Golden future beckons for Pick n Pay Gold Cup

The 2026 Pick n Pay Gold Cup will be remembered not only as a tournament that took club rugby to new heights but also one which offered a tantalising glimpse into the future of the community game in South Africa.

This is the view of long-time Northam Platinum Rhinos coach, Flip de Kock, who watched on as an ambitious plan hatched a decade ago finally came to fruition in Durban last Sunday, when the Limpopo-based mining club lifted the iconic trophy for the first time in their history.

Rhinos beat hosts College Rovers 22-20 in a nail-biting final played in front of a record crowd at Hollywoodbets Kings Park 3 and which enjoyed top billing on broadcast partners SuperSport.

The country’s pre-eminent knockout championship for non-university clubs – which was sponsored by the national retail chain for the second time as part of a four-year agreement – is also supported by Northam Platinum, whose commitment to community aligns with the grassroots spirit of the Pick n Pay Gold Cup.

“We played in our first Gold Cup in 2016 and lost all four of our matches,” said De Kock, whose day job is Facilities & Sports Coordinator at Northam Platinum’s Zondereinde mine, situated near Thabazimbi.

“Afterwards we had a meeting where we said to the mine that we wanted to be the number one club in the country. They bought into the vision and now here we are.”

Many of those present at that crucial meeting 10 years ago – a lifetime in rugby terms – were at KP3 on Sunday, including long-time club president Danny Gonsalves, Northam Platinum’s ‘Mr Rugby’ and current Limpopo Rugby Union General Manager, Attie Buitendag.

“It was an incredible feeling for us to all be there and lift the Cup together,” said De Kock, who added that the new national champions would now take some time off before planning their 2027 season under victorious director of rugby and head coach, Nollis Marais, the former Bulls boss who became the first coach to win the FNB Varsity Cup as well as the Pick n Pay Gold Cup.

“It’s a bit strange being back and not being at the field – I’m going to have to find something to do in the evenings! But it’s been a long season and a long journey to get to this point, with a lot of highs and lows. Last year our head coach (and former Springbok fullback) Bevin Fortuin passed away suddenly and we had to pick up the pieces. Nollis answered the call and the rest is, as they say, history.”

Rhinos’ might have lifted the trophy but ultimately the Pick n Pay Gold Cup’s success was down to a collective effort by all involved across the tournament’s five-week, 31-match window.

This year’s tournament showcased the vibrancy of community rugby across South Africa, with capacity crowds and record social-media engagement coming on the back of official research data from SA Rugby that showed a 13.5% increase in club participation between 2024 and 2025, bringing the total number of registered club players across the country’s 15 provincial rugby unions to just under 120,000.

“From Wellington to White River, Kathu to Kariega and Saldanha to Setaria, the 2026 Pick n Pay Gold Cup gave us a glimpse into the future of the club game, and that future looks very bright,” said SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer.

“Club rugby is unrecognisable from 20 or 25 years ago, when it was battling for relevance and exposure at a time when we were all still adjusting to a professional era that had only just begun.

“The FNB Varsity Cup, which began in 2008, elevated the profile of university rugby and has become one of our most important talent pipelines. The Gold Cup era for non-tertiary clubs kicked off in 2013 and I believe that having now completely shaken off the after-effects of the pandemic, the tournament truly came of age in 2026.

“The positive challenge now is how best to harness the momentum and energy that the Pick n Pay Gold Cup has created and ensure that it remains relevant and continues to achieve the strategic objectives as the highest level of competition for the country’s best non-professional players.

“All credit to our tournament partners, Pick n Pay and Northam Platinum, who have played a major role at just the right time to ensure not only the Gold Cup’s survival but also in the growth of community rugby as a whole,” Oberholzer added.

In Sunday’s final, two tries from hooker and player of the match, Khwezi Mkhafu, together with fullback Darryn Fortuin’s match-winning 77th-minute penalty, handed Rhinos a nail-biting 22-20 victory over hosts C. Steinweg College Rovers and their first national title.

Rhinos’ victory also gave them a rare trophy ‘treble’, having won the pre-season Sibanye League for northern-union clubs, and the Golden Lions’ Grand Challenge.

STAT ATTACK: PICK n PAY GOLD CUP BY NUMBERS

• Rhinos’ maiden win saw them become the sixth team in 10 editions of the Gold Cup to lift the trophy, the others being Despatch (2013), Rustenburg Impala (2014, 2016, 2019), Durbanville-Bellville (2015), False Bay (2017) and Naka Bulls (2023-25).

• Rhinos won all five their matches in the run-up to the title, scoring 220 points and conceding 106.

• Rovers’ run included four wins from their five games. They scored 265 points and conceded only 43.

• Total tournament points scored: 2 068

• Average points per match: 67

• One-score victories: 12 (of 31)

• Competitive finishes: four one-point results; six decisive scores from 70 minutes; margin in final: two points.

• Number of match venues: 19 (for 31 matches)

• Number of players selected by the 32 teams: 809

Top points’ scorers

1 Grant Hermanus (Durbell) – 56

2 Jaylen James (Rhinos) – 49

3 Hansie Graaf (Naka Bulls) – 36

4 Christoff Craill (Naka Bulls) – 35

5 JP du Preez (College Rovers) – 34

Top try scorers

7: Christoff Craill (Naka Bulls)

5: Kyle Theron (College Rovers)

4: Conrad Botha (College Rovers), Dyllan Smit (Vereeniging), Hanno du Toit (Northam Rhinos), Keegan Joubert (Durbell), Khwezi Mkhafu (Northam Rhinos), Louis Smit (Randfontein), Malcolm Cele (College Rovers)

2026 TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Round of 32 – 26/27 September

North section

White River 42, Louis Trichardt 39

Vereeniging 105, Bethlehem Oud-Skoliere 3

Welkom 21, Centurion 49

Northam Wolves 44, Pirates 17

Randfontein 26, Sibanye-Stillwater 25

Northam Rhinos 62, Nelspruit 7

Grizzlies 16, Brakpan 25

Naka Bulls 43, SK Walmers 36

South Section

East London Police 24, Durbanville-Bellville 38

Villager 66, Young Leopards 18

Bloemfontein Police 17, PE Harlequins 14

Sishen 14, Durban Crusaders 15

Saldanha 32, Pacaltsdorp Evergreens 30

Groot-Brakrivier 21, Roses United 48

Gardens 76, Bloemfontein Collegians 3

College Rovers 89, Kimberley 5

Round of 16 – 3/4 October

North Section

Centurion 45, Naka Bulls 46

Brakpan 86, White River 7

Northam Rhinos 42, Northam Wolves 24

Vereeniging 47, Randfontein 48

South Section

Gardens 22, Saldanha 17

Villager 27, Durbanville-Bellville 32

Roses United 24, Bloemfontein Police 17

College Rovers 44, Crusaders 5

Quarter-finals – 10/11 October

North Section

Sanlam Naka Bulls 45, Randfontein 37

Brakpan 33, Northam Platinum Rhinos 46

South Section

Roses United 17, Durbanville-Bellville 52

College Rovers 64, Gardens 0

Semi-finals – 17 October

College Rovers 48, Lone Bull Durbanville-Bellville 11

Northam Platinum Rhinos 48, Sanlam Naka Bulls 22

Grand Final, 25 October

C. Steinweg College Rovers 20 (8), Northam Platinum Rhinos 22 (19)

Rovers – Tries: Rogers Zondi, Morné Joubert, Conrad Botha. Conversion: Tian Meyer. Penalty: JP du Preez.

Rhinos – Tries: Penalty try, Khwezi Mkhafu (2). Conversion: Darryn Fortuin. Penalty: Fortuin.

Pick n Pay Gold Cup Champions – 2013-2026

2013 – Despatch (EP)

2014 – Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)

2015 – Durbanville-Bellville (WP)

2016 – Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)

2017 – False Bay (WP)

2018** – no tournament as Gold Cup transitioned from post-season to pre-season timeslot

2019 – Rustenburg Impala (Leopards)

2020-22 – did not take place due to Covid

2023 – Sanlam Naka Bulls (Bulls)

2024 – Sanlam Naka Bulls (Bulls)

2025 – Sanlam Naka Bulls (Bulls)

2026 – Northam Platinum Rhinos (Limpopo)

About the Pick n Pay Gold Cup

• The Pick n Pay Gold Cup’s roots can be traced back to 1975, when the University of Stellenbosch’s Maties beat Durban Collegians in the first-ever National Club Championship final. Today, 31 years into the professional era, the Gold Cup remains South Africa’s premiere national club tournament, with the objective of growing to serve as an aspirational platform for every single one of the country’s 1 197 clubs and their 120 000 registered players.

• It was also the fourth time the tournament was staged since a three-year, pandemic-enforced hiatus that appeared to threaten the future of the community game as a whole. The Gold Cup however returned in 2023, reinventing itself as a 32-team FA Cup-style knockout event, replacing the pre-2020 Rugby World Cup-style pool format that provided a national platform to only half the current number of participating clubs.

• It was also the second time that the tournament was sponsored by Pick n Pay, the national retail chain’s investment into community rugby forming part of a four-year agreement with SA Rugby that includes becoming Tier-1 sponsors of the four-time Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks; the back-to-back HSBC SVNS World Champion Blitzboks; the back-to-back Junior World Championship-winning Junior Springboks; the Springbok Women, and all other national teams.

• The success of the Gold Cup is also thanks in no small part to the support of Northam Platinum, whose commitment to community aligns with the grassroots spirit of the Pick n Pay Gold Cup.

• The 2026 tournament also celebrated a special milestone: it was the 10th time that club players from across the country competed for the priceless, 97-year-old nine-carat Gold Cup trophy, following the decision in 2013 to repurpose the old national club championship, which historically had included university teams from 1975 to 2012, to serve as the pinnacle for non-tertiary club players.