Griquas_(rugby_union)

Griquas (rugby union)

Griquas (rugby union)

South African rugby union club, based in Kimberley, Northern Cape

Griquas (known as the Windhoek Draught Griquas for sponsorship reasons since April 2022) are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. Their home ground is Griqua Park in Kimberley and they draw their players mostly from Northern Cape Province. They have won the Currie Cup three times – in 1899, 1911 and 1970 – and the Vodacom Cup a joint-record five times.

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History

The rugby team was established in 1886 in the then British colony of Griqualand West. Five years later, during the 1891 British Lions tour to South Africa, Griqualand West played the British Lions in Kimberley. Although they lost 3–0, the British presented the team with the Currie Cup, as they thought that Griqualand West produced the best performance out of the provincial games on their tour.[2] The Currie Cup became South Africa's domestic prize, and Griqualand West first won it in 1899. Griqualand West subsequently won the Currie Cup again in 1911. After the introduction of official annual championships in 1969, Griqualand West won the final the next season, defeating Northern Transvaal 11–9 to claim their third title. Since then, Griquas have not won the Currie Cup.[3]

The majority of Griquas supporters hail from the Northern Cape province of South Africa, most notably in and around Kimberley, where the team plays their home games. Their traditional rivals are Western Province, a rivalry that stems back to the earliest days of the Currie Cup, when Griqualand West were a dominant force in South African rugby. Since the 1970s, a friendly rivalry has also developed with neighbours the Free State Cheetahs in what has become known as the 'central derby'. Griquas are nicknamed the "Peacock Blues".[4]

Current squad

The following players have been included so far in the Griquas squad for the 2023 Currie Cup Premier Division:[5]

Griquas Currie Cup squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wingers

Fullbacks

(c) Denotes team captain and Bold denotes internationally capped.

    Honours

    Major Honours

    Currie Cup

    Griquas have won the Currie Cup three times, and have been losing finalists once:

    More information Season, Winners ...

    1 Western Province and Transvaal did not compete.

    They were defeated in the semi-finals in 1998, 2019 and 2021.

    Vodacom Cup

    Griquas have won the Vodacom Cup five times, and been defeated in the final three times.

    More information Season, Winners ...

    Minor Honours

    • Airlink Cup 2023
    • "Official website". Griquas Rugby. Retrieved 15 January 2014.

    References

    1. [1]
      "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    2. [2]
      "Absa Currie Cup undergoes ultimate makeover". Bulls. 8 August 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
    3. [3]
      "Currie Cup Finals History". SuperSport. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
    4. [4]
      "Lions storm to victory over Griquas". SuperSport. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
    5. [5]
      "Match Centre". SA Rugby. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
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