The 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship was the 2016 edition of the Under-20 Provincial Championship, an annual national Under-20 rugby union competition held in South Africa. The competition was contested from 27 May to 7 October 2016. This season was the first season of a new Under-20 competition. Previously, all South African provincial unions competed in both an Under-21 and an Under-19 competition each season. That format was retained for the seven leading provincial unions at youth level, but the competition for the remaining eight provincial unions was changed to an Under-20 competition from 2016 onwards.^[1] The tournament was won by Griffons U20; they beat Boland U20 22–16 in the final played on 7 October 2016.

Competition rules and information

There were eight participating teams in the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.

Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus 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 qualified for the title play-off semi-finals. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The final was played as a curtain raiser for the 2016 Currie Cup First Division final.

Teams

Boland U20

Border U20

Falcons U20

Griffons U20

Griquas U20

Limpopo Blue Bulls U20

Pumas U20

SWD U20

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Location of teams in the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship

The following teams took part in the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship:

Standings

The final league standings for the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship were:^[2]

Round-by-round

The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets: