Fewer 2012 Currie Cup games
Cape Town - The Currie Cup Premier Division will in all likelihood remain an eight-team competition next year and in future.
Earlier media reports indicated that the competition would be reduced from eight to six teams, but this no longer appears to be the case.
However, the eight teams will only play each other once in a single round of fixtures, reducing the number of games significantly.
After the single round robin phase, the top six teams will progress to the quarter-final stage - similar to the Super Rugby competition.
The format of the Currie Cup First division will remain the same, with the six teams playing each other in a double round of home-and-away fixtures.
The top two will play the bottom two from the Premier Division in promotion-relegation matches.
According to a local newspaper report, the General Council of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) will assemble on August 11 to discuss the future format of the competition.
The extension of the Super Rugby tournament, inbound international Test matches and the expansion of the Tri-Nations to the Four-Nations has forced SARU to alter the format of the Currie Cup.
This could mean that the Currie Cup will only start on August 18 next year.
