The 4 South Section teams in the Vodacom Cup quarter-finals will be out for revenge after none of them progressed past the last 8 in 2014.

Teams from the north have dominated proceedings in the Vodacom Cup, which kicked off in 1998.

Only 3 times out of 17 campaigns have non-Northern teams won the competition – that was in 2000 (Toyota Free State XV), 2011 (Pampas XV) and 2012 (DHL Western Province). GWK Griquas, runners-up in the South Section this year, played in the North Section previously.

The Vodacom Cup remained in the north for the other 14 years. The Xerox Golden Lions (1999, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2013) and GWK Griquas (1998, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2014) have won it 5 times each, the Vodacom Blue Bulls 3 times (2001, 2008, 2010) and the Hino Valke once (2006).

The defending champions will be the 1st team in action in the quarter-finals this year when the Steval Pumas travel to GWK Park in Kimberley on Friday evening to play GWK Griquas (kick-off at 19:00 SA Time).

Peter Engledow’s team from the Northern Cape lost only 1 of their pool matches this year, which gives them an impressive winning record of 15 out of their last 17 Vodacom Cup matches.

The Steval Pumas, coached by former Blitzbok speedster MJ Mentz, have been a strong contender in recent years – they were runners up in 2013, lost in the semi-final last year and won 5 of their 7 pool matches this year.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls host the Toyota Free State XV in the 2nd quarter-final at Loftus Versfeld on Friday evening (kick-off at 19:10 SA Time – live on Supersport 1). It’s a replay of last year’s quarter-final, won by the men from Pretoria by a single point.

The Nollis Marais-coached Vodacom Blue Bulls scored 40 tries in their 7 pool matches this season, which is the most by any team. Their opponents from Bloemfontein, coached by Rory Duncan, were the top try-scoring side in the South Section with 28.

Saturday’s 2 quarter-finals take place in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The SWD Eagles will have a massive mountain to climb when they travel to Emirates Airline Park to take on the top side from the North Section, the Xerox Golden Lions (kick-off at 14:10, live on Supersport 1).

The men from George, coached by former Springbok fullback Bevin Fortuin, have notched up a few impressive wins this season, but facing a mean-looking Xerox Golden Lions side at altitude is another proposition.

Russell Winter, coach of the Johannesburg-based side, would have faced Fortuin many times in his provincial career and will know it would be a massive mistake to underestimate the Eagles, but the Xerox Golden Lions would still be favourites to qualify for their 3rd successive semi-final.

The last quarter-final is at City Park in Athlone, where John Dobson’s South Section champions, DHL Western Province, will host the Leopards XV.

The men from Potchefstroom, coached by Chaka Willemse, needed a bonus-point victory in their final pool match to make it into the top 8, which they duly did in Windhoek last weekend, but a visit to the Cape is a different proposition.

Vodacom Cup – Team by Team Historic performances:

Xerox Golden Lions:

• Best performance: Champions in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013
• Performance in 2014: Runners-up (lost to GWK Griquas in the Final, 30 / 6)

DHL Western Province:

• Best performance: Champions in 2012
• Performance in 2014: Lost in quarter-finals (13 / 8 to Steval Pumas)

Vodacom Blue Bulls:

• Best performance: Champions in 2001, 2008 and 2010
• Performance in 2014: Lost in semi-finals (16 / 15 to Xerox Golden Lions)

GWK Griquas:

• Best performance: Champions in 1998, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2014
• Performance in 2014: Champions (beat Xerox Golden Lions in the Final, 30 / 6)

Steval Pumas:

• Best performance: Runners-up in 2013
• Performance in 2014: Lost in semi-finals (15 / 14 to GWK Griquas)

Toyota Free State XV:

• Best performance: Champions in 2000
• Performance in 2014: Lost in quarter-finals (22 / 21 to Vodacom Blue Bulls)

Leopards XV:

• Best performance: Runners-up in 2005
• Performance in 2014: 5th in North Section

SWD Eagles:

• Best performance: Lost in semi-finals, 1998
• Performance in 2014: Lost in quarter-finals (84 / 15 to GWK Griquas)

Vodacom Cup – Previous Winners:

• 1998: GWK Griquas
• 1999: Xerox Golden Lions
• 2000: Toyota Free State Cheetahs
• 2001: Vodacom Blue Bulls
• 2002: Xerox Golden Lions
• 2003: Xerox Golden Lions
• 2004: Xerox Golden Lions
• 2005: Xerox GWK Griquas
• 2006: Hino Valke
• 2007: GWK Griquas
• 2008: Vodacom Blue Bulls
• 2009: GWK Griquas
• 2010: Vodacom Blue Bulls
• 2011: Pampas XV
• 2012: DHL Western Province
• 2013: Xerox Golden Lions
• 2014: GWK Griquas

Quarter-Finals Fixtures:

Friday 15 May:

GWK Griquas vs Steval Pumas:

• Kick-Off: 19:00 SA Time
• Venue: GWK Park, Kimberley
• Referee: Lourens van der Merwe

Vodacom Blue Bulls vs Toyota Free State XV:

• Kick-Off: 19:10 SA Time
• Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
• Referee: Rodney Boneparte
  (Live on SuperSport 1 & CSN)

Saturday 16 May:

Xerox Golden Lions vs SWD Eagles:

• Kick-Off: 14:10 SA Time
• Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
• Referee: Oregopotse Rametsi
  (Live on SuperSport 1 & CSN)

DHL Western Province vs Leopards XV:

• Kick-Off: 15:30 SA Time
• Venue: City Park, Athlone, Cape Town
• Referee: Jaco Kotze