# 1998 Currie Cup

The 1998 Currie Cup was the 60th season of the Currie Cup, South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, since it started in 1889. The competition was known as the Bankfin Currie Cup for sponsorship reasons and was contested from 8 July to 29 October 1998.
The competition was won by the Blue Bulls for the 18th time in their history; they beat Western Province 24–20 in the final played on 29 October 1998.

## Competition rules and information

There were fourteen participating teams in the 1998 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

| 1998 Currie Cup teams |
| Team | Sponsored Name | Stadium/s | Sponsored Name |
| Blue Bulls | Blue Bulls | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | Minolta Loftus |
| Boland Cavaliers | Bokomo Boland Cavaliers | Boland Stadium, Wellington | Boland Stadium |
| Border | Border | Waverley Park, East London | Waverley Park |
| Eastern Province | Eastern Province | PE Stadium, Port Elizabeth | PE Stadium |
| Falcons | MTN Falcons | Bosman Stadium, Brakpan | Bosman Stadium |
| Free State Cheetahs | Free State Cheetahs | Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein | Vodacom Park |
| Golden Lions | Golden Lions | Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg | Ellis Park Stadium |
| Griqualand West | Griqualand West | Griqua Park, Kimberley | ABSA Park |
| Mpumalanga Pumas | Mpumalanga Pumas | Johann van Riebeeck Stadium, Witbank | Johann van Riebeeck Stadium |
| North West | North West | Olën Park, Potchefstroom | Olën Park |
| Northern Free State | Northern Free State | North West Stadium, Welkom | North West Stadium |
| Sharks | Sharks | University of Natal, Durban | University of Natal |
| SWD Eagles | SWD Eagles | Outeniqua Park, George | Outeniqua Park |
| Western Province | Norwich Western Province | Newlands Stadium, Cape Town | Fedsure Park Newlands |

### Changes from 1997

There were name changes prior to this season:
* Boland were renamed Boland Cavaliers
* Gauteng Lions were renamed Golden Lions
* Northern Transvaal were renamed the Blue Bulls

## Log

The final log of the round-robin stage of the 1998 Currie Cup:
1998 Currie Cup log :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Griqualand West | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 478 | 216 | +262 | 70 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 50 | semi-finals |
| 2 | Blue Bulls | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 461 | 231 | +230 | 65 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 49 | semi-finals |
| 3 | Sharks | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 410 | 242 | +168 | 54 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 47 | semi-finals |
| 4 | Western Province | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 371 | 247 | +124 | 49 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 47 | semi-finals |
| 5 | Free State Cheetahs | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 453 | 314 | +139 | 56 | 31 | 8 | 1 | 43 | |
| 6 | Falcons | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 381 | 285 | +96 | 48 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 43 | |
| 7 | SWD Eagles | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 378 | 290 | +88 | 51 | 38 | 7 | 2 | 39 | |
| 8 | Golden Lions | 13 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 389 | 279 | +110 | 55 | 37 | 6 | 2 | 36 | |
| 9 | Eastern Province | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 345 | 313 | +32 | 46 | 45 | 5 | 3 | 28 | |
| 10 | Boland Cavaliers | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 253 | 456 | −203 | 38 | 67 | 3 | 1 | 24 | |
| 11 | Mpumalanga Pumas | 13 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 284 | 381 | −97 | 37 | 52 | 3 | 2 | 21 | |
| 12 | Border | 13 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 236 | 472 | −236 | 27 | 68 | 3 | 2 | 13 | |
| 13 | North West | 13 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 236 | 637 | −401 | 28 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 14 | Northern Free State | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 212 | 524 | −312 | 27 | 72 | 4 | 1 | 9 | |

## Matches

The following matches were played in the 1998 Currie Cup:

### Final
## Honours

The honour roll for the 1998 Currie Cup was:
1998 Currie Cup Honours :
| Champions: | Blue Bulls (18th title) |