2018 Currie Cup First Division

The 2018 Currie Cup First Division was the second tier of the 2018 Currie Cup, the 80th edition of the annual South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union. It was played between 24 August and 19 October 2018 and featured seven of the eight teams that played in 2017, following Namibian side ' withdrawal.

The competition was won by the, who beat the 36–27 in the final played on 19 October 2018.

Competition rules and information
There were seven participating teams in the 2018 Currie Cup First Division. They played each other once during the pool stage, either at home or away. Teams receive 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 four teams in the pool stage qualified for the semifinals, which were followed by a final.

Financial crisis and withdrawal of Welwitschias
The start of the 2018 Currie Cup First Division was marred by financial problems following the South African Rugby Union's announcement that First Division teams' budgets would be cut by 52%. The announced that they would reduce player contracts to 8-month contracts and the  intimated that they might forfeit away matches to save on travel costs. and there were serious concerns about the participation of teams like the and. Namibian side were informed that they would have to pay the travel costs for teams travelling to games in Windhoek, but — after initial reports indicated that they raised the money with the help of World Rugby — they could not raise the required funds and announced their withdrawal from the competition.

Teams
The teams that played in the 2018 Currie Cup First Division are:

Standings
The final log for the 2018 Currie Cup First Division was:

Round-by-round
The table below shows a team's progression throughout the season. For each round, each team's cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.

Matches
The following matches were played in the 2018 Currie Cup First Division:

Round One
The 2018 Currie Cup First Division season kicked off with an away victory for the in George, beating home side  27–25 in a close affair. The other two matches of the round was far more comprehensive; the scored ten converted tries in their 70–12 victory over the  in Robertson, with Zandré Jordaan, Tapiwa Tsomondo and Valentino Wellman scoring two each, and the  also scored ten tries in their 66–27 victory over the  in Kempton Park, where Friedle Olivier and Etienne Taljaard scored braces.

Round Two
The moved to the top of the log after a 56–52 victory over defending champions the. For the second match in succession, Friedle Olivier and Etienne Taljaard each scored two tries for the Falcons, while a hat-trick from prop Danie van der Merwe was not enough for the team from Welkom. The kept in touch with the Falcons, securing their second win of the competition after beating the  35–12 in Potchefstroom, while the  outscored the  37–22 in East London, with three players – Ruben Schoeman and Marlo Weich for the SWD Eagles and Sonwabiso Mqalo for the Border Bulldogs – getting two tries in the match.

Round Three
A bye for leaders the saw the  take over top spot in the competition following their 28–21 bonus point victory over the  in Port Elizabeth. Defending champions the suffered their second loss in a row, being beaten 7–32 by a  side for whom Marlo Weich scored two tries for the second match in a row, moving into second place on the log in the process. The weekend's other match saw the beat the  24–17 in Bredasdorp in their first victory of the season.

Round Four
A fourth different team moved to the top of the log in as many weeks as the moved into top spot following a 36–34 victory over the  in a match that saw the teams share 12 tries. The kept up the pressure by also securing a narrow away win, beating the  48–45 in Welkom, with Charlie Mayeza scoring two tries and Elgar Watts contributing 15 points in the match for the visitors, while a hat-trick for Japie Nel and a brace for Cody Basson was in vain for the home side. The emerged victorious in the Eastern Cape derby, with doubles from Sonwabiso Mqalo and Sipho Nofemele helping their team to a 39–26 win over the.

Round Five
The returned to the top of the log after beating the  47–22, with fullback Gerhard Nortier scoring two tries for the team from Potchefstroom. The moved into third place following a low-scoring 20–7 win over the  in Lambert's Bay, while the  won the match between the two winless teams, beating the  35–22 with wing Rodney Damons scoring a hat-trick for the winning team.

Round Six
The moved back to the top of the log following a 54–28 victory over the, securing a semifinal spot in the process. Seven different players scored tries for the home side, with fly-half Divan Nel contributing 19 points with the boot, while a brace from loose forward Tapiwa Tsomondo was in vain for the away side. Round Five log leaders the suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 29–40 to the  in Welkom, but also secured a play-off spot. Three players scored two tries each in the match — Tertius Maarman and Barend Potgieter for the Griffons and Gerhard Nortier for the Leopards — as the Griffons maintained their play-off push by moving up to fifth spot. The biggest victory of the round came in Kempton Park, where the ran in 15 tries in a 101–29 victory over the  to secure the third semifinal place. Winger Etienne Taljaard scored four tries for the Falcons, with Coert Cronjé, Thabo Mabuza and Friedle Olivier getting two each, while scrumhalf Anrich Richter converted 11 of his side's tries.

Round Seven
In the first match of the weekend, the leap-frogged the  into second place on the log after winning the match between the teams 41–35, securing a home semifinal against the same opposition. Anrich Richter contributed 18 points for the home team, while a hat-trick for visiting winger Dean Stokes proved futile. The secured top spot after a 36–7 win over bottom-of-the-log, with winger Adri Jacobs scoring two tries, and being awarded to penalty tries in the match. The final place in the play-offs was clinched by the, who beat the 40–7 with hooker Anrich Alberts getting a hat-trick, and in the processed moved into fourth spot ahead of the  who was not in action in this round.

Semifinals
Two home victories saw the and  progress to the final. The Falcons convincingly beat the in Kempton Park, with four tries from loose forward Martin Sithole and 17 points from scrum-half Anrich Richter helping them to a 59–19 victory. It was a lower-scoring affair in George, where the won 22–6 against the, with 17 of the home side's points coming from the boot of fly-half Divan Nel.

Final
The won their third Currie Cup First Division title — following on from wins in 2002 and 2007 — by beating the  36–27 in George, despite being 15–27 down as half-time. Eighth man Wayne Wilschut scored a hat-trick of tries for the home team, with Wynand Grassmann and Marlo Weich getting one each, and Divan Nel kicking 11 points. For the Falcons, Etienne Taljaard scored two more tries to finish as the competition's top try-scorer with 13 tries, while Anrich Richter scored a try and 12 points with the boot to finish as the top points scorer with 105.

Honours
The honour roll for the 2018 Currie Cup First Division was as follows:

Players
The squads and player appearance and scoring statistics for the 2018 Currie Cup First Division are as follows:

Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2018 Currie Cup First Division: