South African rugby fans will be in for a treat during this year’s Vodacom Super Rugby season, which kicks off this coming weekend with all six local teams in action and the cherry on top a mouth-watering North/South derby in Cape Town.
As part of a major initiative to get supporters actively involved in backing their teams during the next few months, SA Rugby launched the #BeAFan competition.
Apart from supporting the six South African franchises against the best from New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and Japan, the campaign will also handsomely reward rugby fans for their loyal support.
The Super Rugby campaign kicks off on Thursday morning (SA time) when the Rebels host the Blues in Melbourne.
The Cell C Sharks are the first South African team in action, on Friday morning in Brisbane, where they clash with the Reds.
The other five South African sides will battle it out on Saturday, with no less than three matches on local soil.
First up, the Toyota Cheetahs are in action against last year’s finalists, the Emirates Lions, in a clash that starts at 3.05pm at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
The action then moves to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth in a match that will see the Southern Kings in action against the Jaguares from Argentina (5.15pm kick-off).
Finally, it’s time for the huge South versus North battle between the fierce local rivals, the DHL Stormers and the Vodacom Bulls. This mouth-watering derby starts at 7.30pm at Newlands in Cape Town.
For local supporters to be a winner they simply have to attend a match at one of the local stadiums and post a selfie on Twitter or Instagram with the #BeAFan hashtag.
Each week, SA Rugby will choose one winner from all the selfies posted during that round. The name of the lucky weekly winner will be announced on social media every Tuesday, after the weekend’s round of high-octane Super Rugby action.
With the six South African franchises hosting 45 regular season matches locally, it provides supporters with enough opportunities to stake their claims to the prizes.
Full details of the campaign will be explained during the halftime break at local matches. Weekly prizes will include signed team jerseys and match balls.
The competition will take a break in June for the annual Castle Lager Incoming Test Series which, amongst other, this year sees France taking on the Springboks in South Africa, and the British & Irish Lions tour New Zealand.
The final round of regular season action kicks off on July 14, with the qualifiers (quarterfinals) the following weekend on July 21-22.
The semifinals will be played on July 28-29 with the final scheduled for August 5.
SuperSport will again broadcast all 142 Vodacom Super Rugby matches live. – African News Agency (ANA)
