A Currie Cup sponsored by Black Label will form part of the domestic landscape from November 28.

Earlier this week SA Rugby announced that seven franchises will be involved in combat from October 10 through Christmas into the New Year but on Friday they revealed that they in fact have two competitions and not one over that period.

The Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked will precede the Black Label Currie Cup when the domestic season resumes next month‚ after a complete reworking of fixtures and competition structures has been forced by the six-month interruption.

The first round of matches in the Super Rugby competition will run from October 10 to November 21. The Bulls‚ Sharks‚ Lions‚ Stormers‚ Cheetahs‚ Griquas and Pumas will contest the competition with the winner determined by who has the most log points.

However‚ all the log points will then be carried forward into the second round‚ which will effectively be the Currie Cup‚ which will be staged from November 28 to January 9‚ 2021. The competition will culminate in the semifinals (January 16) and a final on January 23.

“We are very grateful for the excellent cooperation we’ve had from our sponsors‚ broadcast partner‚ the unions and other stakeholders to get to a point where we can actually start looking forward to actual rugby matches on weekends again‚” said Jurie Roux‚ chief executive of SA Rugby.

“Depending on our participation in the Rugby Championship‚ we’ll see our top local Springboks in action in the coming weeks and months.

“The impact of the pandemic on the season has been extraordinary and we have had to come up with an extraordinary solution to be able to complete the Super Rugby season and contest the Currie Cup. We believe that this is the best solution for everyone involved.

“All the teams will face each other home and away‚ and will enjoy two byes during the four months we believe will deliver top-class local rugby and unearth the next generation of stars for South African rugby.”

Those competitions will be preceded by the Super Fan Saturday matches in Pretoria (September 26) and the Springbok Showdown in Cape Town (October 3).

SA Rugby also announced a five-team provincial under-21 competition between the Blue Bulls‚ Free State‚ Golden Lions‚ Sharks and Western Province.

The details of this competition‚ as well as the Super Rugby Unlocked and Currie Cup fixtures‚ will be confirmed shortly.

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