Limpopo will play in the Vodacom Cup as a separate team for the first time when this 16-team competition kicks off on the second weekend of March.
The region, which is a sub-union of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union, has been granted a place in the tournament in its own rights to help foster rugby in South Africa’s far north. They join the 14 provincial unions as well as the returning Pampas XV from Argentina in the tournament, which concludes in mid-May.
The Polokwane-based Limpopo team will play in the North Section of the Vodacom Cup, along with the Vodacom Blue Bulls, MTN Golden Lions, Griffons, Leopards, Ford Pumas, Valke and GWK Griquas, runners up in 2012. They are scheduled to play their mother body Vodacom Blue Bulls in Polokwane on Saturday, 20 April.
The South Section contains defending champions, DHL Western Province, as well as Border Bulldogs, Regent Boland Kavaliers, Eastern Province Kings, Toyota Free State XV, the Sharks XV, South Western Districts and the Pampas XV from Argentina.
Teams will each play seven group matches within their own section. Thereafter the top four teams from each section will progress to the quarter-final round, which will be contested across the two sections.
Vodacom Cup 2013 fixtures for the two northern sides:
Round 1 – 8/9 March:
GWK Griquas v Vodacom Blue Bulls
Limpopo v Griffons
Round 2 – 15/16 March:
Vodacom Blue Bulls v Ford Pumas
Leopards v Limpopo
Round 3 – 22/23 March:
MTN Golden Lions v Vodacom Blue Bulls
Limpopo v GWK Griquas
Round 4 – 5/6 April:
Vodacom Blue Bulls v Leopards
Limpopo v Valke
Round 5 – 12/13 April:
Valke v Vodacom Blue Bulls
Ford Pumas v Limpopo
Round 6 – 19/20 April:
Limpopo v Vodacom Blue Bulls
Round 7 – 26/27 April:
Vodacom Blue Bulls v Griffons
MTN Golden Lions v Limpopo
Quarter-finals – 3/4 May:
North 1 v South 4
South 1 v North 4
North 2 v South 3
South 2 v North 3
Semi-finals – 10/11 May
Final – 17/18 May