Rugby: Get all the fixtures here for the new Carling Currie Cup!
There's a new sponsor on board for the world's oldest domestic competition that will continue through the festive season with the Bulls and Lions clashing at Loftus on Boxing Day.
The Cheetahs, Currie Cup champions in 2019 after beating the Lions in Bloemfontein, will now look to add the Carling Currie Cup to their trophy cabinet. Picture: Getty Images
The Cup of Champions has partnered with South Africa’s champion beer in a bold, new agreement that will see the world’s oldest provincial rugby competition officially become the Carling Currie Cup for the next three seasons.
The Carling Currie Cup will officially kick off on the weekend of November 27/28, culminating in the final on Saturday, January 23, 2021. All log points from Super Rugby Unlocked will be carried over to the Carling Currie Cup.
The Cheetahs will defend the crown they won in the 2019 final against the Lions, as well as the Bulls, Griquas, Pumas, Sharks and Western Province.
The opening round of matches will see the Sharks host the Pumas, Griquas take on the Lions and the Bulls travel to Cape Town to face Western Province. The Cheetahs have a bye.
SA Rugby and South African Breweries (SAB) announced on Tuesday that they had struck a deal in which the award-winning Carling Black Label Beer assumes the naming rights to rugby’s biggest domestic prize – marking Carling Black Label’s debut in rugby, although the partnership between SA Rugby and SAB stretches back close to three decades.
The new Carling Currie Cup logo. Picture: Supplied
“SAB has been a loyal partner to SA Rugby dating back to the days before rugby turned professional, so it gives me great pleasure to build on our association with them,” said SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux.
“This marks Carling Black Label’s first rugby sponsorship, and we are thrilled to have such a well-established and successful brand associated with the Currie Cup, which is a competition that prides itself on its rich heritage.”
SAB’s founding brand, Castle Lager, began its association with SA Rugby and the Springboks in 1997 – succeeding Lion Lager, another SAB brand – which had been worn on the jersey when the team returned from isolation in 1992.
The partnership has included the sponsorship of the three annual Test competitions – the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, the Castle Lager Incoming Series and the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour – as well as of the Springbok Sevens and Springbok Women’s Sevens teams.
Carling Black Label Brand Director Arné Rust said: “Carling Black Label is proud to sponsor the Currie Cup. Not only are our goals closely aligned but the name itself is a pleasure to say, the Carling Currie Cup.”
Fixtures for the 2020 Carling Currie Cup (all subject to change):
Friday November 27
7pm: Sharks v Pumas (Durban)
Saturday November 28
4.30pm: Griquas v Lions (Kimberley),
7pm: Western Province v Bulls (Cape Town)
Friday December 4
7pm: Pumas v Griquas (Nelspruit)
Saturday December 5
4.30pm: Bulls v Cheetahs (Pretoria)
7pm: Lions v Western Province (Johannesburg)
Friday December 11
7pm: Western Province v Pumas (Cape Town)
Saturday December 12
4.30pm: Cheetahs v Lions (Bloemfontein)
7pm: Sharks v Bulls (Durban)
Friday December 18
7pm: Pumas v Cheetahs (Nelspruit)
Saturday December 19
4.30pm: Griquas v Bulls (Kimberley)
7pm: Lions v Sharks (Johannesburg)
Saturday December 26
4.30pm: Western Province v Griquas (Cape Town)
7pm: Bulls v Lions (Pretoria)
Sunday December 27
4.30pm: Cheetahs v Sharks (Bloemfontein)
Saturday January 2
2pm: Pumas v Lions (Nelspruit)
4.30pm: Sharks v Griquas (Durban)
7pm: Cheetahs v Western Province (Bloemfontein)
Friday January 8
7pm: Pumas v Bulls (Nelspruit)
Saturday January 9
4.30pm: Griquas v Cheetahs (Kimberley)
7pm: Western Province v Sharks (Cape Town)
Saturday January 16: Semi-finals
Saturday January 23: Final
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