The 1996 Currie Cup was the 58th season of the Currie Cup, South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, since it started in 1889. The competition was known as the Bankfin Currie Cup for sponsorship reasons and was contested from 30 May to 24 October 1996. This was also the first season since the advent of professionalism in South African rugby union, which led to a major restructuring in several facets of the sport. The number of provincial unions were reduced from 22 to 14, all of which participated in a single Currie Cup tournament. The competition was won by the for the fourth time in their history; they beat the 33–15 in the final played on 24 October 1996. Competition rules and information There were fourteen participating teams in the 1996 Currie Cup. These teams were divided into two sections, Section A and Section B. Teams played all the other teams in their section twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. 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, while 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 advanced to the semi-finals and semi-final winners advanced to the final, in both rounds at the home venue of the higher-placed team. Teams Team Listing Changes from 1995 Following the 1995 Rugby World Cup, rugby union was declared in a professional sport in South Africa. This caused a major restructuring in the rugby unions, which saw the total number of unions reduced from 22 to 14. All of these teams played in the 1996 Currie Cup, which was increased from 6 teams to 14. Promoted teams: Dissolved teams: (absorbed into ) (absorbed into ) (absorbed into ) (absorbed into and ) (absorbed into ) (absorbed into ) (absorbed into ) (absorbed into ) Log Matches The following matches were played in the 1996 Currie Cup: Section A Round one Round two Round three Round four Round Five Round Six Round Seven Round Eight Round Nine Round Ten Round Eleven Round Twelve Round Thirteen Round