Gold Cup 2016 fixtures confirmed
Pirates, founded in 1888 and making their first appearance in a national club tournament since 2009, will play host to Wanderers of Windhoek after the Gold Cup (until 2015 known as the Community Cup) was expanded from this year to include the champion open clubs of Namibia and Zimbabwe.
The Gold Cup will kick off on Saturday, September 10, with 20 clubs once again competing in a World Cup-style format, with eight pool matches per week for five weeks up until October 8 and the top two from each group progressing to the quarterfinals a week later. All knock-out matches, including the semifinals (October 22) and Grand Final (October 29) will be hosted at participating clubs.
There are any number of intriguing battles to look forward to on the opening weekend, with champions Durbanville-Bellville kicking off their title defence at home to Border champions Old Selbornians, who won the corresponding fixture last year.
Capacity crowds are also expected elsewhere in the Western Cape where Boland champions Worcester Villagers host Welkom Rovers and Western Province's best open club, False Bay, make their national tournament debut at home to KZN champions Durban Collegians.
Last year's runners-up Rustenburg Impala travel to Limpopo to face Rhinos in an eagerly awaited clash of the mining towns, while Port Elizabeth will host the first of three all-Police derbies in this year's pool stages – the other 'Bobbies' team in Pool D being Pretoria Police – when PE Police welcome their Bloemfontein counterparts to the Friendly City.
"With just four months to go, the countdown has really begun and both SA Rugby and the clubs themselves cannot wait to kick off the Gold Cup era," said SARU CEO Jurie Roux.
"It's a very exciting time for club rugby. More than 11 000 people attended a Boland league game in Worcester recently and we saw nearly 17 000 fans last month at Alberton Rugby Club for a provincial-club double-header.
"The profile and quality of club rugby has risen sharply in the last few years and fans are once again packing grounds around the country to watch their local community heroes in action.
"We are confident that the Gold Cup will help unearth more hidden gems as it has done with [Sharks flyhalf] Garth April. Players must know that good performances will bring them onto the radar of provinces and franchises. There are still many issues to address but the days of club rugby being seen as a career cul-de-sac are over," Roux added.
Full fixtures:
Round One (Saturday, September 10):
Worcester Villagers v Welkom Rovers (Boland Park, Worcester)
Durbanville-Bellville v Old Selbornians (Durbell Rugby Club, Cape Town)
Pirates v Wanderers Windhoek (Pirates Rugby Club, Greenside, Johannesburg)
Rhinos v Rustenburg Impala (Northam Rugby Club, Limpopo)
False Bay v Durban Collegians (Philip Herbstein Field, Constantia, Cape Town)
White River v Zimbabwe Qualifier (TBC) – White River Rugby Club, Mpumalanga
Belaz Sishen v Pretoria Police (Sivos Stadium, Kathu)
PE Police v Bloemfontein Police (Kemsley Park, Port Elizabeth)
Round Two (Saturday, September 17):
Welkom Rovers v Durbanville-Bellville (Rovers Rugby Club, Welkom)
Qualifier 1 (TBC) v Worcester Villagers (Venue TBC)
Pacaltsdorp Evergreens v Rustenburg Impala (Pacaltsdorp Sports Ground, George)
Pirates v Rhinos (Pirates Rugby Club, Greenside, Johannesburg)
Durban Collegians v White River (KP 10, Kings Park Complex, Durban)
Falcons Qualifier (TBC) v False Bay (Venue TBC)
Pretoria Police v PE Police (Police Rugby Club, Pretoria)
Qualifier 2 (TBC) v Belaz Sishen (Venue TBC)
Round Three (Saturday, September 24):
Old Selbornians v Worcester Villagers (East London)
Welkom Rovers v Qualifier 1 (TBC) – Rovers Rugby Club, Welkom
Wanderers Windhoek v Rhinos (Wanderers Club, Windhoek)
Pacaltsdorp Evergreens v Pirates (Pacaltsdorp Sports Ground, George)
Zimbabwe Qualifier (TBC) v False Bay (Venue TBC)
Durban Collegians v Falcons Qualifier (TBC) - KP 10, Kings Park Complex, Durban
PE Police v Qualifier 2 (TBC) – Kemsley Park, Port Elizabeth
Bloemfontein Police v Pretoria Police (Bobbies Park, Bloemfontein)
Round Four (Saturday, October 1):
Qualifier 1 (TBC) v Old Selbornians (Venue TBC)
Worcester Villagers v Durbanville-Bellville (Boland Park, Worcester)
Rhinos v Pacaltsdorp Evergreens (Northam Rugby Club, Limpopo)
Rustenburg Impala v Wanderers Windhoek (Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg)
White River v Falcons Qualifier (TBC) – White River Rugby Club
Zimbabwe Qualifier (TBC) v Durban Collegians (Venue TBC)
Qualifier 2 (TBC) v Bloemfontein Police (Venue TBC)
Belaz Sishen v PE Police (Sivos Stadium, Kathu)
Round Five (Saturday, October 8):
Durbanville-Bellville v Qualifier 1 (TBC) – Durbell Rugby Club, Cape Town
Old Selbornians v Welkom Rovers (East London)
Rustenburg Impala v Pirates (Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg)
Wanderers Windhoek v Pacaltsdorp Evergreens (Wanderers Club, Windhoek)
Falcons Qualifier (TBC) v Zimbabwe Qualifier (TBC) – Venue TBC
False Bay v White River (Philip Herbstein Field, Constantia, Cape Town)
Bloemfontein Police v Belaz Sishen (Bobbies Park, Bloemfontein)
Pretoria Police v Qualifier 2 (TBC) – Police Rugby Club, Pretoria
Quarterfinals (Saturday, October 15 – 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
Semifinals (Saturday, October 22):
Winner Quarterfinal 1 v Winner Quarterfinal 2
Winner Quarterfinal 3 v Winner Quarterfinal 4
- For each semifinal, the team with the most log points in the pool stages shall host the match. If 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 (Saturday, October 29):
Winner Semifinal 1 v Winner Semifinal 2
- The team with the most log points in the pool stages shall host the final. If both teams have equal log points, Section 2, Clause 1 of SA Rugby’s General Competition Rules shall apply to determine home-ground advantage
Picture supplied by: Roger Sedres / ImageSA