Worcester will host the opening match of the Gold Cup – SA Rugby’s three-nation championship for non-university clubs – when Villagers host Rovers on Saturday.
East London Police and College Rovers were confirmed as the final two qualifiers for the Gold Cup after two nail-biting play-off finals last weekend that were decided in the dying seconds.
Veteran flyhalf Chris Jordaan ensured that he would play in his 10th national club tournament when he scored a try off the last scrum of the match to give Rovers a heart stopping 40-37 away victory over Carlton Cup camps Centurion.
Rovers, the 2016 KZN Moor Cup league winners, will join fellow Sharks side Collegians, the reigning KZN Murray Cup knockout champions, in SA Rugby’s three-nation championship for non-university clubs, which kicks off on Saturday, 10 September.
Rovers will join defending champions Dur-Bell (WP), Worcester Villagers (Boland), Old Selbornians (Border) and Welkom Rovers (Griffons) in what is set to be an unpredictable and highly competitive Pool A.
And in the other play-off final, East London Police, who went unbeaten this year en route to winning the Border Super League, came from behind to beat Vaal Reefs 32-23 in Klerksdorp to qualify for the Gold Cup for the first time.
The Bobbies’ victory means that Pool D becomes an intriguing and unprecedented “tournament within a tournament”, with no less than four Police teams – namely East London, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth – set to do battle alongside Griquas champions Sishen.
20 clubs will once again competing in a Rugby World Cup-style format consisting of eight pool matches per week for five weeks up until 8 October. The top two from each group will progress to the quarter-finals a week later. All knockout matches, including the televised semi-finals (22 October) and final (29 October) will be hosted at participating clubs.
The rugby-mad Boland town of Worcester will host the televised opening match of the tournament when Worcester Villagers – at 133 years, the oldest club in the Gold Cup having been founded in 1883 – host Welkom Rovers in Pool A. The match will be broadcast live on SuperSport 1 at 14h45.
Full fixtures (all matches 15h30 unless otherwise indicated):
Round 1 (Sat 10 September):
Worcester Villagers v Welkom Rovers (Boland Park, Worcester, 14h45)
Dur-Bell v Old Selbornians (Durbell Rugby Club, Cape Town)
Pirates v Wanderers Windhoek (Pirates Rugby Club, Johannesburg)
Northam v Rustenburg Impala (Northam Rugby Club, Limpopo)
False Bay v Durban Collegians (Philip Herbstein Field, Constantia, Cape Town)
White River v Old Georgians Harare (White River Rugby Club, Mpumalanga)
Sishen v Pretoria Police (Sivos Stadium, Kathu)
PE Police v Bloemfontein Police (Kemsley Park, Port Elizabeth)
Round 2 (Sat 17 September):
Pretoria Police v PE Police (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Fri 16, 16h45)
Welkom Rovers v Dur-Bell (Rovers Rugby Club, Welkom)
College Rovers v Worcester Villagers (venue & time TBC)
Pacaltsdorp v Rustenburg Impala (Pacaltsdorp Sports Ground, George)
Pirates v Northam (Pirates Rugby Club, Johannesburg)
Durban Collegians v White River (Kings Park Stadium, Durban, 13h00)
Brakpan v False Bay (Bosman Stadium, Brakpan)
East London Police v Sishen (Police Park, East London)
Round 3 (Sat 24 September):
Old Selbornians v Worcester Villagers (East London)
Welkom Rovers v College Rovers (Rovers Rugby Club, Welkom)
Windhoek v Northam (Wanderers Club, Windhoek)
Pacaltsdorp v Pirates (Pacaltsdorp Sports Ground, George)
Old Georgians v False Bay (Police Grounds, Harare)
Durban Collegians v Brakpan (KP 10, Kings Park, Durban)
PE Police v East London Police (Kemsley Park, Port Elizabeth)
Bloemfontein Police v Pretoria Police (Bobbies Park, Bloemfontein)
Round 4 (Sat 1 October):
College Rovers v Old Selbornians (KP3, Kings Park, Durban)
Worcester Villagers v Dur-Bell(Boland Park, Worcester)
Northam v Pacaltsdorp (Northam Rugby Club, Limpopo)
Rustenburg Impala v Windhoek (Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg)
White River v Siyaya Brakpan (White River Rugby Club)
Old Georgians v Durban Collegians (OGSC, Harare)
East London Police v Bloemfontein Police (Police Park, East London)
Sishen v PE Police (Sivos Stadium, Kathu)
Round 5 (Sat 8 October):
Dur-Bell v College Rovers (Durbell Rugby Club, Cape Town)
Old Selbornians v Welkom Rovers (East London)
Rustenburg Impala v Pirates (Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg)
Wanderers Windhoek v Evergreens (Wanderers Club, Windhoek)
Brakpan v Old Georgians Harare (Bosman Stadium, Brakpan)
False Bay v White River (Philip Herbstein Field, Constantia, Cape Town)
Bloemfontein Police v Sishen (Bobbies Park, Bloemfontein)
Pretoria Police v East London Police (Police Rugby Club, Pretoria)
Quarter-finals (Sat 15 October – Pool winners host all matches):
Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D
Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A
Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C
Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B
Semi-finals* (Sat 22 October):
Winner Quarter-final 1 v Winner Quarter-final 2
Winner Quarter-final 3 v Winner Quarter-final 4
* For each semi-final, the team with the most log points in the pool stages shall host the match. If both both teams have equal log points, Section 2, Clause 1 of SA Rugby’s General Competition Rules shall apply to determine home-ground advantage.
Final* (Sat 29 October):
Winner Semi-final 1 v Winner Semi-final 2
* The team with the most log points in the pool stages shall host the final. If both both teams have equal log points, Section 2, Clause 1 of SA Rugby’s General Competition Rules shall apply to determine home-ground advantage.
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