Publications
Partners
Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town - There is a joke doing the rounds that when sports predictions cult figure Paul the Octopus died in a German aquarium this week his parting word was “Shaaaarks”.
But it seems the majority of Sport24 readers believe he was actually going to splutter “Shaaaarks … to botch it” before his passing unpleasantly intervened.
A poll we ran asked the very straight question: “Who’ll be crowned Currie Cup champions in Durban on Saturday?”
And as this was written, 2 945 respondents - around 54% - had rooted for Western Province, while the remaining 46% (or 2 503 people) preferred the home triumph.
Just how many neutrals voted is unfortunately not known: it might have been educative to learn, for instance, which way most Blue Bulls fans are leaning - if they still care about the competition this year.
But it’s a vote of confidence for Schalk Burger and company all the same, despite the disadvantage of having to achieve their first Cup win since 2001 in the hostile Shark Tank.
Perhaps readers were influenced by the outcomes of four previous finals between WP and the Sharks, with the blue-and-white-hoops prevailing on three occasions.
In round-robin meetings this year, the tally stands at 1-1, with the Sharks winning 27-16 in Durban and Province 33-21 in Cape Town.
Cape Town - There is a joke doing the rounds that when sports predictions cult figure Paul the Octopus died in a German aquarium this week his parting word was “Shaaaarks”.
But it seems the majority of Sport24 readers believe he was actually going to splutter “Shaaaarks … to botch it” before his passing unpleasantly intervened.
A poll we ran asked the very straight question: “Who’ll be crowned Currie Cup champions in Durban on Saturday?”
And as this was written, 2 945 respondents - around 54% - had rooted for Western Province, while the remaining 46% (or 2 503 people) preferred the home triumph.
Just how many neutrals voted is unfortunately not known: it might have been educative to learn, for instance, which way most Blue Bulls fans are leaning - if they still care about the competition this year.
But it’s a vote of confidence for Schalk Burger and company all the same, despite the disadvantage of having to achieve their first Cup win since 2001 in the hostile Shark Tank.
Perhaps readers were influenced by the outcomes of four previous finals between WP and the Sharks, with the blue-and-white-hoops prevailing on three occasions.
In round-robin meetings this year, the tally stands at 1-1, with the Sharks winning 27-16 in Durban and Province 33-21 in Cape Town.
