1988 Currie Cup Division B

The 1988 Currie Cup Division B (known as the Santam Bank Currie Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the second division of the Currie Cup competition, the 49th season in the since it started in 1889.

1988 Currie Cup Division B
Countries	South Africa
Date	30 April – 10 September 1988
Champions	Northern Free State
Runners-up	Western Transvaal
Promoted	Northern Free State
Relegated	None
Matches played	31

Teams

Eastern Free State

Eastern Transvaal

Northern Free State

Griqualand West

Vaal Triangle

Western Transvaal

Location of teams in 1988 Currie Cup Division B

1988 Currie Cup Division B
Eastern Free State
Eastern Transvaal
Griqualand West
Northern Free State
Vaal Triangle
Western Transvaal

Competition

Regular season and title play-offs

There were six participating teams in the 1988 Currie Cup Division B. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away. Teams received two points for a win and one points for a draw. The top two teams qualified for the Division B finals, played at the home venue of the higher-placed team.

The winner of the final also qualified for the 1988 Currie Cup Semi-Final.

Promotion play-offs

The top team on the log qualified for the promotion play-offs. That team played off against the team placed seventh in Division A over two legs. The winner over these two ties qualified for the 1989 Currie Cup Division A, while the losing team qualified for the 1989 Currie Cup Division B.

Relegation play-offs

The bottom team on the log qualified for the relegation play-offs. That team played off against the team that won the Santam Bank Trophy Division A over two legs. The winner over these two ties qualified for the 1989 Currie Cup Division B, while the losing team qualified for the 1989 Santam Bank Trophy Division A.

Log

1988 Currie Cup Division B Log
Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	Pts
1	Northern Free State	10	8	1	1	265	125	+140	30	8	17
2	Western Transvaal	10	7	1	2	375	135	+240	55	14	15
3	Griqualand West	10	7	0	3	187	128	+59	24	9	14
4	Vaal Triangle	10	5	0	5	176	120	+56	18	9	10
5	Eastern Transvaal	10	2	0	8	181	242	−61	21	29	4
6	Eastern Free State	10	0	0	10	79	513	−434	3	82	0
Northern Free State qualified for the Currie Cup Semi-Finals. Northern Free State and Western Transvaal qualified for the Final. Northern Free State qualified for the Promotion Play-Off game. Eastern Free State qualified for the Relegation Play-Off game. * Legend: Pos = Position, Pl = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TF = Tries For, TA = Tries Against, Pts = Log Points Points breakdown: *2 points for a win *1 point for a draw

Fixtures and Results

Round One

	30 April 1988	Eastern Free State	12–30	Vaal Triangle	Bethlehem

	30 April 1988	Griqualand West	31–13	Eastern Transvaal	Kimberley

	30 April 1988	Northern Free State	24–24	Western Transvaal	Welkom

Round Two

	5 May 1988	Vaal Triangle	9–12	Northern Free State	Sasolburg

	7 May 1988	Eastern Transvaal	36–9	Eastern Free State	Springs

Bye/s: Griqualand West, Western Transvaal

Round Three

	14 May 1988	Eastern Free State	9–19	Griqualand West	Bethlehem

	14 May 1988	Northern Free State	18–13	Eastern Transvaal	Welkom

	14 May 1988	Western Transvaal	20–9	Vaal Triangle	Potchefstroom

Round Four

	21 May 1988	Griqualand West	19–12	Northern Free State	Kimberley

	21 May 1988	Eastern Transvaal	27–32	Western Transvaal	Springs

Bye/s: Eastern Free State, Vaal Triangle

Round Five

	31 May 1988	Northern Free State	74–6	Eastern Free State	Welkom

	4 June 1988	Western Transvaal	12–18	Griqualand West	Potchefstroom

	4 June 1988	Vaal Triangle	21–0	Eastern Transvaal	Sasolburg

Round Six

	11 June 1988	Eastern Free State	10–68	Western Transvaal	Bethlehem

	11 June 1988	Griqualand West	6–3	Vaal Triangle	Kimberley

Bye/s: Eastern Transvaal, Northern Free State

Round Seven

	2 July 1988	Eastern Transvaal	12–19	Griqualand West	Springs

	2 July 1988	Vaal Triangle	51–0	Eastern Free State	Sasolburg

	2 July 1988	Western Transvaal	6–15	Northern Free State	Potchefstroom

Round Eight

	23 July 1988	Eastern Free State	6–43	Eastern Transvaal	Bethlehem

	23 July 1988	Northern Free State	22–12	Vaal Triangle	Welkom

Bye/s: Griqualand West, Western Transvaal

Round Nine

	6 August 1988	Eastern Transvaal	15–28	Northern Free State	Springs

	6 August 1988	Griqualand West	44–9	Eastern Free State	Kimberley

	6 August 1988	Vaal Triangle	9–21	Western Transvaal	Sasolburg

Round Ten

	20 August 1988	Northern Free State	15–12	Griqualand West	Welkom

	20 August 1988	Western Transvaal	59–4	Eastern Transvaal	Potchefstroom

Bye/s: Eastern Free State, Vaal Triangle

Round Eleven

	26 August 1988	Eastern Transvaal	18–19	Vaal Triangle	Kempton Park

	27 August 1988	Griqualand West	10–30	Western Transvaal	Kimberley

	27 August 1988	Eastern Free State	9 –45	Northern Free State	Bethlehem

Round Twelve

	3 September 1988	Western Transvaal	103–9	Eastern Free State	Potchefstroom

	3 September 1988	Vaal Triangle	13–9	Griqualand West	Sasolburg

Bye/s: Eastern Transvaal, Northern Free State

Final

	10 September 1988	Northern Free State	46–9	Western Transvaal	North West Stadium, Welkom
			Report[1]

Currie Cup Semi-Final

As champions of Division B, Northern Free State qualified to the semi-finals of the main Currie Cup competition, where they met Division A runners-up Western Province.

	17 September 1988	Northern Free State	9–26	Western Province	North West Stadium, Welkom
			Report[2]

Promotion/Relegation Play-Offs

Promotion Play-Offs

In the promotion play-offs, Northern Free State beat Free State on aggregate and won promotion to Division A. Free State were initially relegated, but Division A was expanded to 8 teams and they retained their place.[3]

	24 September 1988	Free State	14–40	Northern Free State	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
			Report[4]

	8 October 1988	Northern Free State	v	Free State	North West Stadium, Welkom
			Report

Relegation Play-Offs

In the relegation play-offs, South Eastern Transvaal beat Eastern Free State on aggregate and won promotion to the 1989 Currie Cup Division B. Eastern Free State were initially relegated to the 1989 Santam Bank Trophy Division A, but due to the Currie Cup Division A's subsequent expansion to 8 teams, they retained their place.[3]

	17 September 1988	Eastern Free State	15–21	South Eastern Transvaal	Bethleham
			Report[5]

	24 September 1988	South Eastern Transvaal	39–12	Eastern Free State	Witbank
			Report[6]

See also

• 1988 Currie Cup Division A
• 1988 Santam Bank Trophy Division A
• 1988 Santam Bank Trophy Division B
• 1988 Lion Cup

References

1. "Noord-Vrystaat op sy beste". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 12 September 1988. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
2. "WP lyk reg vir eindstryd". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 19 September 1988. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
3. "Rugbyraad besluit oor Craven-gesprek Ja vir integrasie, nee vir die ANC". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 12 November 1988. Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
4. "Noord-Vrystaat wen met puik spanwerk". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 26 September 1988. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
5. "Suidoos op pad na CB-status". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 19 September 1988. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
6. "Grobler blink vir Suidoos". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 26 September 1988. Retrieved 29 January 2013.