Northam Rhinos crowned Pick n Pay Gold Cup champions

Darryn Fortuin nailed a 77th minute long-range penalty to give Northam Platinum Rhinos a nail-biting 22-20 victory over C. Steinweg College Rovers in a nail-biting 2026 Pick n Pay Gold Cup Final at KP3 at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Sunday afternoon.

Fortuin’s clutch kick handed Rhinos their first national title, a full decade after their 2016 tournament debut ended winless. For Rovers, who staged a great comeback to lead 20-19 with just three minutes left on the clock, Sunday’s defeat was their fourth in a final since the advent of the Gold Cup era in 2013.

However, both sides must take credit for producing one of the best finals in many years, played in front of a capacity crowd.

The match brought the curtain down on a tournament that will be remembered as a watershed event in the annals of club rugby in South Africa, coming on the back of data showing an almost 14% increase in participation numbers at club level across the country between 2024 and 2025.

South Africa now boasts almost 120 000 registered club players across 15 provincial unions.

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

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

From Wellington to White River, Kathu to Kariega and Saldanha to Setaria, the 2026 Gold Cup will also be remembered for high-quality rugby on the field – 12 of the 31 matches played were settled by one score or less, with four of those decided by a single point amidst nail-biting drama.

Off the field, large crowds – as epitomised in Durban for the Final – watched on while there was also a notable and growing presence in the online space, where the official Gold Cup Facebook and Instagram pages have collectively had three million views over the past month.

Off the field, the high popular Gold Cup Trophy Tours, which started last year with visits to Pick n Pay stores in Robertson, Kariega, Thabazimbi and Claremont, went from strength to strength in 2026, with fans as far afield as Wellington, White River, Brakpan, Pacaltsdorp, Saldanha and Durban being able to get their photos taken with the iconic gold trophy.

In Sunday’s final, played in front of an estimated 3 000 fans, Rhinos got off to the perfect start, racing to a 14-0 lead inside 10 minutes thanks to a penalty try and a touchdown to hooker Khwezi Mkhafu, converted by Fortuin.

Rovers however absorbed the early pressure and a try on 20 minutes from tighthead prop Rogers Zondi, followed by a 27th minute penalty from fullback JP du Preez, made it a four-point game.

Mkhafu’s second try on the stroke of half-time gave the men from Limpopo a 19-8 lead at the break but any thoughts that Rovers would capitulate were put to bed when tries from replacement Morné Joubert and flanker Conrad Botha looked to have swung the momentum decisively in the home team’s favour.

Scrumhalf Tian Meyer’s conversion of Botha’s score gave the Durbanites a 20-19 lead heading into the last 10 minutes. It looked to be enough to hand the 127-year-old club their first national crown since 2012 but Fortuin stepped up in the dying moments for his date with destiny, slotting the biggest kick of his life in a swirling wind to send the large contingent of travelling fans into ecstatics and give Rhinos captain and No 8, Chaney Willemse, the perfect send-off in what was probably the 33-year-old’s final match before retiring.

Score

C. Steinweg College Rovers 20 (8) – Tries: Rogers Zondi, Morné Joubert, Conrad Botha. Conversion: Tian Meyer. Penalty: JP du Preez.

Northam Platinum Rhinos 22 (19) – Tries: Penalty try, Khwezi Mkhafu (2). Conversion: Darryn Fortuin. Penalty: Fortuin.