Current season, competition or edition: 2024 SA Cup | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:SuperSport_Rugby_Challenge_logo.svg){kind=logo} Competition logo | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 |
| First season | 2017 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Countries | South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe |
| Most recent champion(s) | Griquas |
| Most titles | Griquas, Pumas, Western Province |
| Sponsor(s) | SuperSport |
| Related competitions | Currie Cup |
The Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – was the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa from 2017 to 2019. The competition was organised by the South African Rugby Union and featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus Namibian side the Welwitschias and the Zimbabwe Academy. The inaugural season of the competition was in 2017, and was intended as the long-term successor of the Vodacom Cup competition.
The competition was played at roughly the same time as Super Rugby each season, and featured a combination of Super Rugby players returning from injury, reserve players attempting to maintain their fitness levels and younger players trying to break through to the Super Rugby or Currie Cup sides. It therefore served as an important developmental competition for South African rugby.