# 2019 Rugby Challenge

The 2019 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – was the 2019 season of the Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa. It was the third edition of the competition organised by the South African Rugby Union and was played between 27 April and 22 June 2019. There were sixteen teams participating in the competition; the fourteen provincial unions, plus Namibian side the Welwitschias and the Zimbabwe Academy. These teams were divided into two sections, with eight teams playing in each of the North Section and the South Section.

## Competition rules and information

Each team in the competition played the other teams in their section once during the pool stage, either at home or away. The top two teams in each section will progress to the semifinals, with the two semifinal winners meeting in the final.

## Teams

The teams that competed in the 2019 Rugby Challenge are:
| North Section |
| Team | Sponsored Name |
| Blue Bulls XV | Vodacom Blue Bulls XV |
| Falcons | Valke |
| Golden Lions XV | Xerox Golden Lions XV |
| Griffons | Griffons |
| Griquas | Tafel Lager Griquas |
| Leopards | Leopards |
| Pumas | Pumas |
| Welwitschias | Windhoek Draught Welwitschias |
| South Section |
| Team | Sponsored Name |
| Boland Cavaliers | Boland Cavaliers |
| Border Bulldogs | Border Bulldogs |
| Eastern Province Elephants | Multisure Eastern Province Elephants |
| Free State XV | Toyota Free State XV |
| Sharks XV | Cell C Sharks XV |
| SWD Eagles | SWD Eagles |
| Western Province | DHL Western Province |
| Zimbabwe Academy | Zimbabwe Academy |

## North Section
### Log

| 2019 Rugby Challenge North Section log |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Pumas | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 337 | 164 | +173 | 50 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
| 2 | Griquas | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 290 | 156 | +134 | 41 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| 3 | Blue Bulls XV | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 332 | 190 | +142 | 47 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| 4 | Golden Lions XV | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 263 | 263 | 0 | 40 | 37 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| 5 | Falcons | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 240 | 261 | −21 | 38 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
| 6 | Leopards | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 267 | 283 | −16 | 39 | 40 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| 7 | Griffons | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 193 | 252 | −59 | 26 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
| 8 | Welwitschias | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 112 | 465 | −353 | 14 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* The Pumas and Griquas qualified for the semifinals.

### 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.
| Team Progression – North Section |
| Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | SF | F |
| Pumas | 5 (3rd) | 10 (3rd) | 15 (3rd) | 20 (2nd) | 25 (1st) | 30 (1st) | 35 (1st) | Won | Lost |
| Griquas | 5 (1st) | 10 (1st) | 15 (1st) | 20 (1st) | 21 (2nd) | 26 (2nd) | 31 (2nd) | Won | Won |
| Blue Bulls XV | 0 (6th) | 5 (4th) | 10 (4th) | 10 (4th) | 15 (4th) | 20 (4th) | 25 (3rd) | — | — |
| Golden Lions XV | 5 (2nd) | 10 (2nd) | 15 (2nd) | 16 (3rd) | 17 (3rd) | 22 (3rd) | 23 (4th) | — | — |
| Falcons | 0 (8th) | 1 (7th) | 3 (7th) | 8 (6th) | 13 (5th) | 14 (5th) | 19 (5th) | — | — |
| Leopards | 2 (5th) | 3 (6th) | 4 (6th) | 6 (7th) | 11 (6th) | 11 (6th) | 12 (6th) | — | — |
| Griffons | 5 (4th) | 5 (5th) | 5 (5th) | 10 (5th) | 11 (7th) | 11 (7th) | 12 (7th) | — | — |
| Welwitschias | 0 (7th) | 0 (8th) | 0 (8th) | 0 (8th) | 0 (8th) | 0 (8th) | 0 (8th) | — | — |
| Key: | win | draw | loss | bye | |

### Matches
#### Round Seven
## South Section
### Log

| 2019 Rugby Challenge South Section log |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Western Province | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 275 | 132 | +143 | 36 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 30 |
| 2 | Boland Cavaliers | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 252 | 110 | +142 | 35 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 29 |
| 3 | Free State XV | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 342 | 135 | +207 | 52 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 27 |
| 4 | Sharks XV | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 245 | 197 | +48 | 35 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 21 |
| 5 | Eastern Province Elephants | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 212 | 166 | +46 | 30 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| 6 | SWD Eagles | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 149 | 315 | −166 | 21 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| 7 | Border Bulldogs | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 116 | 348 | −232 | 15 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 8 | Zimbabwe Academy | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 114 | 302 | −188 | 13 | 47 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
* The Boland Cavaliers and Western Province qualified for the semifinals.

### 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.
| Team Progression – South Section |
| Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | SF | F |
| Western Province | 5 (1st) | 10 (1st) | 15 (1st) | 20 (1st) | 24 (1st) | 29 (1st) | 30 (1st) | Lost | — |
| Boland Cavaliers | 5 (2nd) | 9 (2nd) | 14 (2nd) | 15 (2nd) | 20 (3rd) | 25 (2nd) | 29 (2nd) | Lost | — |
| Free State XV | 5 (4th) | 5 (6th) | 10 (3rd) | 15 (3rd) | 20 (2nd) | 22 (3rd) | 27 (3rd) | — | — |
| Sharks XV | 1 (5th) | 6 (3rd) | 6 (4th) | 11 (4th) | 16 (4th) | 16 (4th) | 21 (4th) | — | — |
| Eastern Province Elephants | 0 (7th) | 5 (5th) | 5 (6th) | 10 (5th) | 10 (5th) | 14 (5th) | 19 (5th) | — | — |
| SWD Eagles | 0 (8th) | 1 (7th) | 6 (5th) | 6 (6th) | 7 (6th) | 11 (6th) | 11 (6th) | — | — |
| Border Bulldogs | 5 (3rd) | 5 (4th) | 5 (7th) | 5 (7th) | 5 (7th) | 6 (7th) | 6 (7th) | — | — |
| Zimbabwe Academy | 0 (6th) | 0 (8th) | 2 (8th) | 2 (8th) | 2 (8th) | 2 (8th) | 2 (8th) | — | — |
| Key: | win | draw | loss | bye | |

### Matches
#### Round Seven
## Title play-offs
### Final
## Honours

The honour roll for the 2019 Rugby Challenge was as follows:
2019 Rugby Challenge :
| Champions: | Griquas (1st title) |
| Top points scorer: | George Whitehead, Griquas (95) |
| Top try scorer: | Jamba Ulengo, Griquas (10) |

## Referees

The following referees officiated matches in the 2019 Rugby Challenge: