All to play for – SuperSport Rugby Challenge
THE newly unveiled SuperSport Rugby Challenge trophy.
THE battle is on for the newly unveiled SuperSport Rugby Challenge trophy when the provincial teams take to the field.
The SuperSport Rugby Challenge was launched on April 10 at the Bill Jardine Stadium.
The 15 teams will do battle in three geographical pools, with each playing home and away against the other four teams in their pool over a 10-week period.
Six pool matches will be played every weekend for 10 weeks, followed by seven knockout games.
The top two teams from each pool, together with the two third-placed teams with the most log points, will qualify for the quarter-finals, which will take place on July 2, followed by the semi-finals a week later and the final on July 16.
Rugby festivals will also takes place in conjunction with the SuperSport Rugby Challenge at five different venues across South Africa, with provincial and club teams in action.
The Bill Jardine Stadium is one of the five venues that will host Rugby Festival Days in the coming months.
This is one of the fresh initiatives of the new competition, which will see four provincial teams and two local club sides contest for glory in three consecutive televised matches from the same ground.
The rugby festivals will aim to entice local communities to come out to support local clubs, as well as their provincial team, in what promises to provide massive exposure to players and help establish new heroes in communities and provinces.
Photo: Annette van Schalkwyk
Other venues that will host Rugby Festival Days, all of them on Sundays, are the Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Impala Rugby Club in Rustenburg (the venue of last year’s club rugby Gold Cup Final), East London (venue to be confirmed) and Bridgton Sports Grounds in Oudtshoorn.
There will be a minimum of four hours of rugby action offered to spectators and TV viewers.
The competition, which will also include Namibia’s Welwitschias, kicks off on April 21 and will be divided into three regions – north, south and central – with local bragging rights up for grabs.
The first Rugby Festival will take place at the Wolfson Stadium on Sunday, April 23, and will see local clubs African Bombers and PE Harlequins face off in an appetising start to the day, followed by SuperSport Rugby Challenge clashes between Border and Boland, with the final match between EP Kings and DHL Western Province.
“The SuperSport Rugby Challenge will take professional rugby to places it has never been before,” said SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux.
“A new playing day, new venues and new match schedules will set the SuperSport Rugby Challenge apart. We’re very excited to see the response to moving some of the matches away from the professional venues, as the passion for the game burns brightly in our rugby heartlands, and together with SuperSport this is precisely where we will be going to share that excitement.”
SuperSport Rugby Challenge Pools:
North: Vodacom Blue Bulls, Xerox Golden Lions, Hino Valke, Steval Pumas, Namibia Welwitschias
Central: Toyota Free State Cheetahs, Down Touch Griffons, Tafel Lager Griquas, Leopards, Cell C Sharks XV
South: Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs, EP Kings, SWD Eagles, DHL Western Province
For free daily local news in the south, visit our sister newspapers Alberton Record, Comaro Chronicle, Southern Courier and Get it Joburg South Magazine.
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. You can also email our offices on cvdwalt@caxton.co.za, juliem@caxton.co.za or luckyt@caxton.co.za
Add us on WhatsApp today! Alberton Record: 060 644 5264 Comaro Chronicle: 079 427 8074 and Southern Courier: 079 404 5789.
