# Bankfin Nite Series

The Bankfin Nite Series was a rugby union competition in South Africa. There were two editions of this competition, in 1996 and 1997. It was sponsored by Bankfin, who also sponsored the Currie Cup competitions. After two seasons, it was succeeded by the Vodacom Cup competition.
In 1996, there were twelve competing teams – ten of the fourteen provincial unions, plus teams from Namibia and Zimbabwe. The four provincial unions that took part in the 1996 Super 12 season - Natal, Northern Transvaal, Transvaal and Western Province – did not play in the competition. Free State won the competition, beating Border 46–34 in the final.
Namibia and Zimbabwe withdrew from the 1997 competition, while Western Province replaced defending champions Free State, who in turn replaced Western Province in the 1997 Super 12 season. Western Province won the competition, beating Western Cape rivals Boland Cavaliers 36–25 in the final.

## Season Summary

The summaries for the two Bankfin Nite Series seasons are as follows:
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Losing semi-finalists |
| 1996 | Free State | 46–34 | Border | Griqualand West, South Eastern Transvaal |
| 1997 | Western Province | 36–25 | Boland Cavaliers | Griquas, Pumas |
Each team's results in the competition are listed below:
| Bankfin Nite Series 1996–1997 |
| Team name | Former Name | 1996 | 1997 |
| Boland Cavaliers | Boland | 4th (Section A) | Lost in Final |
| Border Bulldogs | Border | Lost in Final | 8th |
| Falcons | Eastern Transvaal | 3rd (Section B) | 10th |
| Free State Cheetahs | Free State | Champions | — |
| Griffons | Northern Free State | 4th (Section B) | 9th |
| Griquas | Griqualand West | Lost in semi-final | Lost in semi-final |
| Leopards | North West | 5th (Section A) | 6th |
| Mighty Elephants | Eastern Province | 3rd (Section A) | 7th |
| Namibia XV | Namibia XV | 6th (Section A) | — |
| Pumas | South Eastern Transvaal | Lost in semi-final | Lost in semi-final |
| SWD Eagles | South Western Districts | 5th (Section B) | 5th |
| Western Province | Western Province | — | Champions |
| Zimbabwe XV | Zimbabwe XV | 6th (Section B) | — |

## Seasons
### 1996 Bankfin Nite Series

There were twelve teams in the 1996 Bankfin Nite Series. They were divided into two sections of six teams each. Each team played all the teams in the other section twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.
Teams received five points for a win, two points for a draw and one point for a loss. Bonus points were also awarded based on the number of tries scored – 4 bonus points were awarded for scoring ten or more tries in a match, 3 bonus points for scoring six to nine tries, 2 bonus points for scoring four or five tries and 1 bonus point for scoring two or three tries in a match. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top two teams in each section qualified for the title play-off semi-finals. The team that finished first in each section had home advantage against the team that the team that finished second in the other section, with the semi-final winners advancing to the final.
| 1996 Bankfin Nite Series |
| Section A |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Border | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 475 | 344 | +131 | 66 |
| 2 | South Eastern Transvaal | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 395 | 234 | +161 | |
| 3 | Eastern Province | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 390 | 171 | +219 | 61 |
| 4 | Boland | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 470 | 359 | +111 | |
| 5 | North West | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 358 | 393 | −35 | |
| 6 | Namibia | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 147 | 516 | −369 | |
| Section B |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Free State | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 632 | 218 | +414 | 84 |
| 2 | Griqualand West | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 404 | 184 | +220 | 84 |
| 3 | Eastern Transvaal | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 331 | 393 | −62 | |
| 4 | Northern Free State | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 317 | 323 | −6 | |
| 5 | South Western Districts | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 205 | 513 | −308 | |
| 6 | Zimbabwe | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 128 | 604 | −476 | |
| Final standings. |
Legend and competition rules :
| Legend: ||||
| | Qualify to the semi-finals. | P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points |
| Competition rules: ||||
| Qualification: The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals. ||||
| Points breakdown: * 5 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 1 point for a loss * 4 bonus points for scoring ten or more tries in a match * 3 bonus points for scoring six to nine tries in a match * 2 bonus points for scoring four or five tries in a match * 1 bonus point for scoring two or three tries in a match ||||
The following fixtures were played in the 1996 Bankfin Nite Series:
| 1996 Bankfin Nite Series |
| Section A |
| Team | ETv | FrS | GrW | NFS | SWD | Zim |
| Boland | 27–27 | 16–36 | 21–23 | 66–23 | 34–23 | 96–5 |
| Border | 53–12 | 29–37 | 22–34 | 40–23 | 48–24 | 85–3 |
| Eastern Province | 67–8 | 11–14 | 6–16 | 19–13 | 64–13 | 64–3 |
| Namibia | 16–46 | 13–71 | | 13–15 | 27–15 | 13–15 |
| North West | 42–29 | 16–47 | 18–38 | 33–20 | 28–20 | 77–9 |
| South Eastern Transvaal | 23–15 | 27–26 | 11–16 | 25–23 | 54–5 | 95–13 |
| Section B |
| Team | Bol | Bor | EPr | Nam | NWe | SET |
| Eastern Transvaal | 30–34 | 31–31 | 17–25 | 57–23 | 37–29 | 22–23 |
| Free State | 83–22 | 86–24 | 35–16 | 111–7 | 63–23 | 23–14 |
| Griqualand West | 53–26 | 58–32 | 17–14 | 75–0 | 52–17 | 22–17 |
| Northern Free State | 32–25 | 16–20 | 15–22 | 55–3 | 54–25 | 28–32 |
| South Western Districts | 12–54 | 8–66 | 6–47 | 38–13 | 16–24 | 25–54 |
| Zimbabwe | 12–49 | 12–25 | 14–35 | 18–19 | 8–26 | 16–20 |

#### Final
### 1997 Bankfin Nite Series

There were ten teams in the 1997 Bankfin Nite Series. Each team played all the other teams once over the course of the season, either at home or away.
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top four teams qualified for the title play-off semi-finals. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finish third, with the semi-final winners advancing to the final.
| 1997 Bankfin Nite Series |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Western Province | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 429 | 160 | +269 | 44 |
| 2 | Boland Cavaliers | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 315 | 173 | +142 | 38 |
| 3 | Pumas | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 219 | 221 | −2 | 30 |
| 4 | Griquas | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 281 | 199 | +82 | 27 |
| 5 | SWD Eagles | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 282 | 212 | +70 | 26 |
| 6 | Leopards | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 239 | 236 | +3 | 19 |
| 7 | Mighty Elephants | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 195 | 232 | −37 | 17 |
| 8 | Border Bulldogs | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 131 | 305 | −174 | 10 |
| 9 | Griffons | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 194 | 367 | −173 | 6 |
| 10 | Falcons | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 144 | 324 | −180 | 5 |
| Final standings. |
Legend and competition rules :
| Legend: ||||
| | Qualify to the semi-finals. | P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points |
| Competition rules: ||||
| Qualification: The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals. ||||
| Points breakdown: * 4 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less * 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match ||||
The following fixtures were played in the 1997 Bankfin Nite Series:
| 1997 Bankfin Nite Series |
| Team | BOL | BDR | FAL | GRF | GRQ | LEO | ELE | PMA | SWD | WPr |
| Boland Cavaliers | — | — | — | 41–17 | 26–20 | — | 32–14 | — | 38–23 | — |
| Border Bulldogs | 3–12 | — | 28–13 | — | — | 17–35 | — | — | — | 13–59 |
| Falcons | 12–40 | — | — | 25–32 | — | — | 19–17 | — | — | 16–61 |
| Griffons | — | 18–28 | — | — | 22–53 | — | — | 22–23 | 19–41 | — |
| Griquas | — | 58–17 | 45–26 | — | — | 27–13 | — | 19–27 | — | — |
| Leopards | 17–35 | — | 52–5 | 29–26 | — | — | 24–0 | — | — | 26–47 |
| Mighty Elephants | — | 29–10 | — | 50–17 | 18–27 | — | — | 19–20 | 36–27 | — |
| Pumas | 32–57 | 17–15 | 19–9 | — | — | 42–19 | — | — | — | 17–31 |
| SWD Eagles | — | 64–0 | 30–19 | — | 23–18 | 37–24 | — | 20–22 | — | — |
| Western Province | 35–24 | — | — | 77–21 | 27–14 | — | 56–12 | — | 36–17 | — |