Vodacom Cup
 Competition logo | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| First season | 1998 |
| Ceased | 2015 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country | South Africa Namibia Argentina Kenya |
| Last champion(s) | Template:Rut Pumas |
| Most titles | Template:Rut Golden Lions / Template:Rut Griquas (5) |
| Sponsor(s) | Vodacom |
| Related competitions | Currie Cup |
The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. Mobile communications provider Vodacom was the title sponsor for the entire duration of the competition.
The competition was the third most prestigious in South African rugby, behind Super Rugby and the Currie Cup. It was contested at roughly the same time as Super Rugby each season from February to June and featured a combination of Super Rugby players returning from injury, reserve players attempting to maintain their fitness levels and younger players trying to break through to the Super Rugby or Currie Cup sides. It therefore served as an important developmental competition for South African rugby.
The competition was held every season between the fourteen South African rugby unions, but several additional teams also took part during the competition's history. The Template:Rut Limpopo Blue Bulls, officially a sub-union of the Template:Rut Blue Bulls, took part as a separate team between 2013 and 2015. Namibian side the Template:Rut Welwitschias played in the competition between 1999 and 2001, in 2010, 2011 and in 2015. Argentine side Template:Rut Pampas XV participated in the competition between 2010 and 2013 and a Template:Rut Simba XV from Kenya competed in 2014.[1][2]
The most successful teams in the history of the competition were Template:Rut Griquas and the Template:Rut Golden Lions, each winning it on five occasions. The Golden Lions also won the competition for three consecutive seasons between 2002 and 2004.
Between 2001 and 2004, the competition was split into two tier, with the top half of teams competing for the Vodacom Cup and the bottom half competing for the Vodacom Shield.
The final edition of the competition was in 2015, with SARU deciding to restructure the domestic competitions from the 2016 season onwards. A competition called the Rugby Challenge succeeded the Vodacom Cup in 2017.
Teams
The results of the teams that participated in the Vodacom Cup throughout the competition's history is as follows:
Finals
The results of the finals played in the Vodacom Cup competition are as follows:
The Vodacom Cup Trophy
Overall Record
The overall record for the teams in the Vodacom Cup competition is as follows:
| Vodacom Cup Overall Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | Team Name | Champions | Runner-Up | Semi-Final | Quarter Final |
| 1 | Template:Rut Griquas | 5 (1998, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2014) | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Template:Rut Golden Lions | 5 (1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013) | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Template:Rut Blue Bulls | 3 (2001, 2008, 2010) | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | Template:Rut Free State Cheetahs | 1 (2000) | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Template:Rut Western Province | 1 (2012) | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | Template:Rut Pumas | 1 (2015) | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | Template:Rut Falcons | 1 (2006) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | Template:Rut Pampas XV | 1 (2011) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Template:Rut Sharks XV | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 10 | Template:Rut Boland Cavaliers | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 11 | Template:Rut Leopards | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | Template:Rut Eastern Province Kings | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Template:Rut SWD Eagles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 14 | Template:Rut Border Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Template:Rut Griffons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Template:Rut Limpopo Blue Bulls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Template:Rut Simba XV | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Template:Rut Welwitschias | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Vodacom Shield
From 2001 to 2004, the teams finishing outside the top 4 in the pool phases played in a secondary competition called the Vodacom Shield.
Finals
The results of the finals played in the Vodacom Shield competition are as follows:
| Vodacom Cup finals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-Up |
| 2001 | Template:Rut Griffons | 40–27 | Template:Rut Mighty Elephants |
| 2002 | Template:Rut Mighty Elephants | 26–20 | Template:Rut Natal |
| 2003 | Template:Rut Border Bulldogs | 32–0 | Template:Rut Griquas |
| 2004 | Template:Rut Boland Cavaliers | 19–12 | Template:Rut SWD Eagles |
Overall Record
The overall record for the teams in the Vodacom Cup competition is as follows:
| Vodacom Shield Overall Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | Team Name | Champions | Runner-Up | Semi-Final |
| 1 | Template:Rut Eastern Province Kings | 1 (2002) | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Template:Rut Border Bulldogs | 1 (2003) | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Template:Rut Boland Cavaliers | 1 (2004) | 0 | 0 |
| Template:Rut Griffons | 1 (2001) | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Template:Rut Griquas | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Template:Rut SWD Eagles | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Template:Rut Sharks XV | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | Template:Rut Western Province | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Template:Rut Leopards | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Template:Rut Pumas | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 | Template:Rut Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes and references
- ^ "Argentina and Namibia to play in Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
- ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2010 Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 30 May 2016.