Griquas (known as the Windhoek Draught Griquas for sponsorship reasons since April 2022) are a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

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 ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. Their home ground is

Griqua Park Griqua Park (currently known as Windhoek Draught Park for sponsorship reasons) is an 11,000-capacity multi-purpose stadium in Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley, South Africa. It is mainly used for rugby union matches and it is the home stadiu ...

in Kimberley and they draw their players mostly from

Northern Cape Province The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi ...

. They have won the

three times – in 1899, 1911 and 1970 – and the

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 ...

a joint-record five times.

History

The rugby team was established in 1886 in the then British colony of

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, wh ...

. Five years later, during the 1891 British Lions tour to South Africa, Griqualand West played the British Lions in Kimberley. Although they lost 3–0, the British presented the team with the

, as they thought that Griqualand West produced the best performance out of the provincial games on their tour. The Currie Cup became South Africa's domestic prize, and Griqualand West first won it in 1899. Griqualand West subsequently won the Currie Cup again in 1911. After the introduction of official annual championships in 1969, Griqualand West won the final the next season, defeating Northern Transvaal 11–9 to claim their third title. Since then, Griquas have not won the Currie Cup. The majority of Griquas supporters hail from the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

province of South Africa, most notably in and around Kimberley, where the team plays their home games. Their traditional rivals are , a rivalry that stems back to the earliest days of the Currie Cup, when Griqualand West were a dominant force in South African rugby. Since the 1970s, a friendly rivalry has also developed with neighbours the in what has become known as the 'central derby'. Griquas are nicknamed the "Peacock Blues".

Current squad

The following players were included in the Griquas squad for the

2022 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2022 Currie Cup Premier Division will be the 84th edition of the top tier of the Currie Cup, the premier domestic rugby union competition in South Africa. It will be sponsored by beer brand Carling Black Label and organised by the South Afri ...

Finals results

Currie Cup

¹ Western Province and Transvaal did not compete.

Vodacom Cup

External links

References

{{Rugby union in South Africa South African rugby union teams Kimberley, Northern Cape Sport in the Northern Cape Griqualand West 1886 establishments in the Cape Colony