The 2014 Vodacom Cup was played between 7 March and 16 May 2014 and was the 17th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions, as well as the Limpopo Blue Bulls and Simba XV from Kenya.

Competition

There were sixteen teams participating in the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition. These teams were geographically divided into two sections, with eight teams in each section. Teams played all the teams in their section once over the course of the season, either at home or away.

Teams received four log points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus log points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).

The top four teams in each section qualified for the title play-offs. In the quarter-finals, the teams that finished first in each section had home advantage against the teams that finished fourth in the other section and the teams that finished second in each section had home advantage against the teams that finished third in the other section. The winners of these quarter finals then played each other in the semi-finals, with the higher-placed team having home advantage. The two semi-final winners then met in the final.^[1]

Quotas

This competition saw the reintroduction of a quota system. Each match-day squad had to contain seven black players. Two of these had to be forwards and five of these had to be in the starting line-up.^[2]

Teams

Blue Bulls

Boland Cavaliers

Border Bulldogs

Eastern Province Kings

Falcons

Free State XV

Golden Lions

Griffons

Griquas

Leopards XV

Limpopo Blue Bulls

Pumas

Sharks XV

Simba XV

SWD Eagles

Western Province

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Location of the teams in the 2014 Vodacom Cup
Northern Section
Southern Section

Changes from 2013

• The Pampas XV withdrew from the competition due to financial considerations.^[3][4]
• Despite not being included in the preliminary fixtures released by SARU,^[5] the Kenya Rugby Union confirmed that they would compete in the competition,^[6] where they will play in the Southern Section and be based in Cape Town. That announcement followed months of Kenyan media sources reporting that they would play in the competition ^[7][8] pending clearance by the IRB,^[9] which was subsequently attained.^[10]

Team Listing

The following teams took part in the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition:

Southern Section
Team	Sponsored Name	Stadium/s	Sponsored Name
Boland Cavaliers	Regent Boland Cavaliers	Boland Stadium, Wellington	Boland Stadium
		Ceres	Ceres
Border Bulldogs	Border Bulldogs	Buffalo City Stadium, East London	Buffalo City Stadium
Eastern Province Kings	Eastern Province Kings	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
		Cradock Rovers Field, Cradock	Cradock Rovers Field
		Grahamstown	Grahamstown
Free State XV	Toyota Free State XV	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein	Free State Stadium
		Clive Solomon Stadium, Heidedal	Clive Solomon Stadium
		Old Greys Rugby Field, Bloemfontein	Old Greys Rugby Field
Sharks XV	Cell C Sharks XV	Kings Park Stadium, Durban	Growthpoint Kings Park
Simba XV	Tusker Simba XV	City Park Stadium, Athlone	City Park Stadium
SWD Eagles	SWD Eagles	Outeniqua Park, George	Outeniqua Park
Western Province	DHL Western Province	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town	DHL Newlands
		City Park Stadium, Athlone	City Park Stadium

Logs

The final standings in the pool stages of the 2014 Vodacom Cup were as follows:

Northern Section