Currie Cup
Namibia to compete in expanded Currie Cup
ESPN Staff
December 11, 2015
Johan Deysel
Johan Deysel© Chris Lee - World Rugby/World Rugby

Namibia will compete in the Currie Cup from 2016, the South African Rugby Union has confirmed.

SARU announced on Friday that the world's oldest provincial rugby competition would be getting a makeover, following a decision from the governing body's General Council.

It means that 15 teams will take part in an expanded tournament next year, that will run from April until October and feature 166 matches -- up from 76 in 2015.

Namibia have played in five Rugby World Cups but are yet to win a single match, although their 17-16 defeat by Georgia in October gave them a first ever tournament point.

The new round-robin format will be played in two stages with the six unions that host Super Rugby franchises automatically progressing to the top tier of the second stage.

They will be joined in the Premier Division by the three teams with the most points from the first stage, while the other six teams contest the First Division.

"The enthusiasm for the Curie Cup remains intense among our members and the new format was driven by their desire to see all teams playing each other once again," SARU CEO Jurie Roux said.

"That stage will run in parallel to Vodacom Super Rugby with the second stage of the Currie Cup only kicking off at the conclusion of the Super Rugby log stage. The Vodacom Cup competition has been discontinued to create the space in the calendar."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices