Surf Wiki
Save to docs
sports

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Griquas (rugby union)

South African rugby union club, based in Kimberley, Northern Cape

Summary

South African rugby union club, based in Kimberley, Northern Cape

FieldValue
teamnameGriquas
imageGriquas Rugby Union logo.svg
fullnameGriquas
nicknamePoubloues (Peacock Blues)
unionGriqualand West Rugby Union
regionNorthern Cape Province, South Africa
emblemOryx
founded1886
coachPieter Bergh
captainCebo Dlamini
leagueCurrie Cup
season2025
positionChampions
2nd overall
groundGriqua Park
capacity11,000
urlhttps://www.griquasrugby.co.za/
pattern_la1_Griquasleft16
pattern_b1_Griquaskit16
pattern_ra1_Griquasright16
pattern_so1_Griquassocks15
shorts1000000
pattern_la2_Griquasleft16b
pattern_b2_Griquaskit16b
pattern_ra2_Griquasright16b
pattern_so2_Griquassocks15
shorts2000000
current2025 Currie Cup Premier Division

2nd overall Griquas (), known as the Suzuki Griquas for sponsorship reasons, are a South African professional rugby union team based in Kimberley in Northern Cape, that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. Their home ground is Griqua Park in Kimberley and they draw their players mostly from Northern Cape Province. They have won the Currie Cup four times – in 1899, 1911, 1970, and 2025 – and the Vodacom Cup a joint-record five times.

History

The rugby team was established in 1886 in the then British colony of Griqualand West. 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 Currie Cup, 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. 55 years later, in 2025, Griquas won their fourth Currie Cup title.

The majority of Griquas supporters hail from the Northern Cape 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".

Super Rugby

In 2020, the Griquas were invited to play in the Super Rugby Unlocked competition. A list of players who represented the side in the competition can be found here.

Current squad

The following players have been included so far in the Griquas squad for the 2025 Currie Cup Premier Division:

Griquas Currie Cup squad
(c) Denotes team captain and Bold denotes internationally capped.

Honours

Major Honours

Minor Honours

Finals

Currie Cup

Griquas have won the Currie Cup four times, and have been losing finalists once:

SeasonWinnersScoreRunner-upVenue
18991Griqualand Westn/an/an/a
1911Griqualand Westn/an/an/a
1970Griqualand West11–9Northern TransvaalDe Beers Stadium, Kimberley
2022Pumas26-19GriquasGriqua Park, Kimberley
2025Griquas27–25Golden LionsEllis Park Stadium, Johannesburg

1 Western Province and Transvaal did not compete.

They were defeated in the semi-finals in 1998, 2019 and 2021.

Vodacom Cup

Griquas have won the Vodacom Cup five times, and been defeated in the final three times. This makes them the most successful rugby union in the competition.

SeasonWinnersScoreRunner-upVenue
1998Griquas57–0Golden LionsKimberley
1999Golden Lions73-7GriquasJohannesburg
2000Cheetahs44-24GriquasBloemfontein
2005Griquas27–25LeopardsKimberley
2007Griquas33–29Blue BullsKimberley
2009Griquas28–19Blue BullsLoftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2012Western Province20-18GriquasGriqua Park, Kimberley
2014Griquas30–6Golden LionsGriqua Park, Kimberley

Supersport Rugby Challenge

The Griquas have won the Supersport Challange once and have lost twice in finals. In the short run that this competition was active, the Griquas also boast the best record of all rugby unions.

Rugby Challenge finalsSeasonWinnerScoreRunner-Up
201728–19
201832–30
201928–13

SA Cup

Griquas have won the SA Cup one time and have been defeated in the final once.

SeasonWinnersScoreRunner-upVenue
2024Griquas46–24Kimberley
2025Pumas14-39Mbombela

References

References

  1. Tshwaku, Khanyiso. "CURRIE CUP PREVIEW - Tournament fights for relevance as big guns withdraw URC stars".
  2. "Archived copy".
  3. "Suzuki Griquas Rugby Union".
  4. (8 August 2013). "Absa Currie Cup undergoes ultimate makeover". Bulls.
  5. "Currie Cup Finals History". SuperSport.
  6. (27 September 2014). "Lions storm to victory over Griquas". SuperSport.
  7. (30 September 2020). "Super Rugby Unlocked fixtures announced". SANZAAR.
  8. (21 July 2025). "2025 CURRIE CUP SQUAD ANNOUNCED!".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

rugby-union-teams-in-south-africa kimberley,-south-africa sport-in-the-northern-cape griqualand-west 1886-establishments-in-the-cape-colony rugby-clubs-established-in-1886 super-rugby-teams
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Griquas (rugby union) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report