Western Province Rugby Promotion League kicks off with top 9 teams competing for Super League C spot

• The Promotion League, also known as the Top 9, of Western Province Rugby Union starts on Saturday 27 July, featuring nine teams from the Northern, City, and Southern Leagues.
• The competition will determine which teams advance to Super League C, with teams having drawn their fixtures at the Sports Science Institute.
• Due to poor weather, matches were postponed for the past two weekends, but the teams are now ready to compete.

The first shots will be fired on Saturday 27 July in the Promotion League, also known as the Top 9, of Western Province Rugby Union. The nine teams competing in this competition consist of the top three teams in the Northern League, City League and Southern League and are vying for a place in Super League C next year.

The nine teams are Caledonian Roses from Rylands Estate, Violets from Kenwyn Estate, Watsonia from Slivertown, Silvertree in Observatory, Blue Stars from Klapmuts, Albions from Paarl, Sir Lowrians from Sir Lowry’s Pass, Delft and Young Wesleys from Philippi.

Due to poor weather conditions, the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) postponed all the matches in the past two weekends.

The Promotion League was finalised when the nine teams gathered at the Sports Science Institute to determine the draw for the first round. The Promotion League round is split into two sections: the top three from each region will play for promotion to Super League C, and the bottom six from each region will play for the regional second-round cup.

Braving the weather from as far as Gordon’s Bay, the clubs arrived in good spirits and, as always, went through the function in a jovial manner with positive engagements. With each club drawing from the hat, the clubs were allocated their fixtures.

The bottom six in each region also drew lots, and after some deliberation, the regional second-round challenge will now be known as the Challenge Cup.

The Promotion League is exciting and nerve-wracking as the teams have not played against each other before. However, it is also exciting because they can meet each other across various regions, which makes for even more social cohesion.