he, along with Keegan Daniel, Lwazi Mvovo, Willem Alberts and Charl McLeod all went on to gain Springbok honours at the end of the year. The Sharks reached their third final in four years when they finished second on the login 2011, with the Lions finishing top. The Lions had not won a trophy since beating the Sharks in the 1999 Currie Cup final. Despite the odds, a fired-up Lions side emulated the feat of their predecessors of 12 years previously (the Sharks had also suffered a 12-year drought, winning in 1996 and then again in 2008) and ran out winners at a packed Ellis Park in Johannesburg, defeating The Sharks and emerge 2011 Currie Cup champions. It was a similar scenario in 2012 when The Sharks managed, again, to reach the Currie Cup final, hosting it again as they had succeeded in 2008 and 2010. All the signs suggested that they would emulate those feats, but sadly it was Western Province who broke their own 11-year trophy drought in a tight final at Kings Park, with Juan de Jongh dancing through the Sharks defence in the 36th minute to score what would become the match-winning try. The final score was 25-18 in favour of Western Province. However, The Sharks were not to be denied in 2013 when matters were reversed. The final pool match pitted The Sharks and Western Province against one another at Kings Park, the teams one and two on the log. The winner of that match would finish top and thus earn the right to host the final, should they get through. Western Province won 17-13 and finished top of the Currie Cup log, with the Sharks in the second position. Both teams successfully negotiated their way through the semi-finals, Western Province defeated the Golden Lions 33-16 and The Sharks victorious over Free State - 33-22. The 2013 Currie Cup final was held on 26 October 2013 at Newlands in Cape Town. The home side were overwhelming favourites having beaten the Sharks in both pool matches during the season. It was typical derby stuff; a massive clash between the two best teams in the tournament. But it appeared that The Sharks were hungrier. They hit the rucks with greater passion; they smashed Province in the tackles and took their chances to emerge worthy 33-19 victors, holding out against a late, but ultimately ineffective charge from the