MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Sport / New First Division Champion to Be Crowned

New First Division Champion to Be Crowned

A new name will be engraved on the Carling Currie Cup First Division trophy in the last weekend of July, and all six teams will be eager to get their charge off to a strong start when the competition kicks off on Saturday.

Last year’s champions, the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers, were promoted to the Premier Division in 2025 after they finished in the top four of the recently concluded SA Cup.

This opens the doors for Eastern Province, runners up in 2024 after they were pipped to the crown by the tiniest of margins by the Kavaliers, the NovaVit Griffons, Valke, Phangela SWD Eagles, Leopards and Border Bulldogs to bring some silverware home in a few weeks’ time.

All three opening round matches kick off at 15h00 on Saturday when EP welcome the Eagles to Gqeberha, the Griffons host the Valke in Welkom, and the Bulldogs travel to Potchefstroom to take on the Leopards.

Eastern Province have won three of the last five clashes between the two neighbouring sides, including a 39-26 victory in George in the SA Cup in March, and they will run out at the Madibaz Stadium as the favourites.

The clash between the Griffons and the Valke could very well determine which teams are near the top of the log at the conclusion of the competition, and looking at the recent results between the teams, a high-scoring affair could be on the cards.

Both sides did well in the SA Cup, with the East Randers edging the Northern Free Staters into sixth place on the standings, mainly courtesy of a 45-40 victory in Kempton Park in April, although the Griffons won their last home match against the Valke, last year in the SA Cup, by 53-40.

The Leopards will bank on recent history repeating itself when they welcome the Border Bulldogs to Olen Park, with the team from North West victorious in their seven last matches since rugby resumed after the pandemic a few years ago.

Border will take some heart from their last two clashes though, which were decided by margins of three and two points respectively.

Following a single round of matches, the top four sides will clash in the semi-finals on the weekend of 19 July, with the final scheduled for the following weekend, when the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division kicks off.

Match information:

Eastern Province v Phangela SWD Eagles

Date: Saturday, 14 June

Venue: Madibaz Stadium, Gqeberha

Kick-off: 15h00

Referee: Lulutho Matomela

NovaVit Griffons v Valke

Date: Saturday, 14 June

Venue: Down Touch Investments Stadium, Welkom

Kick-off: 15h00

Referee: Griffin Colby

Leopards v Border Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, 14 June

Venue: Olen Park, Potchefstroom

Kick-off: 15h00

Referee: Zoe Naude

Category: Tag:

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • Fun South African fact

    Dear Editor Fun South African fact: towns like Franschhoek and Stellenbosch are home to world-class wine farms set in stunning, scenic surroundings. Regards Aressa Smith In Response to/From: Luxury Properties Seized in New Lottery Crackdown

  • Condolences on the Passing of Lusanda Dumke

    Statement by Leander Kruger MPL – DA Buffalo City Constituency Leader: The Democratic Alliance in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality mourns the passing of Springbok Women’s rugby player and Mdantsane trailblazer, Lusanda Dumke, who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 28. South Africa has lost an exceptional athlete, a leader, and a source…

  • Rape Kits Delivered, But…

    Statement by Nicholas Gotsell MP – DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice: The DA can confirm that 2 840 rape kits arrived in Cape Town on Monday, following sustained DA oversight and pressure after multiple police stations across the Western Cape were found to be without this critical forensic evidence tool. While this delivery…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mahela Jayawardene is the only batsman to have scored centuries in both the Semi-Final and Final of a World Cup.

  2. Sunil Gavaskar was out off the first ball of a Test match thrice in his career – Sunil Gavaskar was the first batsman to reach 10,000 Test runs and he ended his career scoring 34 Test centuries. But did you know he was out three times off the first ball of a Test? The bowlers to dismiss him were: Geoff Arnold (Edgbaston, 1974), Malcolm Marshall (Kolkata, 1984) and Imran Khan (Jaipur, 1987).