Printingpress Pro Extreme 7.0 here. Find the perfect Sharks South African Rugby Team stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Download premium images you can't get anywhere else. The Sharks have, over the past decade, evolved from a provincial rugby brand to a commercially recognised sporting brand of international acclaim.
Team Official website The Sharks are a team that participates in the annual tournament. The Sharks' home stadium is. They draw most of their players from the. The Sharks are the current representative team of the Natal Rugby Union, founded in 1890. The team is the fourth most successful provincial union in the country, having won the title seven times. Natal won its first Currie Cup competition in 1990, the same year the union celebrated its centenary anniversary.
Since then the Sharks have won the in 1992, 1995, 1996, 2008, 2010 and most recently in 2013. For most of their history, the team was known simply as 'Natal', with a nickname of 'The Banana Boys' until the mid-1990s when they were re-branded as the Sharks. The team that plays in the competition is essentially the same team - they also play in Durban and draw their players from. For most of Super Rugby history, the Sharks Super Rugby franchise drew players from a much larger area than the Sharks provincial union, with the rugby unions of, based in and from included in the Sharks franchise.
Since 2013 the functions on its own, and no longer supplies players to the Sharks franchise. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • History [ ] Early history [ ] The Natal Rugby Union, renamed the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union (KZNRU) in 1999 was formed in 1890, but it took 66 years for the union to enjoy its first Currie Cup final.
In the interim, the province did produce its fair share of quality players, including Springboks, and, who led on the country’s unbeaten tour of and in. Whilst the 1920s and 30's saw Natal improve from one the weakest unions in the Currie Cup to becoming a more competitive mid-table team, the team still struggled against the quality of sides such as Western Province and Transvaal. Wurth Wow.
1920 to 1990 - The years of pain [ ] Natal didn't enjoy any success prior to the 1960s, although legendary coach did manage to fashion two unbeaten seasons in ’61 and ’63, when the Currie Cup competition wasn’t held. The 1956 final saw Natal up against and even though it was contested at in Durban, 9-8 was the score in favour of the men from. With so many Springbok test matches in the early 1960s, the Currie Cup was contested only four times in that decade. Natal failed to make an impression, despite being able to call on the likes of Springboks and. But the province did succeed in building its own unique style of exciting rugby, thanks to the foresight and genius of Van Heerden.
Van Heerden, who coached Natal from the late 1950s into the ‘60s, was ahead of his time, fostering a brand of rugby that placed so much emphasis on ball retention and the interplay of forwards and backs to produce try-scoring opportunities.Nonetheless, Natal saw very little success in the 1970s, until the arrival of from Pretoria in late 1979. What followed was a rare third-place finish in the Currie Cup in 1980, with Claassen receiving inspirational support from and former. The standout result was a 22-19 defeat of Northern Transvaal – Natal’s first win over Northern's at in 41 years. Went on to win the Currie Cup again that year, but Natal were the only side to get the better of them. 1981 to 1985 - Relegation to Section B [ ] During the 80s, Natal could call on players of the calibre of,, and, but relegation to the B-Section followed in ’81. The side made up for this in 1984 by qualifying for the Currie Cup final, despite plying their trade in the B-Section. That was after a stunning semi-final victory over, thanks to two tries from and one each from and Claassen.