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 and Namibian side .
The tournament was won by the for the first time; they beat 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 ' 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.
Teams
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, 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:
2015 Vodacom Cup teams Team Sponsored Name Stadium/s Sponsored Name Northern Section teams Vodacom Blue Bulls Loftus Versfeld Hino Falcons Barnard Stadium Emirates Airline Golden Lions Emirates Airline Park Down Touch Griffons HT Pelatona Projects Stadium Leopards XV Profert Olën Park Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls Peter Mokaba Stadium Steval Pumas Mbombela Stadium FNB Welwitschias Hage Geingob StadiumSouthern Section teams Regent Boland Cavaliers Boland Stadium Border Bulldogs Buffalo City Stadium Eastern Province Kings Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Toyota Free State XV Free State Stadium GWK Griquas GWK Park Cell C Sharks XV Growthpoint Kings Park SWD Eagles Outeniqua Park DHL Western Province DHL Newlands
Logs The top four teams in each section will qualify to the quarter-finals, with their final log positions determining their seedings in the quarter finals. In the quarter finals, the teams that finish first in each section will have home advantage against the teams that finish fourth in the other section and the teams that finish second in each section will have home advantage against the teams that finish third in the other section. The winners of these quarter finals will then play each other in the semi-finals, with the higher-placed team having home advantage. The two semi-final winners will then meet in the final.
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:
Team Progression – 2015 Vodacom Cup North Section Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 Qtr Semi Final 5 (1st) 10 (2nd) 14 (2nd) 19 (1st) 23 (1st) 23 (2nd) 28 (1st) 28 (2nd) 33 (1st) Won Lost 5 (3rd) 10 (3rd) 10 (3rd) 14 (3rd) 19 (2nd) 24 (1st) 24 (3rd) 29 (1st) 29 (2nd) Won Lost 5 (2nd) 10 (1st) 15 (1st) 16 (2nd) 16 (3rd) 20 (3rd) 24 (2nd) 24 (3rd) 24 (3rd) Won Won Won 5 (4th) 5 (4th) 10 (4th) 10 (4th) 10 (4th) 10 (4th) 10 (5th) 15 (4th) 20 (4th) Lost 0 (6th) 0 (6th) 2 (5th) 3 (6th) 8 (5th) 8 (5th) 9 (6th) 14 (5th) 19 (5th) 0 (7th) 0 (7th) 0 (6th) 5 (5th) 5 (6th) 5 (7th) 10 (4th) 10 (6th) 11 (6th) 0 (8th) 0 (8th) 0 (8th) 2 (7th) 2 (7th) 6 (6th) 6 (7th) 6 (7th) 7 (7th) 0 (5th) 0 (5th) 0 (7th) 0 (8th) 0 (8th) 1 (8th) 1 (8th) 1 (8th) 2 (8th) Team Progression – 2015 Vodacom Cup South Section Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 Qtr Semi Final 5 (2nd) 10 (1st) 14 (1st) 19 (1st) 23 (1st) 27 (1st) 32 (1st) Won Won Lost 4 (4th) 8 (2nd) 13 (2nd) 18 (2nd) 19 (2nd) 24 (2nd) 28 (2nd) Lost 0 (7th) 5 (4th) 10 (3rd) 15 (3rd) 19 (3rd) 21 (3rd) 22 (3rd) Lost 4 (3rd) 5 (5th) 6 (4th) 11 (4th) 15 (4th) 20 (4th) 20 (4th) Lost 0 (5th) 5 (6th) 6 (5th) 8 (5th) 8 (6th) 13 (5th) 17 (5th) 5 (1st) 5 (3rd) 5 (6th) 5 (6th) 10 (5th) 10 (6th) 11 (6th) 0 (8th) 0 (8th) 0 (8th) 0 (8th) 1 (8th) 1 (8th) 6 (7th) 0 (6th) 0 (7th) 5 (7th) 5 (7th) 5 (7th) 5 (7th) 5 (8th) Key: win draw loss bye
Results
The following matches were played in the 2015 Vodacom Cup:
All times are South African (GMT+2).
Northern Section
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round Five
Round Six
Round Seven
Round Eight
Round Nine
Southern Section
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round Five
Round Six
Round Seven
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Honours
The honour roll for the 2015 Vodacom Cup was as follows:
2015 Vodacom Cup Honours Champions: (1st title) Top Try Scorer: Alshaun Bock, (8) Top Points Scorer: JC Roos, (118)
Players
Player statistics
The following table contain points which were scored in the 2015 Vodacom Cup:
Top Ten points scorers No Player Team T C P DG Pts 1 JC Roos Pumas 2 24 20 0 118 2 Kobus Marais Blue Bulls 2 21 11 0 85 3 Elric van Vuuren SWD Eagles 0 16 16 0 80 4 Jean-Luc du Plessis Western Province 0 15 13 0 69 5 Jaun Kotzé Falcons 1 23 4 0 63 6 Gouws Prinsloo Griquas 0 12 12 0 60 7 Anton Beswick Limpopo Blue Bulls 0 8 13 0 55 Ashlon Davids Golden Lions 3 14 4 0 55 9 Coenie van Wyk Free State XV 2 10 4 0 42 10 Alshaun Bock SWD Eagles 8 0 0 0 40