Domestic rugby set to take a new direction

SUNDAY RUGBY, triple-headers, regional championships and a new competition name on the rugby calendar are all part of a major makeover for the opening provincial competition of the South African season.

The SuperSport Rugby Challenge kicks off on the weekend of 22/23 April and features the country’s 14 provincial unions together with Namibia’s Welwitschias in a refreshing 13-week tournament set to take rugby in a whole new direction.

Professional rugby will also make a starring appearance at well-known community rugby centres for televised rugby festivals. Venues such as the Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Bill Jardine Stadium in Johannesburg and Impala Rugby Club in Rustenburg, will host Challenge matches.

As part of the new look, the SuperSport Rugby Challenge will SuperStack matches with as many as three games hosted back-to-back at a single venue – one of which will be a local club rugby match.

The competition will be divided into three regions – north, south and central.

“The SuperSport Rugby Challenge will take professional rugby to places it has never been before – both literally and metaphorically,” said Jurie Roux, SA Rugby chief executive. “A new playing day, new venues and new match schedules will set the SuperSport Rugby Challenge apart.”

The tournament will comprise six-pool matches every weekend for 10 weeks, followed by seven knockout games. The 15 teams are divided into three geographical pools, with each playing home and away against the other four teams in their pool over the 10-week period.

The top two teams from each Pool, together with the two third-placed teams with the most log points, will qualify for the quarter-finals, which take place on 2 July, followed by the semi-finals a week later and the final on 16 July.

The SuperSport Rugby Challenge will be officially launched at Bill Jardine Stadium on Tuesday, 11 April when full details and other innovations will be revealed.

“The advent of Sunday rugby was unthinkable a few years ago, but changing leisure patterns and the success of last year’s Gold Cup semifinals suggest that Sundays have appeal for modern audiences, especially families,” said Roux.

Gideon Khobane, SuperSport chief executive, said: “We at SuperSport are excited to bring the best of community rugby to urban and rural areas.”