DURBAN - There will be two competitions in one when South Africa’s domestic rugby season resumes on October 10, with a local Super Rugby competition woven into the Currie Cup.
Seven teams will battle it out for “Super Rugby Unlocked” plus Currie Cup honours, after a complete re-working of fixtures and competition structures following the six-month pause on the game.
Following the warm-ups that is Super Fan Saturday in Pretoria (26 September) and the Springbok Showdown in Cape Town (3 October), the seven provincial teams will head into a double round of local action over 16 weekends with two trophies up for grabs – Super Rugby Unlocked and the Currie Cup.
The first round of matches – from 10 October to 21 November – will be for Super Rugby Unlocked honours, with the winner coming from whichever of the Bulls, Sharks, Lions, Stormers, Cheetahs, Griquas or Pumas has the most log points.
All log points will then be carried forward into the second round – the Currie Cup from 28 November to 9 January 2021 – which will culminate in semi-finals (16 January) and a final on 23 January next year.
“We are very grateful for the excellent cooperation we’ve had from our sponsors, broadcast partner, the unions and other stakeholders to get to a point where we can actually start looking forward to rugby matches on weekends again,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby.
“Depending on our participation in the Rugby Championship, we’ll see our top local Springboks in action in the coming weeks and months.”
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“The impact of the pandemic on the season has been extraordinary and we have had to come up with an extraordinary solution to be able to complete the Super Rugby season and contest the Currie Cup. We believe that this is the best solution for everyone involved.
“All the teams will face each other home and away, and will enjoy two byes during the four months which we believe will deliver top-class local rugby and unearth the next generation of stars for South African rugby.”
SA Rugby also announced a five-team Provincial Under-21 competition between the Blue Bulls, Free State, Golden Lions, Sharks and Western Province.
Mike Greenaway