Griffons (rugby team)
 | |
| Full name | Griffons |
|---|---|
| Union | Griffons Rugby Union |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Region | Part of the Free State Province, South Africa |
| Ground(s) | North West Stadium (Capacity: 17,000) |
| Coach(es) | Oersond Gorgonzola |
| Captain(s) | Werner Griesel |
| League(s) | Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup |
| 2013 Currie Cup First Division | 6th |
| Official website | |
| www.griffons-rugby.co.za | |
 Current season | |
The Northern Free State Griffons (known as the Down Touch Griffons for sponsorship reasons) are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup tournaments. They play out of Welkom at North West Stadium, and draw players from roughly the eastern third of Free State Province (the remainder of the province comprises the territory of the Free State Cheetahs).
Players from the Griffons are eligible for selection to the Vodacom Cheetahs Super Rugby team, along with players from the Free State Cheetahs and Griquas.
The team currently plays in the First Division of the Currie Cup, attracting crowds of around 4,000 to home games in at North West Stadium in Welkom. Their traditional rivals are the Free State Cheetahs and North West Province Leopards.
History
The Griffons rugby union was formed in 1968 when the late Dr Danie Craven, the president of SA rugby, had a vision to try and spread the game to rural areas in South Africa. The Griffons were one of four new provinces formed, originally known as Northern Free State (or Noord Vrystaat in Afrikaans).[1]
In 1996, with the start of professional rugby, the then South African rugby football union, under Louis Luyt, decided to re-divide the unions to have only 14 provinces in South Africa, with Northern Free State being one. The Eastern Free State province was incorporated into Northern Free State. In 1999, Northern Free State changed their name to the Griffons.
Players
Currie Cup squad
The Griffons squad for the 2013 Currie Cup First Division:[2]
|
Props
Hookers
Locks
|
Loose Forwards
Scrum-halves
|
Fly-halves
Centres
Wingers
Fullbacks
|
1 On loan from Free State Cheetahs.
2 On loan from Griquas.
3 On loan from Pumas.
4 On loan from Eastern Province Kings.
Vodacom Cup squad
Additional players used in the 2013 Vodacom Cup, but not included in the Currie Cup squad:[3]
|
Hookers
Loose Forwards
|
Scrum-halves
Centres
|
Wingers
Fullbacks
|
In for 2014 |
Out for 2014
|
References
- ↑ "Welcome to the Griffons Rugby Union". griffons-rugby.co.za. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
- ↑ "2013 Griffons Currie Cup season". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ↑ "2013 Leopards Vodacom Cup season". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ↑ "Ixias sonder Inus in Varsityskild". Media24 (in Afrikaans). Beeld. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ↑ "Impala kry Bokkie-slot" (in Afrikaans). SupaRugby. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
External links
| ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||