Top 15 tries of the 2026 Currie Cup

The 2026 edition of the Currie Cup served up champagne rugby, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects the 15 best tries of the tournament.

ALSO READ: Top 15 tries of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour.

New and familiar faces thrilled in this year’s Currie Cup. The season was jam-packed with epic action; no less than 260 tries were scored at an astonishing average of 8.4 per match.

No longer Western Province, the Stormers XXIII made their debut this year, and while the Capetonians failed to make the playoffs, they were the only side to beat the eventual champions.

The competition came to an exciting climax in Kimberley, where the defending champion Griquas sealed a hard-fought 23-16 win over the Pumas to pull off a historic double.

The Peacock Blues strutted their stuff and scored many of the best tries of the tournament, but they weren’t alone in expressing themselves and producing pearlers.

Without further ado, here are my picks for the top 15 tries of the 2026 season:

15: Spin Doctor

Stormers XXIII wing Joel Leotlela whipped up one of the best finishes of the season in the North-South derby, spinning his way past a bamboozled Riyaad Bam.

14: Hot Hands

Considering the small square footage they had to work with, the Boland Kavaliers had no right to score this try against the Cheetahs. It was the men from Wellington’s hot hands that did the trick as a series of offloads led to Bentley Geldenhuys going over.

13: Go Go Gilly

Junior Springbok star Luan Gilomee showed why he’s one of the most exciting youngsters in South Africa with this assist, getting on the outside of the first defender and unleashing his captain Ross Braude with a two-handed offload.

12: Staying Alive

The Lions kept their playoff hopes alive with a runaway win over the Stormers XXIII that included this try Latica Nela brilliantly set up by Ethan Adams and Gilermo Mentoe.

11: Loftus Shootout

The Cheetahs outscored the Bulls nine tries to eight, the pick of the bunch seeing Zander du Plessis slice through before Michael Annies shrugged off one defender and stepped the final man.

10: The Tank Has Arrived

With the clock in the red, Junior Springbok sensation Ethan “The Tank” Adams announced himself on the Currie Cup stage by expertly setting up Gilermo Mentoe for a try against the Sharks XV. Unfortunately for the Lions, Sam Francis failed with his conversion attempt, with the match in Pietermaritzburg ending in a draw.

9: Super Start

Lyle Matthews scored this screamer on his way to completing a hat-trick on debut for the Sharks XV against the Pumas.

8: Semi-final Stunner

Griquas stormed into the decider thanks to tries like this against the Lions in the semi-final, Sako Makata countering and drawing in two defenders before offloading to Bobby Alexander, who put Marco de Witt away.

7: Golden Goose

Once Stefan Coetzee passed to Gurswin Wehr, the alarm bells should’ve been ringing for the Sharks XV. The Griquas flyer goose-stepped his way in between two defenders and popped a beautiful ball off the ground for Bobby Alexander to score.

6: Sliding Into a New Era

Teens today are all about sliding into DMs but Mfundo Ndhlovu showed them how to score in such fashion after a good break by Cornel Smit in the Stormers XXIII’s competition debut against Griquas.

5: 50 up in Style

Gurswin Wehr was the best courier in Kimberley when he set up Bobby Alexander for this beauty against the Bulls XV, which saw the scrumhalf celebrate his 50th cap for Griquas with a hat-trick.

4: Wits Blitz

The Lions shot out of the blocks against Boland at Wits Rugby Stadium, Exauce Kevani cutting inside and running free before linking up with Thando Biyela, who gave the scoring pass to Keagan Smith.

3: No hamstring? No problem

Not even a busted wheel could stop the Peacock Blues from cantering to a 56-26 win over the Bulls XV in Round Two. Attacking from a scrum inside their own half, the hosts let it rip to Cameron Hufke, who showed his pace and gutsy improvisational skills to grubber ahead after pulling his hamstring, with Gurswin Wehr winning the race to dot down. 

2: Griquas Double Down

Griquas kicked up a storm against the Lions with Mnombo Zwelendaba chipping for centre partner Zane Bester, whose grubber rolled in goal where Bobby Alexander collected and cashed in.

1: Beautiful Madness

This long-range counter-attacking classic conjured up by the terrific Griquas trio of Mnombo Zwelendaba, Gurshwin Weir and Bobby Alexander in the Central derby was not poetry in motion but rather beautiful madness. Instead of a blow-by-blow breakdown, simply sit back and bask in the brilliance.