The Preparation Series was a South African rugby union tournament organised by SA Rugby. The tournament was used to be a number of preparation fixtures were announced by SA Rugby. It served as preparation for the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa and South African teams entering the Pro14 Rainbow Cup, who had missed out on significant rugby game time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 8 sides took part in the competition; the four joining the Pro14 Rainbow Cup (the , the , the and the ), along with the , and , who had taken part in Super Rugby Unlocked and the 2020–21 Currie Cup Premier Division, and the who had not played any competitive rugby since the 2019 Currie Cup First Division.
Although there was no trophy for this tournament, the ended up in top spot in Pool A and the topped in pool B.
Regular season Format The eight teams have been split into two groups and will play cross-pool matches. Each team played four matches. Two at home and two away. The tournament spanned from Friday, 26 February until Sunday, 28 March.
Standings
Pool A Preparation Series Pool ATeamPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTries ForTries AgainstBonus PointsPoints1 4 3 0 1 181 115 +66 26 14 3 152 4 3 0 1 159 105 +54 20 12 2 143 4 3 0 1 141 136 +5 18 18 1 134 4 2 0 2 108 195 +13 13 13 2 10
Pool B Preparation Series Pool BTeamPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints ForPoints AgainstPoints DifferenceTries ForTries AgainstBonus PointsPoints1 4 2 0 2 158 104 +54 24 14 4 122 4 2 0 2 144 112 +32 15 15 3 113 4 1 0 3 103 118 −15 11 10 2 64 4 0 0 4 46 255 −209 7 38 0 0
Matches Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Player statistics
Top point scorers No Player Team Points 1 Kade Wolhuter 47 2 Eddie Fouché 40 3 Chris Smith 38 Tiaan Swanepoel 4 François Steyn 31 5 Ruan Pienaar 26
Top try scorers No Player Team Tries 1 HJ Luus 4 Joe van Zyl 2 Wilmar Arnoldi 3 Rosko Specman Gideon van der Merwe Leolin Zas
See also 2021 British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa Pro14 Rainbow Cup
References