List of South African rugby union teams

Rugby union in South Africa is centrally administered by the South African sports union, which consists of fourteen provincial unions – the Blue Bulls Rugby Union, the Boland Rugby Union, the Border Rugby Football Union, the Eastern Province Rugby Union, the Free State Rugby Union, the Golden Lions Rugby Union, the Griffons Rugby Union, the Griqualand West Rugby Union, the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union, the Leopards Rugby Union, the Mpumalanga Rugby Union, the South Western Districts Rugby Football Union, the Valke Rugby Union and the Western Province Rugby Football Union.[1]

List of South African rugby union teams
CountrySouth Africa
Governing bodySouth African Rugby Union
National team(s)[[South Africa national {{{sport}}} team|South Africa]]
Nickname(s)Springboks
National competitions
Club competitions

Each of these unions administers a senior professional rugby team that participates in the domestic Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge (previously Vodacom Cup) competitions. In addition, these unions are responsible for amateur club rugby in their region. Clubs participate in provincial leagues organised by the unions; university sides also participate in the annual Varsity Cup competition, while non-university sides participate in the annual Gold Cup.

South Africa have six franchises participating in the annual Super Rugby competition. All fourteen provincial unions are allocated to a Super Rugby franchise on a geographic basis.

Franchises
Main articles: Super Rugby and Pro14

The eight franchises – teams that will participate in professional international competitions – plus their constituent rugby unions are:

Super Rugby franchises
Franchise Base Rugby union
BullsPretoriaBlue Bulls Rugby Union
LionsJohannesburgGolden Lions Rugby Union
SharksDurbanKwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union
StormersCape TownWestern Province Rugby Union
Pro14 franchises
Franchise Base Rugby union
CheetahsBloemfonteinFree State Rugby Union
Southern KingsPort ElizabethEastern Province Rugby Union
Other franchises
Franchise Base Rugby union
GriquasKimberleyGriqualand West Rugby Union
PumasNelspruitMpumalanga Rugby Union

Provincial Rugby
Map of South Africa displaying the borders of the 14 Currie Cup teams
Main articles: Currie Cup, Rugby Challenge (South Africa), and Vodacom Cup

The fourteen provincial unions each have a professional team that play in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge (previously Vodacom Cup) competitions, plus youth sides in the Under-21 and Under-19 provincial competitions and youth tournaments such as the Under-18 and Under-13 Craven Week tournaments, the Under-18 Academy Week tournament and the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week tournament.

South African provincial teams
Union Base Professional team
Blue Bulls Rugby UnionPretoria Blue Bulls
Boland Rugby UnionWellington Boland Cavaliers
Border Rugby Football UnionEast London Border Bulldogs
Eastern Province Rugby UnionPort Elizabeth Eastern Province Kings
Free State Rugby UnionBloemfontein Free State Cheetahs
Golden Lions Rugby UnionJohannesburg Golden Lions
Griffons Rugby UnionWelkom Griffons
Griqualand West Rugby UnionKimberley Griquas
KwaZulu-Natal Rugby UnionDurban Sharks
Leopards Rugby Football UnionPotchefstroom Leopards
Mpumalanga Rugby UnionNelspruit Pumas
South Western Districts Rugby Football UnionGeorge SWD Eagles
Valke Rugby UnionKempton Park Falcons
Western Province Rugby UnionCape Town Western Province

Since 2013, a Limpopo Blue Bulls team participated in the Vodacom Cup competition. Limpopo is a sub-union that forms part of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union.

Varsity Rugby
Main article: Varsity Rugby

In 2008, a Varsity Cup competition was created, with eight universities competing. In 2011, a second tier called the Varsity Shield was added, consisting of a further five side and the collective was rebranded as "Varsity Rugby". In addition to playing in the Varsity Rugby competitions, these sides also take part in the provincial unions' championships.

Varsity Rugby teams
University Team Union
Central University of Technology CUT IxiasFree State Rugby Union
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University NMMU MadibazEastern Province Rugby Union
North-West University NWU PukkeLeopards Rugby Union
Tshwane University of Technology TUT VikingsBlue Bulls Rugby Union
University of Cape Town UCT Ikey TigersWestern Province Rugby Union
University of Fort Hare UFH BluesBorder Rugby Football Union
University of Johannesburg UJGolden Lions Rugby Union
University of KwaZulu-Natal UKZN ImpiKwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union
University of Pretoria UP TuksBlue Bulls Rugby Union
University of Stellenbosch MatiesWestern Province Rugby Union
University of the Free State UFS ShimlasFree State Rugby Union
University of the Western Cape UWCWestern Province Rugby Union
University of the Witwatersrand WitsGolden Lions Rugby Union

Provincial championships

Each of the provincial unions have a number of amateur clubs playing in the respective club championships. The highest-placed non-university sides qualify to the annual Gold Cup.

Blue Bulls Rugby Union

The club sides that form part of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union are:[2]

Blue Bulls Limpopo Sub-Union

The club sides that form part of the Blue Bulls Limpopo Sub-Union are:[3]

Updated 8 May 2014.

Boland Rugby Union

The club sides that form part of the Boland Rugby Union are:[4]

Updated 8 May 2014.

Border Rugby Football Union

The club sides that recently played in the top-level domestic competition organised by the Border Rugby Football Union are:[5][6]

Updated 12 May 2014.

Eastern Province Rugby Union

The club sides that form part of the Eastern Province Rugby Union are:[7]

Updated 8 May 2014.

Free State Rugby Union

The club sides that form part of the Free State Rugby Union are:[8][9][10]

Reserve teams also play in the league, as well as youth sides of CUT and UFS.

Updated 6 May 2015.

Golden Lions Rugby Union

The club sides that form part of the Golden Lions Rugby Union are:[11]

Updated 8 May 2014.

Griffons Rugby Union

The club sides that recently played in the top two domestic competitions organised by the Griffons Rugby Union are:[12][13]

Updated 12 May 2014.

Griqualand West Rugby Union

The club sides that form part of the Griqualand West Rugby Union are:[14]

Updated 8 May 2014.

KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union

The club sides that form part of the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union are:

Updated 8 May 2014.

Leopards Rugby Football Union

The club sides that recently played in the top-level domestic competition organised by the Leopards Rugby Football Union (or teams from the region playing in other competitions) are:[15]

1 NWU Pukke play club rugby in the Golden Lions Pirates Grand Challenge.
2 Klerksdorp and Vaal Reefs play club rugby in the Valke Peregrine League.
3 Rustenburg Impala play club rugby in the Blue Bulls Carlton League.

Mpumalanga Rugby Union

The club sides that recently played in the top-level domestic competition organised by the Mpumalanga Rugby Union are:[16]

Updated 12 May 2014.

South Western Districts Rugby Football Union

The club sides that form part of the South Western Districts Rugby Football Union are:[17]

Updated 6 May 2014.

Valke Rugby Union

The club sides that form part of the Valke Rugby Union are:[18]

Updated 8 May 2014.

Western Province Rugby Union

The club sides that form part of the Western Province Rugby Union are:[19]

Updated 8 May 2014.

See also

References
  1. "Constitution of the South African Rugby Union" (PDF). South African Rugby Union. SuperSport. April 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  2. "Blou Bulle Rugby-Unie Klubs & Verenigings 2012" (in Afrikaans). Blue Bulls. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  3. "Limpopo Club Contacts" (in Afrikaans). Blue Bulls. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  4. "Boland Clubs - Structure". Boland Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  5. "2014 Community Cup Qualifying - Border Premier League". South African Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  6. "SA Rugby Log – 2015 Community Cup Qualifying - 2014 Border Super League". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  7. "Club Teams - Eastern Province Rugby". Eastern Province Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  8. "Amateur Rugby". Free State Cheetahs. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  9. "2014 Community Cup Qualifying - Free State 1st League". South African Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  10. "SA Rugby Log – 2015 Community Cup Qualifying - 2014 Free State First League & Town Challenge Cup". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  11. "Other Teams - Clubs". Golden Lions Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  12. "2014 Community Cup Qualifying - Griffons 1st League". South African Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  13. "Griffons Club Rugby". Club Rugby SA. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  14. "Clubs within the Griquas Region". Griqualand West Rugby Union. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  15. "2014 Community Cup Qualifying - Leopards Neser A League". South African Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  16. "SA Rugby Log – 2015 Community Cup Qualifying - 2014 Mpumalanga Leagues". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  17. "Club Directory". SWD Eagles. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  18. "Valke Clubs". Valke Rugby Union. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  19. "Western Province Club Rugby - View Club Info". Western Province Rugby Union. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
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