SARU Community Cup
Current season, competition or edition: 2016 SARU Community Cup qualification | |
|
The SARU Community Cup logo | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| Inaugural season | 2013 |
| No. of teams | 20 |
| Country | South Africa |
| Most recent champion(s) | Durbanville-Bellville |
| TV partner(s) | Supersport |
| Sponsor(s) | Cell C |
The SARU Community Cup (known as the Cell C Community Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the premier rugby union club competition in South Africa for non-university teams.[1]
History
On 20 September 2012, the South African Rugby Union announced the launch of the SARU Community Cup to replace the National Club Championships. The inaugural edition will start in February 2013.
Several rugby union clubs in South Africa are affiliated to universities, which can play in the annual Varsity Rugby tournaments. The Community Cup was created for the non-university clubs to run in parallel with Varsity Rugby. At the conclusion of both tournaments, a grand final will be played to determine the overall national club winner.
At the launch, SARU also said they were already looking at expanding the competition to cater for platteland and junior leagues.
Format
Each season, twenty teams qualify for the Community Cup from the club leagues of the fourteen provincial unions (plus the Blue Bulls Limpopo sub-union) in South Africa. The league winners all qualify, as well as five play-off winners.
The format of the Community Cup is exactly the same as the Rugby World Cup. The teams are divided into four pools, each containing five teams. They then play four pool games, playing every other teams in their respective pools once. Each team plays two home games and two away games.
The winner and runner-up of each pool enter the play-off stage, held at a neutral venue over the Easter long weekend each year. The play-offs consist of quarter finals, semi-finals and the final. The winner of each pool meets the runner-up of a different pool in the quarter final. The winner of each quarter-final goes on to the semi-finals and the semi-final winners to the Cup final. The losing semi-finalists play each other in the Plate final. The losing quarter finalists meet in the Bowl semi-final, the winners of which will play in the Bowl final, with the losers playing in the Shield final.
Sponsorship
In February 2013, it was announced that mobile phone provider Cell C would sponsor the SARU Community Cup for three seasons, with the tournament being known as the Cell C Community Cup.[2]
Teams
The teams that participated in the SARU Community Cup and their finishing positions are as follows:
| Team | Union | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| African Bombers | Eastern Province | 12 | N/A | N/A |
| Bloemfontein Crusaders | Free State | 15 | 10 | 15 |
| Bloemfontein Police | Free State | 20 | N/A | N/A |
| Boksburg | Falcons | N/A | 15 | N/A |
| Brakpan | Falcons | 3 | 9 | N/A |
| Bridgton | SWD | N/A | 17 | N/A |
| Centurion | Blue Bulls | N/A | 7 | N/A |
| College Rovers | Kwa-Zulu Natal | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Despatch | Eastern Province | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Durban Collegians | Kwa-Zulu Natal | N/A | N/A | 9 |
| Durbanville-Bellville | Western Province | 5 | N/A | 1 |
| Evergreens | SWD | 8 | N/A | 12 |
| Hamiltons | Western Province | N/A | 3 | 3 |
| Mossel Bay Barbarians | SWD | N/A | 14 | N/A |
| Noordelikes | Limpopo Blue Bulls | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Old Selbornians | Border | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| Port Elizabeth Police | Eastern Province | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| Pretoria Police | Blue Bulls | 6 | N/A | 5 |
| Raiders | Golden Lions | 9 | N/A | 11 |
| Roodepoort | Golden Lions | 7 | 2 | N/A |
| Roses United | Boland | 13 | 6 | N/A |
| Rustenburg Impala | Leopards | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Sishen | Griquas | 17 | 11 | 16 |
| SK Walmers | Western Province | 11 | N/A | N/A |
| Spring Rose | Eastern Province | N/A | 12 | N/A |
| Springs | Falcons | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| Villagers Worcester | Boland | 16 | N/A | 13 |
| Wanderers | Golden Lions | N/A | N/A | 7 |
| Welkom | Griffons | N/A | 20 | N/A |
| Welkom Rovers | Griffons | 14 | 13 | 20 |
| Wesbank | Boland | N/A | 18 | 8 |
| White River | Mpumalanga | 18 | N/A | N/A |
| Witbank Ferros | Mpumalanga | N/A | 16 | 14 |
* The top eight teams are ranked by the results of the finals tournament. Teams 9–20 are ranked by their final log position in the pool stages.
* N/A indicates the team did not qualify to the SARU Community Cup.
References
- ↑ "Club rugby in South Africa receives a major boost". South African Rugby Union. 20 Sep 2012. Retrieved 20 Sep 2012.
- ↑ "Cell C named as Community Cup sponsor". South Africa Rugby Union. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
See also
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