Lions

History of Emirates Lions

The Lions have existed as a rugby union franchise since 1998, when SA Rugby changed the Currie Cup qualification process for the Super 12 and created provincial franchises. However, the team had also previously existed as both Transvaal and the Gauteng Lions. 

For the 1998 season of the Super 12, the Lions rugby team entered the tournament for the first time as the Cats. Although the team found success in the 2000 and 2001 editions of the tournament when they reached the semi-final stages, they regularly finished at the bottom end of the table.

When the Super 12 was expanded to become the Super 14 for the 2006 season, the team rebranded as the Lions. However, they continued to struggle. For the five seasons the tournament was known as the Super 14, the Lions finished no higher than 12th.

In 2011, a change to the Super Rugby format failed to bring a change of luck for the Emirates Lions rugby team and they continued to finish in the bottom two. 

As a result, a vote was held and the Lions were relegated from the competition in 2013 and instead played in the Lions Challenge Series. At the end of this series, they then played a two-legged playoff for a Super Rugby place. They won this and the team's fortunes were transformed.

The Lions rugby team returned to Super Rugby as a rejuvenated side and regularly began to compete. In fact, in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the side even reached the final of the competition. However, they lost on all three occasions.

Sadly, when the coronavirus pandemic halted the 2020 edition of Super Rugby, South African sides withdrew from the competition due to travel restrictions. Although the Emirates Lions rugby team played in the Super Rugby Unlocked tournament in 2020, the team has participated in Northern Hemisphere competitions since 2021. Today, the team plays in the United Rugby Championship and the EPCR Challenge Cup. 

Although the Emirates Lions rugby team were not successful in their early years in the competition, several international stars such as Francois Pienaar and André Vos both played for and captained the side. Today, the Emirates Lions squad is primarily filled with uncapped South African players. 

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