Naka Bulls Historic ‘Three-Peat’

Naka Bulls have already set their sights on a “new Everest” in 2026 after making history at the Brookside Sports Ground in Cape Town on Saturday when they won a third consecutive Pick n Pay Gold Cup title.

The Blue Bulls Carlton Cup champions dominated Western Province Super League A champions Villager, running in six tries in a 40-25 (half-time 26-8) victory in front of one of the largest crowds ever seen at the iconic southern suburbs ground.

This year’s tournament, which signaled a bold new era for club rugby on the back of significant post-pandemic and RWC 2023-inspired growth in the community game, was also supported by Northam Platinum, whose commitment to community aligns with the grassroots spirit of the Pick n Pay Gold Cup.

Pick n Pay’s title partnership with the national knockout championship for non-university clubs, meanwhile, is part of a four-year agreement that includes becoming Tier-1 sponsors of the four-time Rugby World Cup and back-to-back Castle Lager Rugby Championship-winning Springboks.

Naka Bulls scrumhalf Jack Hart scored a try – his eighth of the tournament – in a man-of-the-match performance in which a dominant pack and 13 points from his flyhalf, Hansie Graaff, laid the platform for a historic victory.

No club has ever lifted the Gold Cup three years in succession, while Naka’s hat-trick now brings them level overall with Rustenburg Impala – the country’s best club of the 2010s – who won the Cup in 2014, 2016 and 2019.

Long-time Naka Bulls director of rugby, Marinus van der Watt, said it was his proudest moment in more than a decade in charge of the club.

“This was a truly massive occasion for us and I wish to thank everyone in the club, from fans to coaching staff to management, who had a hand in our success of the past few years,” said Van der Watt.

“We are truly very humbled. Villager are a quality side and that’s why it was so special to travel down and win.

“We actually said two weeks ago already that, should it be us and Villager in the Final, that would we love to go down to Cape Town because we would like to challenge ourselves, to say that we won away from home after winning on our home ground the past two times.

“All the players bought into this challenge and were very positive about it. That sums up this team: whatever the challenge, we arrive on the day and perform. I am thankful, very blessed and very humbled for us to have had the opportunity to do it three times in a row. Thank you to Pick n Pay, Northam Platinum and SA Rugby for an incredible tournament and platform,” Van der Watt added.

Villager coach Andy Coetzee was gracious in defeat, and paid tribute to his charges: “Naka Bulls are an incredible side and it was just not to be. “We will learn from this and come back stronger next year, but I’m still incredibly proud of this team and everything they achieved in 2025, including winning the WP title for the first time in 25 years, and beating our arch-rivals Hamilton four times in succession.

“Given where we as a club were just a few years ago, I couldn’t be more proud to know we are the number-two club in all of South Africa,” Coetzee added.

The match – remarkably the first time these two giants of South African club rugby have ever played against each other – was billed as the club version of the country’s age-old North-South provincial and franchise rivalry, and so it proved.

The home side began strongly, but it was Naka who drew first blood when left wing JJ Motlhodi scored in the 11th minute. Villager drew level after 23 minutes when tighthead prop Raeez Salie barged over.

Salie’s opposite number, Christo Bezuidehout, returned the favour three minutes later with a touchdown converted by Graaff, who converted his own try on the hooter to give the two-time defending champions an 18-point lead at the break.

Further tries to flanker Eckard Boshoff and Hart extended Naka’s lead to 40-8 after 55 minutes to all but seal the victory, although Villager deserve credit for a late fightback that saw them score three tries – a brace to replacement Nkosi Nofuma and one to left wing Graham Thompson – in the final quarter.

But it was Naka who held on for a famous win that earned the respect of even the most die-hard Cape fans.

“The 2025 Pick n Pay Gold Cup was an unqualified success and in years to come may just be looked back on as a watershed edition of the tournament in terms of the evolution of the community game,” said SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer.

“The standard of rugby was exceptional, and the way fans bought into the vibe was a pleasure to behold.

“Our Gold Cup Trophy Tours visited Pick n Pay stores in Robertson, Kariega, Thabazimbi and Claremont and, on the back of that, our Facebook page had almost two million views in that time. I cannot stress the role that the Gold Cup’s new partners, Pick n Pay and Northam Platinum, played in the tournament’s revival.

“They have bought in to what we are trying to achieve in the community rugby space, and I for one already cannot wait to see how we can take things to the next level in 2026.”

Scorers:

• Villager 25 (8) – Tries: Raeez Salie, Nkosi Nofuma (2), Graham Thompson. Conversion: Jandre Grobler. Penalty goal: Grobler.
• Naka Bulls 40 (26) – Tries: JJ Motlhodi, Christo Bezuidenhout, Hansie Graaff, Eckard Boshoff, Jack Hart, penalty try. Conversions: Graaff (4).