The Leopards ( af, Luiperds) is a South African professional rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament, currently playing in the First Division, as the representatives of the North West Province. Their home ground is

Olën Park Olën Park, also known as Profert Olën Park for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Potchefstroom, South Africa. It was used for rugby union matches by the Leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in ...

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

. The union was formed in 1920 and was originally called Western Transvaal.

History

The Western Transvaal Rugby Union had its origin from the Transvaal Rugby Union in 1920 when it became the 10th member of senior rugby unions forming the South African rugby landscape. For most of their history they've played in the second tier of the Currie Cup, but they were promoted to the Premier Division for the 2009 season after defeating the in a promotion-relegation playoff in October 2008. They remained in the Premier Division of the Currie Cup until the end of 2011 season after beating the from the Southern Cape in promotion/relegation matches at the end of 2009 and 2010. However, the decision of

Saru 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 ...

to reduce the number of teams in the Premier Division of the Currie Cup as from

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, saw the Leopards moving down to the First Division. They became the first black-owned rugby team in South Africa, after securing sponsorship from

Royal Bafokeng The Royal Bafokeng is the ethnic homeland of the Bafokeng people, a Setswana-speaking traditional community. The monarchy covers in the North West Province of South Africa. The capital is Phokeng, near Rustenburg. "Bafokeng" is used to refer ...

Sports Holdings in October 2007. André May was elected as the new president of the Union on 29 April 2010 and was re-elected unopposed for a fourth term during April 2016, and will his current term extend until May 2019. May is a former player of Western Transvaal with 75 matches for the Union and a practising advocate. May is also the chairman of the professional arm of the Leopards, being Leopards Rugby (Pty) Ltd. The Acting CEO of both the Leopards as well as Leopards Rugby (Pty)Ltd is Eugene Fourie who is also the Manager Amateur Rugby. A permanent CEO is to be appointed in the first quarter of 2019. The Leopards also known as the Luiperds in Afrikaans is based primarily in the university town of Potchefstroom, however in recent years have played some home games at the much larger Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg and most recently also at Rustenburg Impala Rugby Club and at other rugby clubs all around the province. During 2018 the Fanie Du Toit temporarily became the unofficial home ground of the Leopards. They draw their fans from across the North West Province and used to average crowds of 5,000 to home Currie Cup fixtures. Their traditional rivals include the , the and the .

Honours

The team's major tournament wins include the

2015 Currie Cup First Division The 2015 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 29 August to 8 October 2015. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union compet ...

and

2021 Currie Cup First Division The 2021 Currie Cup First Division was the 83rd edition of the Currie Cup. As the second-tier of the competition, it ran alongside the 2021 Currie Cup Premier Division. It was sponsored by beer brand Carling Black Label and organised by the Sou ...

Current squad

The following players were included in the Leopards squad for the

2022 Currie Cup First Division The 2022 Currie Cup First Division was the 84th edition of the Currie Cup. As the second-tier of the competition, it ran alongside the 2022 Currie Cup Premier Division. It was sponsored by beer brand Carling Black Label and organised by the Sout ...

References

External links

Official site
{{Leopards squad South African rugby union teams Potchefstroom Sport in North West (South African province) 1920 establishments in South Africa