The 2017 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – is the first edition of the Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa, and the long-term successor of the Vodacom Cup competition. The competition was organised by the South African Rugby Union and was played between 22 April and 16 July 2017. The competition featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus n side the .
The competition was won by Western Province, after they beat Griquas 28–19 in the final in Cape Town. Golden Lions XV fly-half Shaun Reynolds was the top scorer in the competition with 138 points, while Griquas wing Enver Brandt and Pumas hooker Frank Herne were the joint top try scorer with 9 tries. Danie Debeer was the man of the match.
Competition rules and information
The fifteen teams in the competition were divided into three regional pools of five teams. Each team will play home and away matches against the other four teams in their pool over a ten-week period. The top two teams from each pool, along with the two third-placed teams with the best record will progress to the play-offs, which will consist of quarter finals, a semi-final and a final.
Teams
The teams that will compete in the 2017 Rugby Challenge are:
Northern Section
Log
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.
Matches
Round One
Round Two
Round Three
Round Four
Round Five
Round Six
Round Seven
Round Eight
Round Nine
Round Ten
Central Section
Log
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.
Matches
Round One
Round Two
Round Three
Round Four
Round Five
Round Six
Round Seven
Round Eight
Round Nine
Round Ten
Southern Section
Log
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.
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:
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Honours
The honour roll for the 2017 Rugby Challenge was as follows:
Players
Squads
The following squads were named for the 2018 Rugby Challenge:
Top scorers
The top ten try and point scorers during the 2017 Rugby Challenge were:
Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2017 Rugby Challenge:
See also
2017 Currie Cup Premier Division
2017 Currie Cup First Division
References
External links
SARU website
Rugby Challenge (South Africa) Rugby Challenge Rugby Challenge