The Border Bulldogs is a South African professional

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 ...

team that participates in the annual

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

and

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

competitions. They are governed by the Border Rugby Union (BRU) and are based in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

History

The Border Rugby Football Union governs rugby in the eastern third of the Eastern Cape province, including two former African homelands,

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ba ...

and

Ciskei Ciskei (, or ) was a Bantustan for the Xhosa people-located in the southeast of South Africa. It covered an area of , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian O ...

. The team is based in East London and play at the Buffalo City Stadium. They form part of the

Southern Kings The Southern Kings were a South African professional rugby union team that competed in Super Rugby and Pro14. They were based in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province and played their home matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. They wer ...

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

franchise. Border were one of the founding members of the Currie Cup, having been established in 1891, but have only won the prestigious competition twice, in 1932 and 1934. They also won the Vodacom Shield in 2003. In 1995, following the introduction professionalism in rugby, the team adopted the nickname the Bulldogs. The team have struggled since they were relegated to the Currie Cup First Division in 2000, never being promoted to the Premier Division. They average crowds of 3,500 to Currie Cup first division games, however they can attract much larger crowds when they take on their fiercest and closest rivals, the

Eastern Province Elephants The Eastern Province Elephants (known as the Multisure Eastern Province Elephants for sponsorship reasons) are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge competitions. They are governed by the ...

In-fighting and financial crisis

In 2013, a dispute arose between the Border Rugby Union and the Border Rugby (Pty) Ltd, the professional arm of the BRFU which administers the Bulldogs. The dispute was in relation to a perceived lack of transformation at the Bulldogs, who claimed local amateur black players were not good enough for the professional side. As a result, in June of that year, the BRFU refused to release any of their club players to play for the Bulldogs. In September and October, television broadcasting money paid by SARU to the BRFU was not given to the Bulldogs, resulting in players' salaries not being paid, coach

Paul Flanagan Paul Flanagan (born 16 September 1992) is an Irish hurler. At club he plays with Ballyea, while he has also lined out at inter-county level with various Clare teams. Playing career Flanagan first played hurling to a high standard as a stude ...

leaving and the Border Academy being shut down. At the start of 2014, the BRFU announced that it was bankrupt. In March 2014, the

South African Rugby Union The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board a ...

withdrew their financial support due to a lack of audited financial records. It culminated in the

taking control of the team's financial and administrative affairs in December 2014, with the intention of handing control back to BRFU officials once the situation has been normalised.

Current squad

The following players were included in the Border Bulldogs squad for the 2022 Currie Cup First Division:

References

External links

Official website
{{Border Bulldogs squad South African rugby union teams East London, Eastern Cape Sport in the Eastern Cape

History

In-fighting and financial crisis

Current squad

See also

References

External links