The countdown to the 2026 Pick n Pay Gold Cup has begun in earnest, with just 100 days to go to kick-off of the hugely popular ‘FA Cup’ of South African community rugby.
This year’s tournament celebrates a special milestone: it will be the 10th time that club players from across the country will compete for the priceless, 97-year-old nine-carat Gold Cup trophy, following the decision in 2013 to repurpose the old national club championship, which historically had included university teams from 1975 to 2012, to serve as the pinnacle for non-tertiary clubs.
It will also be the second time that the Pick n Pay Gold Cup, which will kick off on Saturday 26 September, will be sponsored by the national retail chain. Pick n Pay’s investment into community rugby forms part of a four-year agreement with SA Rugby that includes becoming Tier-1 sponsors of the four-time Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks; the back-to-back HSBC SVNS World Champion Blitzboks; the defending Junior World Champions SA U20 side; as well as all other national teams.
This year’s Pick n Pay Gold Cup will also be the fourth time the tournament is staged since a three-year, pandemic-enforced hiatus that appeared to threaten the future of the community game as a whole.
The Gold Cup, however returned in 2023, reinventing itself as a 32-team FA Cup-style knockout event, replacing the pre-2020 pool format that provided a national platform to only half the number of sides.
And any fears that community rugby had been irreparably harmed by three years of enforced inactivity were put to bed in emphatic fashion in 2025, when record crowds and unprecedented social-media engagement culminated in Naka Bulls of Pretoria storming to a hat-trick of Gold Cup titles.
Naka’s comprehensive, 40-25 final victory over Western Province champions Villager at Brookside in Cape Town cemented the status of Marinus van der Watt’s team as one of the greatest club sides of the modern era. It also brought them level with Rustenburg Impala – winners in 2014, 2016 and 2019 – as the only other club to win the title on three separate occasions.
Naka Bulls will get their title defence underway in 100 days’ time having already set their sights on a “new Everest” in 2026: an unprecedented fourth win on the trot and arguably the title of greatest club team of them all.
In many ways, the 2025 Pick n Pay Gold Cup ushered in a bold new era for club rugby on the back of significant growth in the community game. The success of the Gold Cup is also thanks in no small part to the support of Northam Platinum, whose commitment to community aligns with the grassroots spirit of the Pick n Pay Gold Cup.
“The 2025 Pick n Pay Gold Cup was a great success and represented a turning point in terms of the evolution of the community game,” said SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer.
“The way fans bought into the vibe was a pleasure to behold and we intend to build on that foundation in 2026.
“Our Gold Cup Trophy Tours visited Pick n Pay stores in Robertson, Kariega, Thabazimbi, and Claremont and this year we plan to visit even more regions. Our Gold Cup Facebook page had almost two million views last year and we are also aiming to improve on that in 2026 and introduce other exciting initiatives to keep the momentum going.
“I cannot stress enough the role that the Gold Cup’s new partners, Pick n Pay and Northam Platinum, have played in the tournament’s revival. They have bought in to what we are trying to achieve in the community rugby space and we look forward to taking things up to another level when the teams get down to battle in 100 days’ time.”
The race to fill the 32 slots – comprising two entrants from each of the 15 unions, plus the defending champion and one wild card – is hotting up around the country in provincial leagues where the current season’s results determine who qualifies for the Gold Cup. Some unions, on the other hand, use the previous year’s league standings, thereby affording more preparation time for their chosen teams.
Confirmed teams thus far include:
Blue Bulls:
Naka Bulls (as defending champions)
Grizzlies
Centurion
Boland:
Saldanha
Roses United
Eastern Province:
Gardens
PE Harlequins
Griquas:
Sishen
Kimberley
Limpopo:
Northam Rhinos
Second club will be confirmed after the Limpopo League final on 29 August
Valke:
Vereeniging
Brakpan
Pick n Pay Gold Cup Champions – 2013-2025:
2013: Despatch (EP)
2014: Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)
2015: Durbanville-Bellville (WP)
2016: Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)
2017: False Bay (WP)
2018: No tournament as Gold Cup transitioned from post-season to pre-season timeslot
2019: Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)
2020-22: Gold Cup did not take place due to Covid-19
2023: Naka Bulls (Blue Bulls)
2024: Naka Bulls (Blue Bulls)
2025: Naka Bulls (Blue Bulls)
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