# Griquas (rugby union)

Griquas (known as the Suzuki Griquas for sponsorship reasons) are a South African professional rugby union team based in Kimberley in Northern Cape, 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.

## 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. 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.
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".

## Current squad

The following players have been included so far in the Griquas squad for the 2023 Currie Cup Premier Division:
| Griquas Currie Cup squad |
| Props Junior Banda Andrew Beerwinkel Janu Botha Edward Davids Cebo Dlamini Kudzwai Dube Justin Forwood Hookers Gustav du Rand Sean Swart Janco Uys Locks Michael Amiras Albert Liebenberg Derik Pretorius Johan Retief Dylan Sjöblom | Loose forwards Carl Els Thabo Ndimande Niel Otto (c) Hanru Sirgel Stephan Smit Janco Venter Scrum-halves Bobby Alexander Johan Mulder Raegan Oranje Fly-halves Lubabalo Dobela George Whitehead | Centres Zander du Plessis Eddie Fouché Tertius Kruger Sango Xamlashe Wingers Malcolm Jaer Sako Makata Luther Obi Rosko Specman Fullbacks Ashlon Davids Jay-Cee Nel |
| (c) Denotes team captain and Bold denotes internationally capped. |

## Honours
### Major Honours

* Currie Cup Premier Division
** Champions: (3) 1899, 1911, 1970
** Runners-up: (1) 2022
* SA Cup
** Champions: (1) 2024
* Vodacom Cup
** Champions: (5) 1998, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2014
** Runners-up: (3) 1999, 2000, 2012
* Vodacom Shield
** Runners-up: (1) 2003

### Minor Honours

* Airlink Cup 2023

## Finals
### Currie Cup

Griquas have won the Currie Cup three times, and have been losing finalists once:
| Season | Winners | Score | Runner-up | Venue |
| 1899$^1$ | Griqualand West | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 1911 | Griqualand West | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 1970 | Griqualand West | 11–9 | Northern Transvaal | De Beers Stadium, Kimberley |
| 2022 | Pumas | 26-19 | Griquas | Griqua Park, Kimberley |
$^1$ Western Province and Transvaal did not compete.
They were defeated in the semi-finals in 1998, 2019 and 2021.

### SA Cup

Griquas have won the SA Cup one time.
| Season | Winners | Score | Runner-up | Venue |
| 2024 | Griquas | 46–24 | Pumas | Kimberley |

### Vodacom Cup

Griquas have won the Vodacom Cup five times, and been defeated in the final three times.
| Season | Winners | Score | Runner-up | Venue |
| 1998 | Griquas | 33–29 | Blue Bulls | Kimberley |
| 1999 | Golden Lions | 73-7 | Griquas | Johannesburg |
| 2000 | Cheetahs | 44-24 | Griquas | Bloemfontein |
| 2005 | Griquas | 27–25 | Leopards | Kimberley |
| 2007 | Griquas | 57–0 | Golden Lions | Kimberley |
| 2009 | Griquas | 28–19 | Blue Bulls | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria |
| 2012 | Western Province | 20-18 | Griquas | Griqua Park, Kimberley |
| 2014 | Griquas | 30–6 | Golden Lions | Griqua Park, Kimberley |