The Bankfin Nite Series was a rugby union competition in South Africa. There were two editions of this competition, in 1996 and 1997. It was sponsored by Bankfin, who also sponsored the Currie Cup competitions. After two seasons, it was succeeded by the Vodacom Cup competition.
In 1996, there were twelve competing teams – ten of the fourteen provincial unions, plus teams from Namibia and Zimbabwe. The four provincial unions that took part in the 1996 Super 12 season - , , and – did not play in the competition. won the competition, beating 46–34 in the final.
Namibia and Zimbabwe withdrew from the 1997 competition, while replaced defending champions , who in turn replaced Western Province in the 1997 Super 12 season. Western Province won the competition, beating Western Cape rivals 36–25 in the final.
Season summary
The summaries for the two Bankfin Nite Series seasons are as follows:
Year Winner Score Runner-up Losing semi-finalists 1996 46–34 , 1997 36–25 ,
Each team's results in the competition are listed below:
Bankfin Nite Series 1996–1997 Team name Former Name 1996 1997 4th (Section A) Lost in Final Lost in Final 8th 3rd (Section B) 10th Champions 4th (Section B) 9th Lost in semi-final Lost in semi-final 5th (Section A) 6th 3rd (Section A) 7th Namibia XV Namibia XV 6th (Section A) Lost in semi-final Lost in semi-final 5th (Section B) 5th Champions Zimbabwe XV Zimbabwe XV 6th (Section B)
Seasons
1996 Bankfin Nite Series
There were twelve teams in the 1996 Bankfin Nite Series. They were divided into two sections of six teams each. Each team played all the teams in the other section twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.
Teams received five points for a win, two points for a draw and one point for a loss. Bonus points were also awarded based on the number of tries scored – 4 bonus points were awarded for scoring ten or more tries in a match, 3 bonus points for scoring six to nine tries, 2 bonus points for scoring four or five tries and 1 bonus point for scoring two or three tries in a match. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top two teams in each section qualified for the title play-off semi-finals. The team that finished first in each section had home advantage against the team that the team that finished second in the other section, with the semi-final winners advancing to the final.
1996 Bankfin Nite Series Section A Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD Pts 1 12 7 1 4 475 344 +131 66 2 12 9 0 3 395 234 +161 3 12 8 0 4 390 171 +219 61 4 12 6 1 5 470 359 +111 5 12 6 0 6 358 393 −35 6 12 2 0 10 147 516 −369 Section B Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD Pts 1 12 11 0 1 632 218 +414 84 2 12 12 0 0 404 184 +220 84 3 12 3 2 7 331 393 −62 4 12 4 0 8 317 323 −6 5 12 1 0 11 205 513 −308 6 12 1 0 11 128 604 −476 Final standings.
Legend and competition rules Legend: Qualify to the semi-finals. P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points Competition rules: Qualification:The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals. Points breakdown: * 5 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 1 point for a loss * 4 bonus points for scoring ten or more tries in a match * 3 bonus points for scoring six to nine tries in a match * 2 bonus points for scoring four or five tries in a match * 1 bonus point for scoring two or three tries in a match
The following fixtures were played in the 1996 Bankfin Nite Series:
1996 Bankfin Nite Series Section A Team ETv FrS GrW NFS SWD Zim Boland 27–27 16–36 21–23 66–23 34–23 96–5 Border 53–12 29–37 22–34 40–23 48–24 85–3 Eastern Province 67–8 11–14 6–16 19–13 64–13 64–3 Namibia 16–46 13–71 13–15 27–15 13–15 North West 42–29 16–47 18–38 33–20 28–20 77–9 South Eastern Transvaal 23–15 27–26 11–16 25–23 54–5 95–13 Section B Team Bol Bor EPr Nam NWe SET Eastern Transvaal 30–34 31–31 17–25 57–23 37–29 22–23 Free State 83–22 86–24 35–16 111–7 63–23 23–14 Griqualand West 53–26 58–32 17–14 75–0 52–17 22–17 Northern Free State 32–25 16–20 15–22 55–3 54–25 28–32 South Western Districts 12–54 8–66 6–47 38–13 16–24 25–54 Zimbabwe 12–49 12–25 14–35 18–19 8–26 16–20
Semi-finals
Final
1997 Bankfin Nite Series
There were ten teams in the 1997 Bankfin Nite Series. Each team played all the other teams once over the course of the season, either at home or away.
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus 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 qualified for the title play-off semi-finals. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finish third, with the semi-final winners advancing to the final.
1997 Bankfin Nite Series Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD Pts 1 9 9 0 0 429 160 +269 44 2 9 8 0 1 315 173 +142 38 3 9 7 0 2 219 221 −2 30 4 9 5 0 4 281 199 +82 27 5 9 5 0 4 282 212 +70 26 6 9 4 0 5 239 236 +3 19 7 9 3 0 6 195 232 −37 17 8 9 2 0 7 131 305 −174 10 9 9 1 0 8 194 367 −173 6 10 9 1 0 8 144 324 −180 5 Final standings.
Legend and competition rules Legend: Qualify to the semi-finals. P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points Competition rules: Qualification:The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals. Points breakdown:* 4 points for a win* 2 points for a draw* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match
The following fixtures were played in the 1997 Bankfin Nite Series:
1997 Bankfin Nite Series Team BOL BDR FAL GRF GRQ LEO ELE PMA SWD WPr Boland Cavaliers 41–17 26–20 32–14 38–23 Border Bulldogs 3–12 28–13 17–35 13–59 Falcons 12–40 25–32 19–17 16–61 Griffons 18–28 22–53 22–23 19–41 Griquas 58–17 45–26 27–13 19–27 Leopards 17–35 52–5 29–26 24–0 26–47 Mighty Elephants 29–10 50–17 18–27 19–20 36–27 Pumas 32–57 17–15 19–9 42–19 17–31 SWD Eagles 64–0 30–19 23–18 37–24 20–22 Western Province 35–24 77–21 27–14 56–12 36–17
Semi-finals
Final
References