The third edition of the Rugby Tens Championship (R10C) will see experienced campaigners showcase their skills at Charles Morkel Stadium in Strand on Saturday 18, Wednesday 22 and Saturday 25 November.

There is also a good mix of exciting new prospects and international Olympian and World Cup stars, who will join the franchises in the fight for the Franchise trophy. Spectators can expect former Springboks, but also former Blitzboks in action. Lwazi Mvovo will don the colours of the Cape Town Wild Dogs, while Jongi Nokwe and Braam van Straaten will coach the Balkans Honey Badgers and San Clemente Rhinos respectively. Nokwe is joined by Sean Erasmus, who has enjoyed success as the Paarl Boys High and SA Schools coach.

“We are very excited with the calibre of players heading to this year’s Rugby Tens Championship,” said co-founder and CEO, Andreea Trufasu. “Apart from some of the elite players we’re announcing today, the competition will also feature exciting up-and-coming players from across the world, including South Africa.”

Sevens specialist and most capped Blitzbok of all-time Branco du Preez will ply his trade at the Rhinos, while Frankie Horne takes the reins and will share his experience as General Manager and Head Coach at the Serengeti Elephants.

The R10C will also feature up-and-coming stars from the Currie Cup and Varsity Cup, who will benefit and learn a lot from their experienced peers. Chadd Adams (Elephants), Varsity Cup prospect, and Vianca Boer (Elephants), NWU Women’s 7s player of the year are just some of the players who will aim to leave their mark.

How teams are selected for R10C

Six franchises will participate in the competition. Each franchise will field four teams (Elite men and women, under-18 boys and under-18 girls) who aim to lift the coveted Franchise Champion Cup.

Each team has a squad of 20 players, 15 of which will roster for each game. A minimum of 10 players in the squad are forwards, while six of those are able to play in the front row.

The six franchises are the Cape Town Wild Dogs (Southern Africa), Balkans Honey Badgers (Europe and Middle East), Serengeti Elephants (Eastern Africa), San Clemente Rhinos (USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbeans), the Blue Bulls and the Western Province.

Each of the international teams has at least six players from the franchise’s region, and a further six from the region where the competition is hosted. For this year, the competition hosted in Cape Town, each team will have at least six players from Southern Africa.

In addition, as part of giving back to the local rugby community in Strand, each Men and Women team has a player selected from Helderberg Rugby Club.

V Tickets to the Rugby Tens Championship are now available on Ticketmaster.co.za.