (determined via team tables, with all Currie Cup ranking regulations in effect) qualified for the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division, while the losing team qualified for the 2014 Currie Cup First Division.

## Teams

2013 Currie Cup Premier Division teams :
| Team | Sponsored Name | Stadium/s | Sponsored Name |
| Blue Bulls | Vodacom Blue Bulls | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | Loftus Versfeld |
| Free State Cheetahs | Toyota Free State Cheetahs | Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein | Free State Stadium |
| Golden Lions | MTN Golden Lions | Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg | Ellis Park Stadium |
| Griquas | GWK Griquas | Griqua Park, Kimberley | GWK Park |
| Sharks | Sharks | Kings Park Stadium, Durban | Growthpoint Kings Park |
| Western Province | DHL Western Province | Newlands Stadium, Cape Town | DHL Newlands |

## Log
### Final standings

2013 Currie Cup Premier Division Log :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Western Province | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 245 | 201 | +44 | 23 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 37 | Title play-off semi-final |
| 2 | Sharks | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 271 | 223 | +48 | 28 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 33 | Title play-off semi-final |
| 3 | Free State Cheetahs | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 262 | 238 | +24 | 31 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 26 | Title play-off semi-final |
| 4 | Golden Lions | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 326 | 296 | +30 | 40 | 31 | 5 | 3 | 26 | Title play-off semi-final |
| 5 | Blue Bulls | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 225 | 253 | −28 | 24 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 17 | |
| 6 | Griquas | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 208 | 326 | −118 | 17 | 36 | 1 | 6 | 11 | Relegation Play-Offs |

### Round-by-round

| Team Progression – 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division |
| Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 |
| Western Province | 2 (3rd) | 6 (2nd) | 10 (1st) | 12 (3rd) | 16 (1st) | 20 (1st) | 24 (2nd) | 28 (2nd) | 33 (1st) | 37 (1st) |
| Sharks | 1 (6th) | 5 (4th) | 9 (2nd) | 14 (1st) | 15 (2nd) | 19 (2nd) | 24 (1st) | 28 (1st) | 32 (2nd) | 33 (2nd) |
| Free State Cheetahs | 5 (1st) | 6 (3rd) | 7 (3rd) | 12 (2nd) | 12 (4th) | 16 (3rd) | 16 (4th) | 17 (4th) | 22 (3rd) | 26 (3rd) |
| Golden Lions | 1 (5th) | 1 (6th) | 6 (4th) | 9 (4th) | 14 (3rd) | 15 (4th) | 20 (3rd) | 21 (3rd) | 21 (4th) | 26 (4th) |
| Blue Bulls | 2 (4th) | 6 (1st) | 6 (6th) | 6 (6th) | 10 (5th) | 10 (5th) | 11 (5th) | 16 (5th) | 17 (5th) | 17 (5th) |
| Griquas | 4 (2nd) | 5 (5th) | 6 (5th) | 6 (5th) | 8 (6th) | 9 (6th) | 10 (6th) | 10 (6th) | 10 (6th) | 11 (6th) |
| The table above shows a team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets. |
| Key: | win | draw | loss | |

## Fixtures and results

The following fixtures were released:
All times are South African (GMT+2).

### Title Play-Off Games
#### Semi-finals
#### Final

* 2013 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Champions
* Sharks 7th title

## Promotion/relegation games
### Log

2013 Currie Cup promotion/relegation games :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Pumas (P) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division |
| 2 | Griquas (R) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2014 Currie Cup First Division |

### Results
## Players
### Player statistics

The following table contain only points which have been scored in competitive games in the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division.
All point scorers :
| No | Player | Team | T | C | P | DG | Pts |
| 1 | Marnitz Boshoff | Golden Lions | 2 | 20 | 14 | 0 | 92 |
| 2 | Fred Zeilinga | Sharks | 1 | 13 | 17 | 3 | 91 |
| 3 | Kurt Coleman | Western Province | 0 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 81 |
| 4 | Riaan Smit | Free State Cheetahs | 2 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 70 |
| 5 | Demetri Catrakilis | Western Province | 1 | 5 | 16 | 2 | 69 |
| 6 | Elton Jantjies | Golden Lions | 2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 65 |
| 7 | Elgar Watts | Free State Cheetahs | 4 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 63 |
| 8 | Handré Pollard | Blue Bulls | 0 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 62 |
| 9 | Nico Scheepers | Griquas | 1 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 51 |
| 10 | Patrick Lambie | Sharks | 1 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 48 |
| 11 | Butch James | Sharks | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 43 |
| 12 | Francois Brummer | Griquas | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 38 |
| 13 | Gouws Prinsloo | Griquas | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 37 |
| 14 | Raymond Rhule | Free State Cheetahs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| 15 | Derick Minnie | Golden Lions | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| 15 | Anthony Volmink | Golden Lions | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| 17 | Tony Jantjies | Blue Bulls | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 29 |
| 18 | Jaco Kriel | Golden Lions | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 19 | Jurgen Visser | Blue Bulls | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| 20 | Gary van Aswegen | Western Province | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 22 |
| 21 | Gio Aplon | Western Province | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 | Jacques Botes | Sharks | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 | Damian de Allende | Western Province | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 | Deon Fourie | Western Province | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 | SP Marais | Sharks | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 | Lwazi Mvovo | Sharks | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 | Francois Venter | Blue Bulls | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 | Heimar Williams | Sharks | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 29 | Willie Britz | Golden Lions | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 29 | Cheslin Kolbe | Western Province | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 29 | Charl McLeod | Sharks | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 29 | Sarel Pretorius | Free State Cheetahs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 29 | Boom Prinsloo | Free State Cheetahs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 29 | Michael Rhodes | Western Province | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 29 | Johann Sadie | Free State Cheetahs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 29 | Paul Willemse | Blue Bulls | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 37 | Rory Arnold | Griquas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Bjorn Basson | Blue Bulls | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Andries Coetzee | Golden Lions | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Keegan Daniel | Sharks | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Hennie Daniller | Free State Cheetahs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Juan de Jongh | Western Province | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Ruan Dreyer | Golden Lions | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Robert Ebersohn | Free State Cheetahs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Carel Greeff | Griquas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Deon Helberg | Golden Lions | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Rocco Jansen | Griquas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Lappies Labuschagné | Free State Cheetahs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Wiaan Liebenberg | Blue Bulls | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Akona Ndungane | Blue Bulls | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Cobus Reinach | Sharks | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Marnus Schoeman | Griquas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | William Small-Smith | Blue Bulls | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Schalk van der Merwe | Free State Cheetahs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Jacques van Rooyen | Golden Lions | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | PJ Vermeulen | Griquas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 37 | Warren Whiteley | Golden Lions | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 58 | Willie du Plessis | Free State Cheetahs | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 59 | David Bulbring | Blue Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Nizaam Carr | Western Province | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Robbie Coetzee | Golden Lions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Jean Cook | Blue Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Kyle Cooper | Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Dalton Davis | Griquas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Jean Deysel | Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Jacques du Plessis | Blue Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Johan Goosen | Free State Cheetahs | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Nic Groom | Western Province | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Stokkies Hanekom | Golden Lions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Wiehahn Herbst | Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Patrick Howard | Western Province | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Travis Ismaiel | Blue Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | AJ le Roux | Free State Cheetahs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Tiaan Liebenberg | Western Province | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Louis Ludik | Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Kevin Luiters | Free State Cheetahs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Sizo Maseko | Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Howard Mnisi | Griquas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Ruhan Nel | Golden Lions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Jaco Nepgen | Griquas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Rudy Paige | Blue Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Jono Ross | Blue Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Burger Schoeman | Griquas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Brynard Stander | Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Jean Stemmet | Griquas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Adriaan Strauss | Free State Cheetahs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Warwick Tecklenburg | Golden Lions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Gerhard van den Heever | Western Province | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Franco van der Merwe | Golden Lions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Marcel van der Merwe | Blue Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Piet van Zyl | Free State Cheetahs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Marco Wentzel | Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Willie Wepener | Golden Lions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 59 | Tim Whitehead | Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 95 | DuRandt Gerber | Griquas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 96 | penalty try | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| * Legend: T = Tries, C = Conversions, P = Penalties, DG = Drop Goals, Pts = Points ||||||||

## Awards

| Month | Coach of the Month | Team | Player of the Month | Team |
| August | Brendan Venter, Sean Everett, Brad McLeod-Henderson | Sharks | Cheslin Kolbe | Western Province |
| September | Allister Coetzee | Western Province | Scarra Ntubeni | Western Province |
| October | Allister Coetzee | Western Province | Damian de Allende | Western Province |