The Blue Bulls Rugby Union announced on Friday that a professional season for its clubs will begin in 2026 with millions of rands of sponsorships involved.
The national club competition starting next weekend, the Gold Cup, has been completely dominated by Blue Bulls clubs since it was revived two years ago.
Blue Bulls president, Willem Strauss, confirmed that the new professional structure will kick off with an expanded Super League in February. This will be followed by the new Platinum Cup, the Carlton Cup, and the national Gold Cup.
Blue Bulls clubs have dominated the Gold Cup and Naka Bulle are the back-to-back champions of the national club competition, which was revived by Strauss. Last year’s final between Naka Bulle and Northam Rhinos was a repeat of the Carlton League final as well.
Last season, no less than five of the eight quarter-finalists were from clubs participating in the Blue Bulls club competitions.
The number of rugby clubs in the Blue Bulls region has grown significantly in recent years. Clubs like Centurion and Harlequins have shown exceptional growth, with each fielding at least four teams in the U20 league, a rarity for non-tertiary clubs.
Clubs in the President, Reserve and Limpopo Leagues will be incentivised with participation in the Super League Shield section.
Representative teams from these leagues will also participate in the Noordvaal Platteland Tournament which will take place from September 23-26 in Nylstroom (Modimolle), Limpopo.
The Blue Bulls Platteland team, Blue Bulls Dipoo (selected from the township clubs), Limpopo Waterberg, Limpopo North, the Pumas, Leopards, Valke and Waterberg invitation XV teams will be in action.
This tournament signals a bold step in celebrating and re-igniting rugby’s deep-rooted legacy across the heartland communities.
According to Strauss one of the main priorities of his tenure that started eight years ago, was to make club rugby relevant and part of the pipeline again.
“It is not so much about producing players for the Vodacom Bulls, but more importantly to keep the game alive and grow our supporters’ base in the communities of Louis Trichardt, Mamelodi, Tuine, and elsewhere,” said Strauss.
Women’s club rugby has also grown tremendously under the jurisdiction of the BBRU and several players been contracted by the all-conquering Bulls Daisies team. And next year the expansive Super League year will include a women’s division.
Harlequins will represent the Blue Bulls this year in the first Gold Cup for women in Johannesburg in October.
“Club rugby is roaring back to relevance thanks to a series of game-changing initiatives that have reinvigorated our premier clubs and inspired others beyond our borders. From the return of Loftus 200 and the Gold Cup to cross-border clashes and international fixtures, we’re building momentum with purpose,” Strauss concluded.
