Cape Town - The Currie Cup will be expanded to a 15-team competition in 2016, with Rugby World Cup participants Namibia included once more.
That was the decision made by the South African Rugby Union’s (Saru) General Council during a meeting in Cape Town on Friday.
The change in the Currie Cup format has resulted in the Vodacom Cup being discontinued, which has to be questioned as that tournament was a good breeding ground for young talent who didn’t make the cut for the Super Rugby teams and were not associated with Varsity Cup squads.
All 14 provincial unions will play against each other in the Currie Cup first round, which will start on April 9 and end on July 23.
But, crucially, the log points accrued in the first round will not be carried over to the second. So, the first round serves merely as a long-winded qualifying process for the Premier Division, and should be seen as a different incarnation of the Vodacom Cup.
The six Super Rugby franchise unions - Western Province, Eastern Province, The Sharks, Free State Cheetahs, Blue Bulls and Golden Lions - will automatically be included in the Premier Division regardless of their performances in the first round.
They will be joined by three other teams, who don’t host franchises, with the most log points from the first round in the Premier Division, with the remaining six teams contesting the First Division for the Currie Cup trophy.
The one positive outcome of this format is that it gives smaller unions such as Boland and the Griffons a reasonable chance of reaching the Premier Division if they are able to attract quality players, coaches and resources.
“The enthusiasm for the Currie Cup remains intense among our members, and the new format was driven by their desire to see all teams playing each other once again,” said Saru chief executive Jurie Roux.
“That stage will run in parallel to Super Rugby, with the second stage of the Currie Cup only kicking off at the conclusion of the Super Rugby log stage. The Vodacom Cup competition has been discontinued to create the space in the calendar.”
There has also been a slight change in the junior formats, with the six Super Rugby franchise unions and the Leopards (due to the Pukke Rugby Institute’s strength) competing in Under-19 and Under-21 tournaments, with the remaining teams only playing Under-20 rugby.
A potential crisis with regards to how Saru spends the broadcasting revenue was also averted, with the General Council approving the Saru budget for 2016 and deciding that the 14 provinces will receive 56 percent of the broadcast income, with the rest going to the Springbok team, competition expenses and administration costs.
There was no word from Saru as yet on the appointment of the new Springbok coach after Heyneke Meyer resigned last week.
Former Stormers coach Allister Coetzee is believed to be the front-runner for the post, but Saru president Oregan Hoskins said at a press conference last week that the organisation will “take our time” with the appointment and were going to discuss the process properly at Friday’s General Council meeting before any decision was made.
The future of the troubled EP Rugby Union and the EP Kings players was also set to be on the agenda at Friday’s meeting after EP players were not paid their salaries for the last few months due to a sponsorship problem at the union.
@IndyCapeSport