The 2016 Gold Cup was the fourth season of the
Gold Cup competition, but the first season that it was known as the Gold Cup, having previously been known as the Community Cup. The tournament was the top competition for non-university
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
clubs in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
While previous editions of the competition were held over the Easter weekend, the 2016 tournament took place later in the year, with the matches in the competition taking place between 10 September and 29 October 2016. Also, the champion clubs from Namibia and Zimbabwe took part in the competition for the first time.
The competition was won by Rustenburg Impala for the second time in three years; they beat False Bay 48–24 in the final played on 29 October 2016.
Competition rules and information
The format of the Gold Cup was the same as the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
. The teams were divided into four pools, each containing five teams. They then played four pool games, playing other teams in their respective pools once. Each team played two home games and two away games.
The winner and runner-up of each pool entered the play-off stage, which consisted of quarter finals, semi-finals and the final. The winner of each pool met the runner-up of a different pool in a quarter final, at the home venue of the pool winner. The winner of each quarter-final progressed to the semi-finals and the semi-final winners to the final, which was held at the home venue of the finalist with the best record in the pool stages.
Qualification
The highest-placed non-university clubs in the 2015 season of each of the fifteen provincial unions' club leagues, as well as defending champions Durbanville-Bellville all qualified for the 2016 Gold Cup competition.
To cater for the switching the tournament from the first half of the year to the second half, all non-university clubs that won their leagues in the 2016 season qualified to a playoff for two additional spots in the 2016 Gold Cup. These play-offs matches were:
Teams
The following teams qualified for the 2016 Gold Cup:
Team listing
Pool Stages
In the draw made in February 2016, the twenty teams were drawn in four pools.
Pool A
The final log of the 2016 Gold Cup Pool A is:
The following matches were played in the 2016 Gold Cup Pool A:
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Pool B
The final log of the 2016 Gold Cup Pool B is:
The following matches were played in the 2016 Gold Cup Pool B:
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Pool C
The final log of the 2016 Gold Cup Pool C is:
The following matches were played in the 2016 Gold Cup Pool C:
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Pool D
The final log of the 2016 Gold Cup Pool D is:
The following matches were played in the 2016 Gold Cup Pool D:
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Play-offs
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Honours
The honour roll for the 2016 Gold Cup was:
Players
Squads
The following squads were named for the 2016 Gold Cup:
Points scorers
The following table contain points scored in the 2016 Gold Cup:
Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2016 Gold Cup:
External links
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gold Cup 2016
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
2016 in South African rugby union
2016 rugby union tournaments for clubs