Vodacom Cup

Vodacom Cup
Competition logo
Sport Rugby union
Founded 1998
Inaugural season 1998
Ceased 2015
No. of teams 16
Country South Africa
Namibia
Argentina
Kenya
Last
champion(s)		 Pumas
Most titles Golden Lions /
Griquas (5)
Sponsor(s) Vodacom
Related
competitions		 Currie Cup

The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. Mobile communications provider Vodacom was the title sponsor for the entire duration of the competition.

The competition was the third most prestigious in South African rugby, behind Super Rugby and the Currie Cup. It was contested at roughly the same time as Super Rugby each season from February to June and featured a combination of Super Rugby players returning from injury, reserve players attempting to maintain their fitness levels and younger players trying to break through to the Super Rugby or Currie Cup sides. It therefore served as an important developmental competition for South African rugby.

The competition was held every season between the fourteen South African rugby unions, but several additional teams also took part during the competition's history. The Limpopo Blue Bulls, officially a sub-union of the Blue Bulls, took part as a separate team between 2013 and 2015. Namibian side the Welwitschias played in the competition between 1999 and 2001, in 2010, 2011 and in 2015. Argentine side Pampas XV participated in the competition between 2010 and 2013 and a Simba XV from Kenya competed in 2014.[1][2]

The most successful teams in the history of the competition were Griquas and the Golden Lions, each winning it on five occasions. The Golden Lions also won the competition for three consecutive seasons between 2002 and 2004.

Between 2001 and 2004, the competition was split into two tier, with the top half of teams competing for the Vodacom Cup and the bottom half competing for the Vodacom Shield.

The final edition of the competition was in 2015, with SARU deciding to restructure the domestic competitions from the 2016 season onwards. A competition called the Rugby Challenge succeeded the Vodacom Cup in 2017.

The Vodacom Cup logo 1998–2010

Teams

The results of the teams that participated in the Vodacom Cup throughout the competition's history is as follows:

Vodacom Cup 1998–2015
Team 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Blue Bulls 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd
Boland Cavaliers 2nd
Border Bulldogs
Eastern Province Kings
Falcons 1st
Free State XV 1st 2nd 2nd
Golden Lions 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd
Griffons
Griquas 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st
Leopards XV 2nd
Limpopo Blue Bulls N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Argentina Pampas XV N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 1st N/A N/A
Pumas 2nd 1st
Sharks XV 2nd
Kenya Simba XV N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
SWD Eagles
Namibia Welwitschias N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Western Province 1st 2nd
Key: Champion Runner-up Lost in SF Lost in QF Did not enter
Some teams played under different names. Each team's record is shown against the team name as per the 2015 Vodacom Cup.

Finals

The results of the finals played in the Vodacom Cup competition are as follows:

Vodacom Cup finals
Season Winner Score Runner-Up
1998 Griqualand West57–0 Golden Lions
1999 Golden Lions73–7 Griqualand West
2000 Free State Cheetahs44–24 Griqualand West
2001 Blue Bulls42–24 Boland Cavaliers
2002 Golden Lions54–38 Blue Bulls
2003 Golden Lions26–17 Blue Bulls
2004 Golden Lions35–16 Blue Bulls
2005 Griquas27–25 Leopards
2006 Falcons25–17 Natal Wildebeest
2007 Griquas33–29 Blue Bulls
2008 Blue Bulls25–21 Free State Cheetahs
2009 Griquas28–19 Blue Bulls
2010 Blue Bulls31–29 Free State Cheetahs
2011 Pampas XV14–9 Blue Bulls
2012 Western Province20–18 Griquas
2013 Golden Lions42–28 Pumas
2014 Griquas30–6 Golden Lions
2015 Pumas24–7 Western Province

The Vodacom Cup Trophy

The Vodacom Cup

Overall Record

The overall record for the teams in the Vodacom Cup competition is as follows:

Vodacom Cup Overall Record
Ranking Team Name Champions Runner-Up Semi-Final Quarter Final
1 Griquas5 (1998, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2014)333
2 Golden Lions5 (1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013)216
3 Blue Bulls3 (2001, 2008, 2010)642
4 Free State Cheetahs1 (2000)235
5 Western Province1 (2012)135
6 Pumas1 (2015)131
7 Falcons1 (2006)030
8 Pampas XV1 (2011)002
9 Sharks XV0154
10 Boland Cavaliers0143
11 Leopards0133
12 Eastern Province Kings0013
SWD Eagles0013
14 Border Bulldogs0000
Griffons0000
Limpopo Blue Bulls0000
Simba XV0000
Welwitschias0000

Vodacom Shield

From 2001 to 2004, the teams finishing outside the top 4 in the pool phases played in a secondary competition called the Vodacom Shield.

Finals

The results of the finals played in the Vodacom Shield competition are as follows:

Vodacom Cup finals
Season Winner Score Runner-Up
2001 Griffons40–27 Mighty Elephants
2002 Mighty Elephants26–20 Natal
2003 Border Bulldogs32–0 Griquas
2004 Boland Cavaliers19–12 SWD Eagles

Overall Record

The overall record for the teams in the Vodacom Cup competition is as follows:

Vodacom Shield Overall Record
Ranking Team Name Champions Runner-Up Semi-Final
1 Eastern Province Kings1 (2002)11
2 Border Bulldogs1 (2003)01
3 Boland Cavaliers1 (2004)00
Griffons1 (2001)00
5 Griquas011
SWD Eagles011
7 Sharks XV010
8 Western Province002
9 Leopards001
Pumas001
11 Falcons000

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Argentina and Namibia to play in Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  2. ↑ "SA Rugby Log – 2010 Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
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