Vodacom Cup
Current season or competition: 2014 Vodacom Cup | |
 Competition logo | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 1998 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country |
 South Africa  Namibia  Argentina  Kenya |
| Most recent champion(s) | Golden Lions |
| Most titles | Golden Lions (5) |
| Sponsor(s) | Vodacom |
| Related competitions | Currie Cup |
The Vodacom Cup is an annual rugby union competition in South Africa which is contested between February and May.
The competition is the third most prestigious competition in rugby union in South Africa, behind Super Rugby and the Currie Cup. It runs at roughly the same time as Super Rugby and serves as an important developmental competition for South African rugby.
It was first held in 1998 and has been sponsored by Vodacom since the inaugural season.
The competition is open to the fourteen South African rugby unions, but also featured invitational teams from outside the country – the Welwitschias from Namibia played in the competition between 1999 and 2001 and in 2010 and 2011, Pampas XV from Argentina participated between 2010 and 2013 and a Simba XV from Kenya participated in 2014.[1][2] In addition, Limpopo Blue Bulls (normally part of the Blue Bulls team) also took part as a separate team from 2013.
Teams
The following teams took part in the Vodacom Cup competition since its inception:
| Vodacom Cup teams | |||
| Team | First Season | No of Seasons | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Bulls | 1998 | 16 | |
| Boland Cavaliers | 1998 | 16 | Boland |
| Border Bulldogs | 1998 | 16 | Border |
| Eastern Province Kings | 1998 | 16 | Mighty Elephants |
| Falcons | 1998 | 16 | |
| Free State XV | 1998 | 16 | Free State Cheetahs |
| Golden Lions | 1998 | 16 | |
| Griffons | 1998 | 16 | Northern Free State |
| Griquas | 1998 | 16 | Griqualand West |
| Leopards XV | 1998 | 16 | North West |
| Limpopo Blue Bulls | 2013 | 1 | |
| Pampas XV | 2010 | 4 | |
| Pumas | 1998 | 16 | Mpumalanga Pumas |
| Sharks XV | 1998 | 16 | Natal Wildebeest |
| Simba XV | 2014 | 0 | |
| SWD Eagles | 1998 | 16 | |
| Welwitschias | 1999 | 5 | Namibia Kudus |
| Western Province | 1998 | 16 | |
Finals
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Griqualand West | 57–0 | Golden Lions |
| 1999 | Golden Lions | 73–7 | Griqualand West |
| 2000 | Free State Cheetahs | 44–24 | Griqualand West |
| 2001 | Blue Bulls | 42–24 | Boland Cavaliers |
| 2002 | Golden Lions | 54–38 | Blue Bulls |
| 2003 | Golden Lions | 26–17 | Blue Bulls |
| 2004 | Golden Lions | 35–16 | Blue Bulls |
| 2005 | Griquas | 27–25 | Leopards |
| 2006 | Falcons | 25–17 | Natal Wildebeest |
| 2007 | Griquas | 33–29 | Blue Bulls |
| 2008 | Blue Bulls | 25–21 | Free State Cheetahs |
| 2009 | Griquas | 28–19 | Blue Bulls |
| 2010 | Blue Bulls | 31–29 | Free State Cheetahs |
| 2011 | Pampas XV | 14–9 | Blue Bulls |
| 2012 | Western Province | 20–18 | Griquas |
| 2013 | Golden Lions | 42–28 | Pumas |
Overall Record
| Team Name | Wins | Runner-up | Semi-Final | Quarter Final | Winning seasons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Lions | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013 |
| 2 | Griquas | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1998, 2005, 2007, 2009 |
| 3 | Blue Bulls | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2001, 2008, 2010 |
| 4 | Free State Cheetahs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2000 |
| 5 | Falcons | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2006 |
| 6 | Western Province | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2012 |
| 7 | Pampas XV | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2011 |
| 8 | Sharks XV | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |
| 9 | Boland Cavaliers | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | |
| 10 | Leopards | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| 11 | Pumas | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| 12 | Eastern Province Kings | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 13 | SWD Eagles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 14 | Border Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Griffons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Limpopo Blue Bulls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Simba XV | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Welwitschias | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vodacom Shield
From 2001 to 2004, the teams finishing outside the top 4 in the pool phases played in a secondary competition called the Vodacom Shield.
Finals
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Griffons | 40–27 | Mighty Elephants |
| 2002 | Mighty Elephants | 26–20 | Natal |
| 2003 | Border Bulldogs | 32–0 | Griquas |
| 2004 | Boland Cavaliers | 19–12 | SWD Eagles |
Overall Record
| Team Name | Wins | Runner-up | Semi-Final | Winning seasons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Province Kings | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2002 |
| 2 | Border Bulldogs | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2003 |
| 3 | Boland Cavaliers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2004 |
| Griffons | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2001 | |
| 5 | Griquas | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| SWD Eagles | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 7 | Sharks XV | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 8 | Western Province | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 9 | Leopards | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Pumas | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 11 | Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes and references
- ↑ "Argentina and Namibia to play in Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
- ↑ "Official Home of the Springboks". SA Rugby. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
External links
- Fight on for Currie Cup places
- Falcons soar over Wildebeest
- Griquas clinch Vodacom title at the death
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