Cell C have entered the rugby fray by sponsoring the all new and shiny Community Cup – SARU’s elite flagship club rugby tournament.
The tournament features the best non-university clubs from all the provinces plus five wild card invitees in a format identical to that of the Rugby World Cup.
An interesting spin sees Cell C sponsoring the new tournament, potentially set to follow in the very successful steps of the Varsity Cup, while cell phone operator rivals, Vodacom, remain attached to a watered down provincial tournament that has not managed to draw the crowds.
A number of matches will be shown on TV, including the opening match on 16 February in Durban between College Rovers and Despatch, as well as the Easter Play-offs in George.
The tournament will feature prominently on SARU’s website (www.sarugby.co.za) and they have built a dedicated mobile web app (www.communitycup.co.za) which goes live on Monday 11 February. A team of journalists and photographers will provide coverage.
“The play-offs will revive the very special atmosphere of the old Easter Club Champs in Durban, which is still fondly remembered by players and fans alike,” said SARU CEO, Jurie Roux. “The 20 teams have been divided into four pools of five, and each club will play two home and two away matches. The exciting thing is that, much like the Heineken Cup, the tournament will have a different flavour every year as teams, pool make-ups and fixtures change. We would also like to slowly grow the tournament over the next few years by adding platteland and junior divisions.”
No professional players – i.e. players contracted to a provincial union – would be eligible to play in the Community Cup, thereby establishing the tournament as a platform for more than 500 of the country’s best non-contracted players to display their talents.
POOLS:
A – College Rovers (KZN), Despatch (EP), Sishen (Griquas), Villagers Worcester (Boland), SK Walmers (wild card, WP);
B – Pretoria Police (Blue Bulls), Durbanville-Bellville (WP), Bloemfontein Police (Free State), Welkom Rovers (Griffons), African Bombers (wild card, EP);
C – Rustenburg Impala (Leopards), Roodepoort (Golden Lions), Noordelikes (Limpopo), Bloemfontein Crusaders (wild card, Free State), Raiders (wild card, Golden Lions);
D – Old Selbornian (Border), Brakpan (Valke), Evergreens (SWD), White River (Mpumalanga), Roses United (wild card, Boland).
2013 POOL MATCHES:
(All kick-off times 15h00, subject to change)
Round 1 – Sat 16 Feb:
Match 1 – College Rovers vs Despatch (Kings Park 3, Durban) – live on SuperSport
Match 2 – Villagers Worcester vs Sishen (venue tbc, Worcester)
Match 3 – Pretoria Police vs Durbanville-Bellville (SAPS Training Academy, Pretoria)
Match 4 – African Bombers vs Welkom Rovers (Zwide Stadium, Port Elizabeth)
Match 5 – Rustenburg Impala vs Roodepoort (Rustenburg Rugby Fields, Rustenburg)
Match 6 – Noordelikes vs Raiders (Noordelikes Rugby Club, Polokwane)
Match 7 – Old Selbornian vs Brakpan (Old Selbornian Rugby Club, East London)
Match 8 – Roses United vs White River (Pelican Park, Wellington)
Round 2 – Sat 23 Feb:
Match 9 – Sishen vs Jonsson Rovers (Kalahari Country Club, Kathu)
Match 10 – SK Walmers vs Villagers Worcester (Green Point Track, Cape Town)
Match 11 – Durbanville-Bellville vs African Bombers (Durbanville-Bellville Rugby Club, Cape Town)
Match 12 – Welkom Rovers vs Bloemfontein Police (Rovers Rugby Club, Welkom)
Match 13 – Roodepoort vs Noordelikes (Rand Leases Sports Grounds, Roodepoort)
Match 14 – Raiders vs Bloemfontein Crusaders (Bill Jardine Stadium, Johannesburg)
Match 15 – Brakpan vs Roses United (Bosman Stadium, Brakpan)
Match 16 – White River vs Evergreens (White River Rugby Club, White River)
Round 3 – Sat 2 Mar:
Match 17 –Despatch vs Villagers Worcester (Central Rugby Fields, Despatch)
Match 18 – Sishen vs SK Walmers (Kalahari Country Club, Kathu)
Match 19 – Bloemfontein Police vs Durbanville-Bellville (Bobbies Park, Bloemfontein)
Match 20 – African Bombers vs Pretoria Police (Zwide Stadium, Port Elizabeth)
Match 21 – Rustenburg Impala vs Bloemfontein Crusaders (Rustenburg Rugby Fields, Rustenburg)
Match 22 – Roodepoort vs Raiders (Rand Leases Sports Grounds, Roodepoort)
Match 23 – Evergreens vs Brakpan (Pacaltsdorp Sports Grounds, Pacaltsdorp)
Match 24 – Roses United vs Old Selbornian (Pelican Park, Wellington)
Round 4 – Sat 9 Mar:
Match 25 – College Rovers vs SK Walmers (Kings Park 3, Durban)
Match 26 – Despatch vs Sishen (Central Rugby Fields, Despatch)
Match 27 – Welkom Rovers vs Pretoria Police (Rovers Rugby Club, Welkom)
Match 28 – Bloemfontein Police vs African Bombers (Bobbies Park, Bloemfontein)
Match 29 – Bloemfontein Crusaders vs Roodepoort (Clive Solomon Stadium, Heidedal)
Match 30 – Noordelikes vs Rustenburg Impala (Noordelikes Rugby Club, Polokwane)
Match 31 – Old Selbornian vs Evergreens (Old Selbornian Rugby Club, East London)
Match 32 – Brakpan vs White River (Bosman Stadium, Brakpan)
Round 5 – Sat 16 Mar:
Match 33 – SK Walmers vs Despatch (Green Point Track, Cape Town)
Match 34 – Villagers Worcester vs College Rovers (venue tbc, Worcester)
Match 35 – Pretoria Police vs Bloemfontein Police (SAPS Training Academy, Pretoria)
Match 36 – Durbanville-Bellville vs Welkom Rovers (Durbanville-Bellville Rugby Club, Cape Town)
Match 37 – Raiders vs Rustenburg Impala (Bill Jardine Stadium, Johannesburg)
Match 38 – Bloemfontein Crusaders vs Noordelikes (Clive Solomon Stadium, Heidedal)
Match 39 – White River vs Broubart Old Selbornian (White River Rugby Club, White River)
Match 40 – Evergreens vs Roses United (Pacaltsdorp Sports Grounds, Pacaltsdorp)
2013 Easter Play-offs, Outeniqua Park, George:
Thu 28 Mar:
Match 1 – Winner Pool C vs Runner-up Pool D (Cup Quarter-final 1)
Match 2 – Winner Pool B vs Runner-up Pool A (Cup Quarter-final 2)
Match 3 – Winner Pool D vs Runner-up Pool C (Cup Quarter-final 3)
Match 4 – Winner Pool A vs Runner-up Pool B (Cup Quarter-final 4)
Sat 30 Mar:
Match 5 – Loser QF1 vs Loser QF2 (Bowl Semi-final 1)
Match 6 – Loser QF3 vs Loser QF4 (Bowl Semi-final 2)
Match 7 – Winner QF1 vs Winner QF2 (Cup Semi-final 1)
Match 8 – Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4 (Cup Semi-final 2)
Mon,1 Apr:
Match 9 – Shield Final: Loser Bowl Bowl SF1 vs Loser Bowl SF2
Match 10 – Bowl Final: Winner Bowl SF1 vs Winner Bowl SF2
Match 11 – Plate Final: Loser Cup SF1 vs Loser Cup SF2
Match 12 – Cup Final: Winner Cup SF1 vs Winner Cup SF2
Very much looking forward to this one. In George weekend of playoffs, will be watching as many of the games as possible. Surely this is a step in the direction of a nation wide club competition that runs over longer period.