The inaugural Stones Cup Deaf rugby tournament came to an electrifying end on Saturday afternoon 6 April 2019 in Bloemfontein, with the Blue Bulls Deaf team emerging as the victors.

The tournament, named after Tim Stones due to his efforts in reviving deaf rugby in South Africa over the last decade, saw four teams, two from Western Province, one from Pretoria and an Invitational side, take part in it.

The Bulls side proved to be too strong for all of the teams, thumping the WP Thunder (A) Deaf team 45-12 in the opener, then crushing the WP Cyclones (B) Deaf 71-7 in the second game, before closing out with an emphatic 71-0 beating of the SA Deaf Invitational team in a match that was played as a curtainraiser to the Cheetahs Pro14 match against Ospreys.

The results were:

Round 1 at Sentraal High School 30 March 2019:

Blue Bulls 45 – WP Thunder 12.
Full match footage can be found at: https://digitv.co.za/#/video/6778/8599/Vod

WP Cyclones 15 – SA Deaf Invitational team 12.
Full match footage can be found at: https://digitv.co.za/#/video/6780/8599/Vod

Round 2 at Bobbies Park 3 April 2019:

WP Thunder 27 – SA Deaf Invitational team 18.
Full match footage can be found at: https://digitv.co.za/#/video/6852/8658/Vod

Blue Bulls 71 – WP Cyclones 7.
Full match footage can be found at: https://digitv.co.za/#/video/6853/8658/Vod

Round 3 at Bobbies park 5 April 2019:

WP Thunder 28 – WP Cyclones 0.
Full match footage can be found at: https://digitv.co.za/#/video/7890/9702/Vod

Round 3 at Toyota Stadium 6 April 2019:

Blue Bulls 71 – SA Deaf Invitational team 0.
(Unfortunately there was no live footage)

The Dream Team of the tournament consisted of 9 Blue Bulls, 9 WP Thunder, and 2 SA Deaf Invitational players:

1st: Blue Bulls Deaf Rugby

2nd: WP Thunder

3rd: WP Cyclones

4th: SA Deaf Invitational XV

The man of the matches:

We thank the following sponsors and donors who made the tournament possible: