1988 Santam Bank Trophy Division A

The 1988 Santam Bank Trophy Division A was the third tier of domestic South African rugby, below the two Currie Cup divisions.

1988 Santam Bank Trophy Division A
CountriesSouth Africa
Date29 April – 27 August 1988
ChampionsSouth Eastern Transvaal
Runners-upNorth Eastern Cape
PromotedSouth Eastern Transvaal
RelegatedNone
Matches played25
← 1987
1989 →

Teams edit

1988 Santam Bank Trophy Division A
Boland
Border
North Eastern Cape
Northern Natal
South Eastern Transvaal
Western Province League

Competition edit

Regular season and title play-offs edit

There were six participating teams in the Santam Bank Trophy Division A. These teams were split into two sections of three teams each. Teams played the teams in their own section once over the course of the season and teams in the other section twice, once at home and once away. Teams received two points for a win and one points for a draw. The top team qualified for the Division A section finals, played at the home venue of the higher-placed team, as well as the Division A finals.

Promotion play-offs edit

The Division A champion qualified for the promotion play-offs. That team played off against the team placed sixth in the Currie Cup Division B over two legs. The winner over these two ties qualified for the 1989 Currie Cup Division B, while the losing team qualified for the 1989 Santam Bank Trophy Division A.

Relegation play-offs edit

The bottom team on the log with the worst record in their group qualified for the relegation play-offs. That team played off against the team that won the Santam Bank Trophy Division B over two legs. The winner over these two ties qualified for the 1989 Santam Bank Trophy Division A, while the losing team qualified for the 1989 Santam Bank Trophy Division B.

Log edit

1988 Santam Bank Trophy Division A Section 1 Log
Pos Team Pl W D L PF PA PD TF TA Pts
1 South Eastern Transvaal 8 6 0 2 161 130 +31 20 14 12
2 Boland 8 4 0 4 172 145 +27 20 18 8
3 Border 8 2 0 6 102 140 −38 9 17 4
South Eastern Transvaal qualified for the Division A Title play-off Final game and the Trophy Finals Semi-Final.
1988 Santam Bank Trophy Division A Section 2 Log
1 North Eastern Cape 8 6 0 2 145 108 +37 16 12 12
2 Western Province League 8 4 0 4 140 127 +13 19 12 8
3 Northern Natal 8 2 0 6 134 204 −70 14 25 4
North Eastern Cape qualified for the Division A Title play-off Final game and the Trophy Finals Semi-Final.
Northern Natal qualified for the promotion/relegation play-off game.

* Legend: Pos = Position, Pl = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, Pts = Log points

Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw

Fixtures and results edit

Round one edit

29 April 1988 South Eastern Transvaal 9 – 7 North Eastern Cape Witbank  


29 April 1988 Western Province League 25 – 28 Northern Natal Cape Town  
Bye/s: Boland, Border

Round two edit

6 May 1988 Border 6 – 12 South Eastern Transvaal East London  


7 May 1988 North Eastern Cape 21 – 16 Western Province League Cradock  
Bye/s: Boland, Northern Natal

Round three edit

13 May 1988 South Eastern Transvaal 32 – 24 Boland Witbank  


14 May 1988 Northern Natal 16 – 12 North Eastern Cape Newcastle  
Bye/s: Border, Western Province League

Round four edit

21 May 1988 Border 16 – 12 Northern Natal East London  


11 June 1988 Western Province League 19 – 10 South Eastern Transvaal Cape Town  
Bye/s: Boland, North Eastern Cape

Round five edit

4 June 1988 North Eastern Cape 17 – 12 Border Cradock  


4 June 1988 Northern Natal 19 – 35 Boland Newcastle  
Bye/s: South Eastern Transvaal, Western Province League

Round six edit

17 June 1988 Boland 27 – 13 Border Wellington  


18 June 1988 South Eastern Transvaal 43 – 18 Northern Natal Witbank  
Bye/s: North Eastern Cape, Western Province League

Round seven edit

2 July 1988 Border 14 – 20 Western Province League East London  


2 July 1988 North Eastern Cape 15 – 13 Boland Cradock  
Bye/s: Northern Natal, South Eastern Transvaal

Round eight edit

8 July 1988 Boland 9 – 3 Western Province League Wellington  
Bye/s: Border, North Eastern Cape, Northern Natal, South Eastern Transvaal

Round nine edit

23 July 1988 North Eastern Cape 22 – 9 South Eastern Transvaal Cradock  


23 July 1988 Northern Natal 13 – 19 Border Newcastle  


23 July 1988 Western Province League 19 – 9 Boland Paarl  

Round ten edit

30 July 1988 Western Province League 22 – 12 Border Cape Town  
Bye/s: Boland, North Eastern Cape, Northern Natal, South Eastern Transvaal

Round eleven edit

6 August 1988 Boland 32 – 10 Northern Natal Wellington  


6 August 1988 Border 10 – 17 North Eastern Cape East London  


6 August 1988 South Eastern Transvaal 24 – 16 Western Province League Witbank  

Round twelve edit

20 August 1988 Northern Natal 18 – 22 South Eastern Transvaal Newcastle  


20 August 1988 Boland 23 – 34 North Eastern Cape Wellington  
Bye/s: Border, Western Province League

Final edit

27 August 1988 South Eastern Transvaal 19 – 15 North Eastern Cape Witbank  
Report[1]

Santam Bank Trophy Finals edit

The top two teams from Division A and the top two teams from Division B qualified to the Trophy finals:

Semi-finals edit

3 September 1988 Stellaland 24 – 9 South Eastern Transvaal Lichtenburg  
Report[2]


3 September 1988 North Eastern Cape 22 – 15 Far North Cradock  
Report[3]

Final edit

10 September 1988 North Eastern Cape 26 – 12 Stellaland Cradock  
Report[3]

Promotion/relegation play-offs edit

Promotion play-offs edit

In the promotion play-offs, South Eastern Transvaal beat Eastern Free State on aggregate and won promotion to the Currie Cup Division B. Eastern Free State were initially relegated to the Division A, but due to the Currie Cup Division A's subsequent expansion to 8 teams, they retained their place.[4]


17 September 1988 Eastern Free State 15–21 South Eastern Transvaal Bethleham  
Report[5]


24 September 1988 South Eastern Transvaal 39–12 Eastern Free State Witbank  
Report[6]

Relegation play-offs edit

In the relegation play-offs, Northern Natal conceded the second leg to Far North, who won promotion to the Division A. Northern Natal were initially relegated to Division B, but due to the Currie Cup Division A's expansion to 8 teams, they retained their place.[4]


17 September 1988 Northern Natal 13 – 32 Far North Newcastle  

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Suidoos buit beker met sy agttal". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 29 August 1988. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Stellaland weer in eindstryd". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 5 September 1988. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Curriebeker-punte". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 12 September 1988. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Rugbyraad besluit oor Craven-gesprek Ja vir integrasie, nee vir die ANC". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 12 November 1988. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Suidoos op pad na CB-status". Die Burger (in Afrikaans). 19 September 1988. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2013.