Currie Cup: South African Championship to start in January, sticks to 7-team Premier Division format for 2022
- The 2022 Currie Cup Premier Division will kick off in January, SA Rugby has confirmed.
- Seven teams will compete in the Premier Division, with EP’s proposal to gain direct entry rejected.
- However, the top team in the First Division will be automatically promoted to the top-flight, leaving an eight-team Premier Division from 2023.
SA Rugby confirmed on Friday that the Currie Cup Premier Division will kick off in January, with seven teams participating.
This follows an online meeting of the General Council of the country’s rugby governing body.
SA Rugby said in a statement that the council rejected a proposal from Eastern Province to be incorporated into the top-flight.
The council did, however, approve a motion that the top South African team in the First Division be automatically promoted to the Premier Division at the end of the 2022 Currie Cup season, creating an eight-team Premier Division the following season.
SA Rugby added that the promoted team would be entrenched for two seasons (until the end of the 2024 Currie Cup season) when the bottom team in the Premier Division will be automatically relegated in favour of the top South African team in the First Division, which will also be entrenched for two seasons before promotion/relegation at the end of the 2026 season.
The teams competing in the Premier Division are the Bulls, Sharks, Western Province, Lions, Cheetahs, Griquas and Pumas, while the First Division comprises the Leopards, Griffons, Valke, Boland, Eastern Province, Border and South Western Districts.
The 2022 competition will kick off on the weekend of 14/15 January.
The unusual kick off is due to the realignment of the South African domestic rugby calendar to dovetail with the northern hemisphere season following the Sharks, Stormers, Bulls and Lions being granted entry into the United Rugby Championship.
The change means that the Currie Cup final will be played on 25 June, which will mark the end of the season for senior professional players appearing in the Currie Cup and the United Rugby Championship.
SA Rugby added that the Currie Cup First Division fixtures would be confirmed early next year.
Currie Cup Premier Division 2022 (all fixtures are subject to change; venues and kick-off times to be confirmed)
Friday/Saturday, 14/15 January
Western Province v Lions
Cheetahs v Griquas
Pumas v Bulls
Wednesday, 19 January
Western Province v Bulls
Sharks v Griquas
Lions v Pumas
Wednesday, 2 February
Sharks v Western Province
Bulls v Cheetahs
Griquas v Pumas
Friday/Saturday, 18/19 February
Lions v Sharks
Griquas v Western Province
Pumas v Cheetahs
Friday/Saturday, 4/5 March
Cheetahs v Lions
Griquas v Bulls
Pumas v Sharks
Wednesday, 16 March
Bulls v Sharks
Cheetahs v Western Province
Griquas v Lions
Wednesday, 23 March
Western Province v Pumas
Sharks v Cheetahs
Lions v Bulls
Wednesday, 6 April
Bulls v Western Province
Griquas v Sharks
Pumas v Lions
Friday/Saturday, 15/16 April
Western Province v Cheetahs
Sharks v Bulls
Lions v Griquas
Friday/Saturday, 6/7 May
Sharks v Pumas
Lions v Cheetahs
Bulls v Griquas
Friday/Saturday, 13/14 May
Bulls v Lions
Cheetahs v Sharks
Pumas v Western Province
Friday/Saturday, 27/28 May
Lions v Western Province
Bulls v Pumas
Griquas v Cheetahs
Friday/Saturday, 3/4 June
Western Province v Griquas
Sharks v Lions
Cheetahs v Pumas
Friday/Saturday, 10/11 June
Western Province v Sharks
Cheetahs v Bulls
Pumas v Griquas
18 June
Currie Cup Semi-Finals
25 June
Currie Cup Final
2 July
Champions Match
