2018 Rugby Challenge

The 2018 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – was the second edition of the Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa. The competition was organised by the South African Rugby Union and was played between 21 April and 15 July 2018. The competition featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus Namibian side the Welwitschias.

2018 Rugby Challenge
CountriesSouth Africa
Namibia
Date21 April – 15 July 2018
ChampionsPumas (1st title)
Runners-upGriquas
Matches played67
Tries scored615
(average 9.2 per match)
Top point scorerChris Smith, Pumas (131)
Top try scorerEnver Brandt, Griquas (11)

The competition was won by the Pumas for the first time, after they beat Griquas 32–30 in the final in Oudtshoorn. Pumas fly-half Chris Smith was the top scorer in the competition with 131 points, while Griquas wing Enver Brandt was the top try scorer with 11 tries.

Competition rules and information

The fifteen teams in the competition were divided into three regional sections of five teams. Each team played home and away matches against the other four teams in their section over a ten-week period. The top two teams from each pool, along with the two third-placed teams with the best record progressed to the play-offs, which consisted of quarter finals, a semi-final and a final.[1]

Teams

The teams that competed in the 2018 Rugby Challenge are:

Northern Section
Team Sponsored Name
Blue Bulls XVVodacom Blue Bulls XV
FalconsHino Valke
Golden Lions XVXerox Golden Lions XV
PumasiCollege Pumas
WelwitschiasWindhoek Draught Welwitschias
Central Section
Team Sponsored Name
Free State XVToyota Free State XV
GriffonsDown Touch Griffons
GriquasTafel Lager Griquas
LeopardsLeopards
Sharks XVCell C Sharks XV
Southern Section
Team Sponsored Name
Boland CavaliersBoland Cavaliers
Border BulldogsBorder Bulldogs
Eastern Province ElephantsEastern Province Elephants
SWD EaglesSWD Eagles
Western ProvinceDHL Western Province

Northern Section

Log

2018 Rugby Challenge Northern Section log
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 Pumas8800408152+25655227039
2 Golden Lions XV8503375221+15454307128
3 Blue Bulls XV8503317255+6247327027
4 Falcons8107208367−15930526111
5 Welwitschias8107152465−3132070307

Round-by-round

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

Team Progression – Northern Section
Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 QF SF F
Pumas 4
(2nd)
9
(1st)
9
(2nd)
14
(1st)
19
(1st)
24
(1st)
29
(1st)
29
(1st)
34
(1st)
39
(1st)
Won Won Won
Golden Lions XV 0
(3rd)
1
(4th)
6
(4th)
11
(2nd)
12
(3rd)
12
(3rd)
13
(3rd)
18
(3rd)
23
(3rd)
28
(2nd)
Lost N/A N/A
Blue Bulls XV 0
(4th)
5
(2nd)
10
(1st)
10
(3rd)
15
(2nd)
16
(2nd)
21
(2nd)
26
(2nd)
26
(2nd)
27
(3rd)
Lost N/A N/A
Falcons 5
(1st)
5
(3rd)
6
(3rd)
6
(4th)
6
(4th)
7
(4th)
7
(4th)
9
(4th)
10
(4th)
11
(4th)
N/A N/A N/A
Welwitschias 0
(5th)
0
(5th)
1
(5th)
1
(5th)
1
(5th)
6
(5th)
7
(5th)
7
(5th)
7
(5th)
7
(5th)
N/A N/A N/A
Key: win draw loss bye

Matches

Round One

Bye/s: Golden Lions XV

Round Two

Bye/s: Falcons

Round Three

Bye/s: Pumas

Round Four

Bye/s: Blue Bulls XV

Round Five

Bye/s: Welwitschias

Round Six

Bye/s: Golden Lions XV

Round Seven

Bye/s: Falcons

Round Eight

Bye/s: Pumas

Round Nine

Bye/s: Blue Bulls XV

Round Ten

Bye/s: Welwitschias

Central Section

Log

2018 Rugby Challenge Central Section log
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 Griquas8701347231+11647347136
2 Sharks XV8503312238+7445357229
3 Free State XV8602251212+3937275029
4 Griffons8107265301−3641417415
5 Leopards8107202395−1932659408

Round-by-round

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

Team Progression – Central Section
Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 QF SF F
Griquas 5
(2nd)
10
(1st)
10
(1st)
12
(2nd)
17
(2nd)
22
(2nd)
22
(2nd)
26
(2nd)
31
(1st)
36
(1st)
Won Won Lost
Sharks XV 1
(3rd)
1
(4th)
6
(4th)
11
(3rd)
12
(3rd)
12
(3rd)
17
(3rd)
22
(3rd)
24
(3rd)
29
(2nd)
Won Lost N/A
Free State XV 0
(4th)
5
(3rd)
10
(2nd)
15
(1st)
19
(1st)
24
(1st)
29
(1st)
29
(1st)
29
(2nd)
29
(3rd)
Won Lost N/A
Griffons 5
(1st)
6
(2nd)
7
(3rd)
7
(4th)
9
(4th)
9
(4th)
11
(4th)
11
(4th)
13
(4th)
15
(4th)
N/A N/A N/A
Leopards 0
(5th)
0
(5th)
0
(5th)
1
(5th)
1
(5th)
2
(5th)
2
(5th)
3
(5th)
8
(5th)
8
(5th)
N/A N/A N/A
Key: win draw loss bye

Matches

Round One

Bye/s: Free State XV

Round Two

Bye/s: Sharks XV

Round Three

Bye/s: Griquas

Round Four

Bye/s: Griffons

Round Five

Bye/s: Leopards

Round Six

Bye/s: Sharks XV

Round Seven

Bye/s: Griquas

Round Eight

Bye/s: Griffons

Round Nine

Bye/s: Free State XV

Round Ten

Bye/s: Leopards

Southern Section

Log

2018 Rugby Challenge Southern Section log
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 Western Province8710360145+21555207037
2 Boland Cavaliers8413234192+4235265225
3 SWD Eagles8503215240−2528364024
4 Border Bulldogs8206157258−10122382111
5 Eastern Province Elephants8107180311−13125454210

Round-by-round

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

Team Progression – Southern Section
Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 QF SF F
Western Province 5
(1st)
10
(1st)
14
(1st)
14
(1st)
19
(1st)
24
(1st)
29
(1st)
32
(1st)
32
(1st)
37
(1st)
Lost N/A N/A
Boland Cavaliers 5
(2nd)
5
(2nd)
6
(3rd)
11
(2nd)
16
(2nd)
16
(2nd)
16
(2nd)
19
(2nd)
21
(3rd)
25
(2nd)
Lost N/A N/A
SWD Eagles 0
(3rd)
5
(3rd)
10
(2nd)
10
(3rd)
10
(3rd)
10
(3rd)
15
(3rd)
19
(3rd)
24
(2nd)
24
(3rd)
N/A N/A N/A
Border Bulldogs 0
(4th)
0
(4th)
0
(5th)
4
(4th)
4
(4th)
9
(4th)
10
(4th)
11
(4th)
11
(4th)
11
(4th)
N/A N/A N/A
Eastern Province Elephants 0
(5th)
0
(5th)
0
(4th)
1
(5th)
3
(5th)
4
(5th)
5
(5th)
5
(5th)
10
(5th)
10
(5th)
N/A N/A N/A
Key: win draw loss bye

Matches

Round One

Bye/s: SWD Eagles

Round Two

Bye/s: Boland Cavaliers

Round Three

Bye/s: Eastern Province Elephants

Round Four

Bye/s: Western Province

Round Five

Bye/s: Border Bulldogs

Round Six

Bye/s: SWD Eagles

Round Seven

Bye/s: Boland Cavaliers

Round Eight

Bye/s: Eastern Province Elephants

Round Nine

Bye/s: Western Province

Round Ten

Bye/s: Border Bulldogs

Title play-offs

The final pool standings and title play-offs seeding were:

Section winners
Seeding Team Section PD Pts
1 PumasNorthern Section39+256
2 Western ProvinceSouthern Section37+213
3 GriquasCentral Section36+116
Section runners-up
Seeding Team Section PD Pts
4 Sharks XVCentral Section29+74
5 Golden Lions XVNorthern Section28+154
6 Boland CavaliersSouthern Section25+42
Section third-placed teams
Seeding Team Section PD Pts
7 Free State XVCentral Section29+39
8 Blue Bulls XVNorthern Section27+62
9 SWD EaglesSouthern Section24−23

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Honours

The honour roll for the 2018 Rugby Challenge was as follows:

2018 Rugby Challenge
Champions: Pumas (1st title)
Top points scorer:Chris Smith, Pumas (131)
Top try scorer:Enver Brandt, Griquas (11)

Players

Squads

The following squads were named for the 2018 Rugby Challenge:

Top scorers

The top ten try and point scorers during the 2018 Rugby Challenge were:

Referees

The following referees officiated matches in the 2018 Rugby Challenge:

See also

References

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