Countries South Africa
Namibia Runners-up Western Province Top try scorer Alshaun Bock (8) Champion Pumas Tries scored 430 | Champions Pumas (1st title) Top point scorer JC Roos (118) Dates 6 Mar 2015 – 30 May 2015 Matches played 63 | |
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Kenya rugby union to review participation in 2015 vodacom cup
The 2015 Vodacom Cup was contested from 6 March to 30 May 2015. The tournament was the 18th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South Africa, as well as the Limpopo Blue Bulls and Namibian side Welwitschias.
Contents
- Kenya rugby union to review participation in 2015 vodacom cup
- Competition rules and information
- Quotas
- Changes from 2014
- Team Listing
- Round by round
- Results
- Honours
- Player statistics
- Squads
- Discipline
- Referees
- References
The tournament was won by the Pumas for the first time; they beat Western Province 24–7 in the final played on 30 May 2015.
Competition rules and information
Sixteen teams participated in the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition. These teams were geographically divided into two sections, with eight teams in each of the Northern and Southern Sections. Teams played all the teams in their section once over the course of the season, either at home or away. At the request of the Namibia Rugby Union, all the Welwitschias' matches were played in Windhoek.
Teams received four log points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus log points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top four teams in each section qualified for the title play-offs. In the quarter finals, the teams that finished first in each section had home advantage against the teams that finished fourth in the other section and the teams that finished second in each section had home advantage against the teams that finished third in the other section. The winners of these quarter finals then played each other in the semi-finals, with the higher-placed team having home advantage. The two semi-final winners then met in the final.
Quotas
This competition saw the retention of the quota system used in 2014. Each match-day squad had to contain seven black players. Two of these had to be forwards and five of these had to be in the starting line-up.
Changes from 2014
In September 2014, the Namibia Rugby Union revealed that they were in talks with the South African Rugby Union to enter the competition for the first time since 2011. Namibia's participation was confirmed on 19 November 2014 and it was later revealed that their new sponsor, First National Bank, agreed to a three-year sponsorship deal which should ensure their participation in the competition until 2017.
In addition, the Kenya Rugby Football Union also initially indicated that they intended to once again enter a team in the competition. However, after being included in the fixture list for the competition, the Kenyan RFU withdrew from the competition a month before its scheduled start date due to financial considerations. As a result, Griquas moved to the Southern Section of the competition, inheriting the Simba XV's fixtures.
Team Listing
The following teams took part in the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition:
Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:
Results
The following matches were played in the 2015 Vodacom Cup:
All times are South African (GMT+2).
Honours
The honour roll for the 2015 Vodacom Cup was as follows:
Player statistics
The following table contain points which were scored in the 2015 Vodacom Cup:
Squads
The teams released the following squad lists:
Discipline
The following table contains all the cards handed out during the tournament:
Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2015 Vodacom Cup: