The 2018 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – was the second edition of the Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa. The competition was organised by the South African Rugby Union and was played between 21 April and 15 July 2018. The competition featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus n side the .
The competition was won by the for the first time, after they beat 32–30 in the final in Oudtshoorn. Pumas fly-half Chris Smith was the top scorer in the competition with 131 points, while Griquas wing Enver Brandt was the top try scorer with 11 tries.
Competition rules and information
The fifteen teams in the competition were divided into three regional sections of five teams. Each team played home and away matches against the other four teams in their section over a ten-week period. The top two teams from each pool, along with the two third-placed teams with the best record progressed to the play-offs, which consisted of quarter finals, a semi-final and a final.
Teams
The teams that competed in the 2018 Rugby Challenge are:
Northern Section Team Sponsored Name Vodacom Blue Bulls XV Hino Valke Xerox Golden Lions XV iCollege Pumas Windhoek Draught Welwitschias
Central Section Team Sponsored Name Toyota Free State XV Down Touch Griffons Tafel Lager Griquas Leopards Cell C Sharks XV
Southern Section Team Sponsored Name Boland Cavaliers Border Bulldogs Eastern Province Elephants SWD Eagles DHL Western Province
Northern Section
Log
2018 Rugby Challenge Northern Section log Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts 1 8 8 0 0 408 152 +256 55 22 7 0 39 2 8 5 0 3 375 221 +154 54 30 7 1 28 3 8 5 0 3 317 255 +62 47 32 7 0 27 4 8 1 0 7 208 367 −159 30 52 6 1 11 5 8 1 0 7 152 465 −313 20 70 3 0 7
The and the qualified for the quarterfinals as section winners and runners-up respectively. The also qualified as a best third-placed team.
Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, each team's cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.
Team Progression – Northern Section Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 QF SF F 4 (2nd) 9 (1st) 9 (2nd) 14 (1st) 19 (1st) 24 (1st) 29 (1st) 29 (1st) 34 (1st) 39 (1st) Won Won Won 0 (3rd) 1 (4th) 6 (4th) 11 (2nd) 12 (3rd) 12 (3rd) 13 (3rd) 18 (3rd) 23 (3rd) 28 (2nd) Lost 0 (4th) 5 (2nd) 10 (1st) 10 (3rd) 15 (2nd) 16 (2nd) 21 (2nd) 26 (2nd) 26 (2nd) 27 (3rd) Lost 5 (1st) 5 (3rd) 6 (3rd) 6 (4th) 6 (4th) 7 (4th) 7 (4th) 9 (4th) 10 (4th) 11 (4th) 0 (5th) 0 (5th) 1 (5th) 1 (5th) 1 (5th) 6 (5th) 7 (5th) 7 (5th) 7 (5th) 7 (5th) Key: win draw loss bye
Matches
Round One
Round Two
Round Three
Round Four
Round Five
Round Six
Round Seven
Round Eight
Round Nine
Round Ten
Central Section
Log
2018 Rugby Challenge Central Section log Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts 1 8 7 0 1 347 231 +116 47 34 7 1 36 2 8 5 0 3 312 238 +74 45 35 7 2 29 3 8 6 0 2 251 212 +39 37 27 5 0 29 4 8 1 0 7 265 301 −36 41 41 7 4 15 5 8 1 0 7 202 395 −193 26 59 4 0 8
and the qualified for the quarterfinals as section winners and runners-up respectively. The also qualified as a best third-placed team.
Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, each team's cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.
Team Progression – Central Section Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 QF SF F 5 (2nd) 10 (1st) 10 (1st) 12 (2nd) 17 (2nd) 22 (2nd) 22 (2nd) 26 (2nd) 31 (1st) 36 (1st) Won Won Lost 1 (3rd) 1 (4th) 6 (4th) 11 (3rd) 12 (3rd) 12 (3rd) 17 (3rd) 22 (3rd) 24 (3rd) 29 (2nd) Won Lost 0 (4th) 5 (3rd) 10 (2nd) 15 (1st) 19 (1st) 24 (1st) 29 (1st) 29 (1st) 29 (2nd) 29 (3rd) Won Lost 5 (1st) 6 (2nd) 7 (3rd) 7 (4th) 9 (4th) 9 (4th) 11 (4th) 11 (4th) 13 (4th) 15 (4th) 0 (5th) 0 (5th) 0 (5th) 1 (5th) 1 (5th) 2 (5th) 2 (5th) 3 (5th) 8 (5th) 8 (5th) Key: win draw loss bye
Matches
Round One
Round Two
Round Three
Round Four
Round Five
Round Six
Round Seven
Round Eight
Round Nine
Round Ten
Southern Section
Log
2018 Rugby Challenge Southern Section log Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts 1 8 7 1 0 360 145 +215 55 20 7 0 37 2 8 4 1 3 234 192 +42 35 26 5 2 25 3 8 5 0 3 215 240 −25 28 36 4 0 24 4 8 2 0 6 157 258 −101 22 38 2 1 11 5 8 1 0 7 180 311 −131 25 45 4 2 10
and the qualified for the quarterfinals as section winners and runners-up respectively.
Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, each team's cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.
Team Progression – Southern Section Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 QF SF F 5 (1st) 10 (1st) 14 (1st) 14 (1st) 19 (1st) 24 (1st) 29 (1st) 32 (1st) 32 (1st) 37 (1st) Lost 5 (2nd) 5 (2nd) 6 (3rd) 11 (2nd) 16 (2nd) 16 (2nd) 16 (2nd) 19 (2nd) 21 (3rd) 25 (2nd) Lost 0 (3rd) 5 (3rd) 10 (2nd) 10 (3rd) 10 (3rd) 10 (3rd) 15 (3rd) 19 (3rd) 24 (2nd) 24 (3rd) 0 (4th) 0 (4th) 0 (5th) 4 (4th) 4 (4th) 9 (4th) 10 (4th) 11 (4th) 11 (4th) 11 (4th) 0 (5th) 0 (5th) 0 (4th) 1 (5th) 3 (5th) 4 (5th) 5 (5th) 5 (5th) 10 (5th) 10 (5th) Key: win draw loss bye
Matches
Round One
Round Two
Round Three
Round Four
Round Five
Round Six
Round Seven
Round Eight
Round Nine
Round Ten
Title play-offs
The final pool standings and title play-offs seeding were:
Section winners Seeding Team Section PD Pts 1 Northern Section 39 +256 2 Southern Section 37 +213 3 Central Section 36 +116 Section runners-up Seeding Team Section PD Pts 4 Central Section 29 +74 5 Northern Section 28 +154 6 Southern Section 25 +42 Section third-placed teams Seeding Team Section PD Pts 7 Central Section 29 +39 8 Northern Section 27 +62 9 Southern Section 24 −23
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Honours
The honour roll for the 2018 Rugby Challenge was as follows:
2018 Rugby Challenge Champions: (1st title) Top points scorer: Chris Smith, (131) Top try scorer: Enver Brandt, (11)
Players
Squads
The following squads were named for the 2018 Rugby Challenge:
Blue Bulls XV Name SF F App Try Con Pen DG Pts 1 1 1 17 1 5 2 0 0 0 10 2 2 2 16 16 16 5 1 0 0 0 5 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 4 4 4 18 4 7 2 0 0 0 10 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 7 18 3 0 0 0 0 0 7 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 8 8 8 7 7 19 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 9 3 3 0 0 0 15 10 10 10 10 4 0 2 0 0 4 11 11 22 22 15 14 11 7 2 6 0 0 22 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 8 3 0 0 0 15 13 13 13 22 4 3 0 0 0 15 14 11 14 14 4 6 0 0 0 30 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 7 4 22 5 0 79 16 2 16 2 16 5 2 0 0 0 10 17 17 1 17 4 2 0 0 0 10 18 18 18 4 4 18 18 18 7 1 0 0 0 5 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 20 20 9 9 20 20 6 1 0 0 0 5 21 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 22 13 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 17 3 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 19 19 3 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 9 3 1 0 0 0 5 14 14 14 14 4 3 0 0 0 15 16 1 1 0 0 0 5 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 21 21 21 10 10 5 0 0 0 0 0 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 1 0 0 0 5 22 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 8 8 8 8 5 1 0 0 0 5 11 11 11 11 11 5 3 0 0 0 15 12 13 13 3 0 0 0 0 0 16 16 2 2 2 5 3 0 0 0 15 17 17 3 17 4 0 0 0 0 0 18 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 20 20 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 21 21 21 21 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 19 1 1 0 0 0 5 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 13 22 22 13 4 2 0 0 0 10 19 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 0 0 0 5 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 1 0 0 0 5 10 1 0 3 1 0 9 13 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 5 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 1 0 1 0 0 2 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 21 1 0 0 0 0 0 Total 9 51 34 6 0 341 Irvin Ali, Heino Bezuidenhout, Marnitz Boshoff, Ewan Coetzee, Werner Fourie, Stedman Gans, Richman Gora, Cameron Hufke, Rieckert Korff, Eduan Lubbe, Jay-Cee Nel, Reagan Oranje, Ryno Pieterse, Hanru Sirgel, Ginter Smuts, Gerhard Steenekamp, Jade Stighling and Dylan van der Walt were named in the squad, but not included in a matchday squad. Replacements used in match against not known.
Boland Cavaliers Name SF F App Try Con Pen DG Pts 1 3 3 3 18 3 3 17 17 9 2 0 0 0 10 2 2 16 16 2 2 2 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 3 18 18 18 3 17 17 3 3 9 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 9 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 8 2 0 0 0 10 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 9 0 0 0 0 0 7 7 7 7 7 8 7 7 2 0 0 0 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 2 0 0 0 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 10 10 22 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 1 23 5 0 66 11 11 11 11 11 21 21 11 21 9 4 0 0 0 20 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 8 4 0 0 0 20 13 13 21 20 4 1 0 0 0 5 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 8 7 0 0 0 35 15 15 15 15 15 5 1 0 1 0 8 16 16 2 2 2 16 16 16 16 9 1 0 0 0 5 17 1 1 17 17 18 6 0 0 0 0 0 18 18 19 19 3 0 0 0 0 0 19 19 19 7 7 19 19 7 18 9 2 0 0 0 10 20 10 22 21 21 15 15 22 15 9 0 1 0 0 2 21 21 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 9 0 0 0 0 0 22 20 14 15 22 11 11 11 7 6 0 0 0 30 17 17 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 1 0 0 0 5 20 19 2 0 0 0 0 0 16 20 2 0 0 0 0 0 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 19 18 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 20 21 20 4 0 0 0 0 0 22 22 12 22 4 0 0 0 0 0 Total 9 38 24 6 0 256 Gareth Cilliers, JR Hofmeester, Phillip Jacobs, Claude Johannes and Rowan Ranna were named in the squad, but not included in a matchday squad.
Border Bulldogs Name QF SF F App Try Con Pen DG Pts 1 3 17 1 1 1 1 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 16 2 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 7 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 19 4 4 4 4 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 8 1 0 0 0 5 6 6 6 21 6 5 1 0 0 0 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 7 8 1 0 0 0 5 8 8 8 8 8 5 3 0 0 0 15 9 20 9 9 9 9 20 20 8 0 10 3 0 29 10 9 10 10 21 20 9 9 8 1 0 0 0 5 11 11 11 11 11 5 1 0 0 0 5 12 12 12 12 4 0 0 0 0 0 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 22 8 1 0 0 0 5 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 8 4 0 0 0 20 15 15 15 15 15 5 2 0 0 0 10 16 16 16 16 16 2 16 16 8 1 0 0 0 5 17 17 17 17 4 0 0 0 0 0 18 18 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 19 18 19 19 18 18 6 0 0 0 0 0 20 8 8 3 1 0 0 0 5 21 15 15 15 4 0 2 0 0 4 22 22 22 22 22 11 11 13 8 3 0 0 0 15 1 1 17 18 18 17 17 7 0 0 0 0 0 10 21 20 10 10 10 10 6 0 3 1 1 12 19 19 2 0 0 0 0 0 21 21 12 12 12 12 6 1 0 0 0 5 18 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 6 6 6 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 19 20 19 6 4 0 0 0 0 0 22 21 21 3 0 0 0 0 0 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 penalty try – 1 – – – 7 Total 8 22 15 4 1 157 Lunga Dumezweni and Siya Ncanywa were named in the squad, but not included in a matchday squad.
Eastern Province Elephants Name QF SF F App Try Con Pen DG Pts 1 1 17 1 1 1 1 1 8 2 0 0 0 10 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 10 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 0 0 0 5 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 9 20 21 21 20 9 6 0 0 0 0 0 10 10 22 22 4 0 2 1 0 7 11 11 11 11 11 11 6 0 0 0 0 0 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 8 1 0 0 0 5 14 14 14 14 15 14 14 14 8 2 0 0 0 10 15 15 15 15 4 0 0 0 0 0 16 16 2 2 2 2 2 2 8 2 0 0 0 10 17 3 3 3 3 5 1 0 0 0 5 18 4 4 4 7 7 5 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 19 7 8 8 8 8 8 7 8 0 0 0 0 0 20 9 9 9 9 9 6 2 1 0 0 12 21 21 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 1 16 3 1 49 22 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 8 1 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 5 5 19 5 7 1 0 0 0 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 3 0 0 0 15 9 1 1 0 0 0 5 17 1 18 17 17 17 6 2 0 0 0 10 18 18 3 18 18 5 0 0 0 0 0 19 7 7 20 7 20 6 1 0 0 0 5 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 16 16 16 16 16 5 0 0 0 0 0 19 19 4 4 4 19 6 0 0 0 0 0 20 20 19 19 4 1 0 0 0 5 11 14 11 3 0 0 0 0 0 17 18 3 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 21 22 22 22 4 0 1 0 0 2 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 15 15 3 1 0 0 0 5 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 18 17 2 0 0 0 0 0 21 21 21 3 0 0 0 0 0 20 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 Total 8 25 20 4 1 180 Loyola Dapula, Luciano Grootboom, Hannes Huisamen, Unathi Kongwana, Dumisani Meslane, Rouche Nel, Masixole Screech, Josiah Twum-Boafo and Madoda Yako were named in the squad, but not included in a matchday squad.