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{{Short description|South African rugby union club, based in Johannesburg}}
{{About||other uses||the United Rugby Championship franchise|Lions (United Rugby Championship)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Use South African English|date=June 2015}}

{{Infobox rugby team
| teamname       = Golden Lions
| image          = Logo Golden Lions Rugby.svg
| image_size     = 150px
| fullname       = Golden Lions
| union          = Golden Lions Rugby Union
| region         = [[Gauteng]], [[South Africa]]
| countryflag    = South Africa
| emblem         = Lion
| colours        = White and red
| founded        = 1889
| rugby director = 
| chairman       = [[Kevin de Klerk]]
| coach          = [[Mzwakhe Nkosi]]
| captain        = [[Jaco Visagie]]
| sport          = [[Rugby union]]
| league         = [[Currie Cup|Currie Cup Premier Division]]
| season         = [[2022 Currie Cup Premier Division|2022]]
| position       = Finals: DNQ <br/> 7th on log
| ground         = [[Ellis Park Stadium]]
| capacity       = 62,567
| url            = www.lionsrugby.co.za
| pattern_la1    = _GLionsleft16
| pattern_b1     = _GLionskit16
| pattern_ra1    = _GLionsright16
| pattern_sh1    = 
| pattern_so1    = _GLionssocks15
| leftarm1       = 
| body1          = 
| rightarm1      = 
| shorts1        = 000000
| socks1         = 
| pattern_la2    = _GLionsleft16b
| pattern_b2     = _GLionskit16b
| pattern_ra2    = _GLionsright16b
| pattern_sh2    = 
| pattern_so2    = _GLionssocks15
| leftarm2       = 
| body2          = 
| rightarm2      = 
| shorts2        = 000000
| socks2         = 
| current        = 2024 Currie Cup Premier Division
}}

The '''Golden Lions''' ({{langx|af|Goue Leeus}}), currently known as the '''[[ADT Inc.|Fidelity ADT]] Golden Lions''' for sponsorship reasons, are a South African professional [[rugby union]] team based in [[Johannesburg]] who compete in the annual [[Currie Cup]].

The team is governed by the Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU), and was originally known as '''Transvaal''' (after [[Transvaal (province)|Transvaal Province]]), before changes to the political landscape in South Africa forced a name change to the Gauteng Lions, before again being changed to the Golden Lions. The GLRU also operates the associated [[United Rugby Championship]] franchise {{Rut|Lions}}, which also draw players from [[Griquas (rugby union)|Griquas]].

==History==
The Transvaal Rugby Football Union, with its headquarters in Johannesburg, was formed in 1889 after delegates from different clubs in the region decided to form a united rugby union to look after the well-being of the clubs. Prominent clubs involved in the process were Pirates, Wanderers, Pretoria, Potchefstroom and Kaffrarians. The first elected president was Bill Taylor (born 1858). Transvaal's first match was against Griquas in [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]] on 31 August 1889.

The original colours used by Transvaal were dark blue and white jerseys, blue shorts and blue-and-white socks. It is unsure when the union decided to switch over to a white jersey with a red hoop with black shorts and socks. There is also a school of thought that the union adopted the famous [[Kilmarnock RFC|Kilmarnock]] strip of white top with red hoop as a Kilmarnock member, [[Alex Frew]], captained them when they beat The British Isles touring team in 1903. These colours are still in use today. It is also from these colours that the teams’ nickname, "Rooibontes" came from.

The original union encompassed a much bigger catchment area than it does currently. Unions that gained independence from Transvaal are Western Transvaal (currently the Leopards) in 1920, Northern Transvaal (currently the Blue Bulls) in 1938, and Eastern Transvaal (currently the Pumas) in 1948. Robert Owen Loftus Versfeld, after which the [[Loftus Versfeld Stadium|stadium in Pretoria]] is named, was a lifetime member of the Transvaal Rugby Football Union. According to a Lions tale – 120 years of the red and white, Versfeld died of a heart attack at [[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]] in 1932 when he attended a match between Transvaal and the Free State.

The union has undergone several name changes in recent years – first changing its name to the Lions in 1993, the Gauteng Lions in 1997, before finally changing to The Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) in 1998. The GLRU competes in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions under the sponsorship name of Xerox Golden Lions. The GLRU served as the main feeder union for the [[Lions (United Rugby Championship)|Lions]], in [[Super Rugby]], and since 2021 in the United Rugby Championship, which also encompass the {{Rut|Pumas}} and the {{Rut|Leopards}}, although very few of their players have been historically selected. The Golden Lions and Lions share the same home stadium, [[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], located in the suburb of [[Doornfontein]].

==Financial turmoil==
In the 1980s the union ran into serious financial trouble, mostly as a result of redeveloping [[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]]. Transvaal supporters nearly did not have a union to support anymore as at one stage the most likely outcome was that the union would disband. In 1984 the union had R37 million of debts to repay, which forced [[Volkskas Bank]] to carry the union for a period. This debt mainly came from the union redeveloping the old Ellis Park into a modern 80,000- seat stadium in 1980. The union started out with R1 million of its own money, and intended to raise another R12 million through the sales of suites and life memberships. However, due to the underperforming team, the union had a hard time to sell these ideas to businessmen and the intended revenue to fund the stadium never materialized.

In March 1984 Volkskas took over the management of Ellis Park. By August the union was told to repay debts of more than R40 million by 4 September. According to [[Louis Luyt]] in his autobiography, Walking Proud, the union was left with interest amounting to R20,000 per day. It was at this time that the then president Jannie le Roux was ousted by the clubs on 3 September 1984, and in his place came self-made millionaire Dr. Louis Luyt, a former provincial lock forward for the Orange Free State. Through the business acumen of Dr Luyt, the union was able to become financially stable once again. Dr Luyt saw an opportunity to use Ellis Park as a way for the union to cover its debt, and according to him, he used this asset as a means of renegotiating the unions’ debt with Volkskas Bank and the Johannesburg City Council.

In order to refinance the debt the union would relinquish control of [[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], and control of the stadium would be taken by a new company called Ellis Park Stadium Incorporated (EPSI) on which Volkskas would have 6 board members, the City Council 3 members and the Louis Luyt group 3 members. Thus the rugby union had no representation on the board. The rugby union would however be contractually obliged to play all future matches at the venue, and would have first right over the use of Ellis Park. However, 20% of all gate receipts generated would be paid over to EPSI. However, Volkskas was not fond of this idea, and eventually took complete control over the stadium as a new company called Ellis Park Stadium Pty Ltd. According to Luyt the union would now be allowed to keep 25% of its gate revenue plus R100 000 of the advertising revenue. Luyt also managed to negotiate a clause stipulating that the rugby union had first right of refusal should Volkskas decide to sell the stadium in the future.

In 1987 the bank decided to sell the stadium to Johan Claassen (a former Springbok) for R26.5 million, but with the union having first right of refusal, Luyt started working along with First National Bank (FNB) to buy the stadium back for the union. At the time FNB wanted to rename the stadium First National Stadium, although the City Council was against this as they wanted the stadium to retain the name of their former city councilman who provided the area for the stadium. This is in stark contrast when the stadium name was sold to [[Coca-Cola]] in 2008. Eventually FNB provided the union with the finance needed to take control of the stadium. Luyt reduced the capacity of the stadium from 80 000 to 60 000 by adding 88 suites behind the two goal posts. His rationale for this was that the general public preferred to sit on the sides of the field, thus these seats were deemed economically unviable. However, companies were satisfied to have any suite in the stadium. Thus even when losing 20 000 seats, the union was able to generate a bigger income from this "dead space" of the stadium. Even before construction on the suites started, they were fully subscribed. The cost of building the suites were R4 million, and the revenue of selling these were R25 million. Even though seating was reduced the union was able to show a constant revenue stream because of the suites.

Eventually Luyt listed the stadium on the stock exchange, although this venture was unsuccessful. In spite of the unsuccessful stock exchange listing the union was able to repay all of its debt by 1993. Ellis Park was known as Coca-Cola Park between 2008 and 2012, although as one of the [[FIFA World Cup 2010]] venues, for the period of the world cup, it was known as Ellis Park again. The stadium, and surrounding swimming arena and indoor sports arena, is run by Ellis Park World of Sport Pty Ltd, in which the GLRU has a stake.

==The golden years==
Even though the Lions are regarded as one of the most successful teams in South African rugby history, the union was for a long time regarded as the perennial underachievers. After winning the Currie Cup in 1972 for the sixth time, supporters had to wait a further 21 years for the trophy to return to Johannesburg. Even though the pain of not securing the Currie Cup was somewhat soothed by winning the Lion Cup (a now extinct knock out competition) in 1986, 1987 and 1992, it was Currie Cup glory supporters were really craving.

The team did come close on a few occasions, but always seemed to fail at the final hurdle losing the final in 1974, 1986, 1987, 1991 and 1992. Finally however, under the guidance of [[Kitch Christie]] as head coach and [[Francois Pienaar]] as captain, the side was able to win the Currie Cup in 1993 with a 21–15 victory over [[Natal Province|Natal]] in Durban. Memorably, Uli Schmidt (hooker) scored the winning try after chasing down a kick. The union repeated their success in 1994 by beating the [[Free State Cheetahs|Orange Free State]] by 56–35 in [[Bloemfontein]]. This was however not the end of the union's success.

They also managed to win the 1993 [[Super 10 (Southern Hemisphere competition)|Super 10]] with a 20–17 win over [[Auckland RFU|Auckland]] from [[New Zealand]] in [[Johannesburg]] – thus making the union the first South African team to win a trans-national title. In 1995 Transvaal reached the final of the Super 10 again but lost to the Australian [[Queensland Reds|Queensland]]. The union also managed to scalp the 1993 and 1994 M-Net night series, a pre-season warm up competition. It was also during the 1993 season that the team managed to go on an unbeaten run of 19 games (18 wins, 1 draw). The Lions won the Currie Cup again in 1999 when they beat the Sharks 32–9 in Durban, and were on the losing side in the 2002 and 2007 finals. They ended their 12-year trophy drought in 2011, beating the {{Rut|Sharks (Currie Cup)}} 42–16 in the final in Johannesburg.

==Turmoil and rebuilding: 2000–12==
As a result of South African sides being uncompetitive in the expanded Super 12 competition, South African Rugby decided to manage their 14 provincial unions as franchises, combining the unions for the Super 12 competition, before splitting up again to compete as 14 separate sides in the [[Currie Cup]]. The old way of using the Currie Cup as a qualifying competition for the Super 12 was thus scrapped. The GLRU was combined with the [[Free State Cheetahs]] and [[Griquas (rugby)|Griquas]] to form the Cats Super 12 franchise. Although home games were mostly played at Ellis Park, some games were also played in [[Bloemfontein]] at the Free State Stadium (formerly Springbok Park). This caused the franchise considerable administrative problems in forming a united identity between the three provincial teams and their supporters. Players were also reportedly unhappy about the travel arrangements with the members of the Cheetahs and Griquas often being away from their families for extended periods of time. As the Cats the franchise never really achieved the great heights it was expected to, considering that two of South Africa's biggest teams were part of the franchise. The Cats did however have a good spell in 2000 and 2001 when under the guidance of former [[New Zealand]] coach [[Laurie Mains]] the union managed to recruit several young stars like [[Joe Gillingham]], [[Cobus Gomes]], [[Rory Kockot]] and reach the semi-finals of the Super 12, where they lost to the Brumbies and the Sharks respectively. Incidentally, as core of the franchise, the Lions won the 1999 Currie Cup, also under the guidance of Mains.

After the Super 12 was expanded in 2006 to become the Super 14, South African Rugby was awarded an additional franchise. Even though there was pressure from government to award the franchise to the Eastern Cape-based Southern Spears (now the Southern Kings), the franchise was awarded to the Free State Cheetahs and Griquas thus ending their involvement with the Cats. The Cats were now made up of the Lions, the Leopards and the Pumas. The Johannesburg Super 14 franchise was still known as the Cats in 2006, but finally rebranded themselves as the Super 14 Lions in 2007.

Midway through 2008, Prof. Jannie Fereirra was replaced by former Lions and Springbok lock Kevin de Klerk as president of the GLRU. Throughout the 2000s attendances at Ellis Park has been on the downslide, with the team's performances following a similar course. With the rise of the Sharks, Blue Bulls and to a lesser extent Western Province, and the tendency of South Africans to play in Europe, the GLRU had difficulty in keeping their star players contracted. Some of the players who left the GLRU during the 2000s were: Andre Vos, Rassie Erasmus, Joe Gillingham, Andre Pretorius, Willie Wepener, Ethienne Reyneke, Thinus Delport, Schalk Brits, Wikus van Heerden, Gcobani Bobo, Conrad Jantjies, Gerhard Mostert, Anton van Zyl, Jaco Pretorius, Gerhard Vosloo, Joe van Niekerk, Wayne Julies, Ernst Joubert, [[Ricky Januarie]], with players such as Rory Kockot being lost through the unions youth system. The union also lost the services of long serving Springbok Jaque Fourie in 2009 even though the player was still under contract. Fourie came through the Lions youth system, representing the union at school, u/19 and u/21 level. Fourie took his contract to arbitration after which was found that his contract was not legally binding on a technical point. This opened the door for Willem Alberts and Louis Ludik to join the Sharks for the 2010 season, even though they were also under contract with the GLRU.

In 2009 the GLRU invited former Springbok coach [[Jake White]]’s company ''Winning Ways'' to conduct an audit of the Union's systems and structures, after which it was recommended that immediate changes needed to be made.<ref name="replacecoach">{{cite web|url=http://www.lionsrugby.com/news/7796.php |title=Golden Lions replace coach |last=Heywood |first=Marc |date=28 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403130730/http://www.lionsrugby.com/news/7796.php |archive-date=3 April 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref> After three seasons of underachievement with the Super Rugby franchise, [[Eugene Eloff]] was dismissed as coach, and [[Hans Coetzee]] was appointed as interim coach.<ref name="replacecoach"/> The players threatened to strike in response, and lost their next match to the touring [[British and Irish Lions]], who ran in ten tries to win 74–10.<ref>{{cite news|first=Huw|last=Baines|publisher=ESPN Scrum|title=Lions rampant at Ellis Park|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/lionstour/rugby/story/97604.html|date=3 June 2009}}</ref> White's audit was particularly severe on the physical conditioning of the players and the poor defence displayed by the union.

The Lions finished sixth on the 2009 Currie Cup, losing 6 games by less than 7 points with physical conditioning and defence being a particular focus for their campaign. In November 2009 Dick Muir, former Sharks head coach and current Springboks backline coach, was appointed Director of Rugby – a task encompassing looking after the unions rugby structures as well as taking control of the Auto and General Super 14 Lions as head coach. Coetzee and former Springbok lock, Johan Ackerman were appointed as his assistants. 

In 2011 under new coach John Mitchell, a new style was implemented, and the Lions won their first Currie Cup title in 12 years. In February 2012, a TV series about the team, [[Lions4Life]], premiered on [[SuperSport_(South_African_broadcaster)|Supersport]]. 
In December 2012 the Union appointed Manie Booysen as new CEO. He replaced Ruben Moggee, who had served as interim CEO for fourteen months.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Golden-Lions-name-new-CEO-20121205|title=Golden Lions name new CEO|publisher=Sport24|date=5 December 2012}}</ref>
Before the 2013 Currie Cup the Lions lost a lot players due to the Lions franchise being relegated from the Super Rugby competition in 2013.

==The Revolution==
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2018}}
The team had to rebuild again with new players, new head coach [[Johan Ackermann]], new CEO [[Rudolf Straeuli]] and President [[Kevin De Klerk]]. With their new style of rugby that was mostly used by New Zealand teams being implemented by Johan Ackermann, they reached the Currie Cup final twice in a row, losing to Western Province in 2014 at Newlands and winning in 2015 against Western Province at Ellis Park after going undefeated the season. After being promoted back to Super Rugby in 2014, the Lions reached 3 consecutive finals in  2016, 2017 and 2018. They also produced a number of new Springboks including captain Warren Whiteley. In the 2017 Currie Cup season Swyn De Bruin was appointed the New head coach

==Honours==
* Currie Cup Premier Division
** '''Champions''': (11) [[1922 Currie Cup|1922]], [[1939 Currie Cup|1939]], [[1950 Currie Cup|1950]], [[1952 Currie Cup|1952]], [[1971 Currie Cup|1971]], [[1972 Currie Cup|1972]], [[1993 Currie Cup|1993]], [[1994 Currie Cup|1994]], [[1999 Currie Cup|1999]], [[2011 Currie Cup Premier Division|2011]], [[2015 Currie Cup Premier Division|2015]]
** ''Runners-up: (13) [[1947 Currie Cup|1947]], [[1968 Currie Cup|1968]], [[1974 Currie Cup|1974]], [[1986 Currie Cup|1986]], [[1987 Currie Cup|1987]], [[1991 Currie Cup|1991]], [[1992 Currie Cup|1992]], [[1996 Currie Cup|1996]], [[2002 Currie Cup|2002]], [[2007 Currie Cup Premier Division|2007]], [[2014 Currie Cup Premier Division|2014]], [[2019 Currie Cup Premier Division|2019]], [[2024 Currie Cup Premier Division|2024]]''
* Vodacom Cup
** '''Champions''': (5) [[1999 Vodacom Cup|1999]], [[2002 Vodacom Cup|2002]], [[2003 Vodacom Cup|2003]], [[2004 Vodacom Cup|2004]], [[2013 Vodacom Cup|2013]]
** ''Runners-up: (2) [[1998 Vodacom Cup|1998]], [[2014 Vodacom Cup|2014]]''

==Finals results==

=== Currie Cup ===
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; border-collapse:collapse;"
|- style="background:#C1D8FF;"
!Season
!Winners
!Score
!Runner-up
!Venue
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1922
|Transvaal
| n/a
| n/a
| n/a
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1939
|Transvaal
|17–6
|[[Western Province (rugby)|Western Province]]
|[[Newlands Stadium|Newlands]], [[Cape Town]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1947
|[[Western Province (rugby)|Western Province]]
|16–12
|Transvaal
|[[Newlands Stadium|Newlands]], [[Cape Town]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1950
|Transvaal
|22–11
|[[Western Province (rugby)|Western Province]]
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1952
|Transvaal
|11–9
|[[Boland Cavaliers|Boland]]
|[[Boland Stadium]], [[Wellington, Western Cape|Wellington]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1968
||[[Blue Bulls|Northern Transvaal]]
|16–3
|Transvaal
|[[Loftus Versfeld Stadium|Loftus Versfeld]], [[Pretoria]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1971
|Transvaal
|14–14
|[[Blue Bulls|Northern Transvaal]]
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1972
||Transvaal
|25–19
|Falcons<sup>3</sup>
|[[Pam Brink Stadium]], [[Springs, Gauteng|Springs]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1974
||[[Blue Bulls|Northern Transvaal]]
|17–15
|Transvaal
|[[Loftus Versfeld Stadium|Loftus Versfeld]], [[Pretoria]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1986
|[[Western Province (rugby)|Western Province]]
|22–9
|Transvaal
|[[Newlands Stadium|Newlands]], [[Cape Town]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1987
|[[Blue Bulls|Northern Transvaal]]
|24–18
|Transvaal
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1991
|[[Blue Bulls]]
|27–15
|Transvaal
|[[Loftus Versfeld Stadium|Loftus Versfeld]], [[Pretoria]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1992
|{{Rut|Sharks (Currie Cup)}}
|14–13
|Transvaal
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1993
|Transvaal
|21–15
|{{Rut|Sharks (Currie Cup)}}
|[[Kings Park Stadium|Kings Park]], [[Durban]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1994
|Transvaal
|56–35
|[[Free State Cheetahs|Orange Free State]]<sup>1</sup>
|[[Springbok Park]], [[Bloemfontein]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1996
|{{Rut|Sharks (Currie Cup)}}
|33–15
|Golden Lions
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1999
|Golden Lions
|32–9
|{{Rut|Sharks (Currie Cup)}}
|[[Kings Park Stadium|Kings Park]], [[Durban]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|2002
|[[Blue Bulls]]<sup>2</sup>
|31–7
|Golden Lions
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|[[2007 Currie Cup|2007]]
|[[Free State Cheetahs]]
|20–18
|Golden Lions
|[[Free State Stadium|Vodacom Park]], [[Bloemfontein]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|[[2011 Currie Cup Premier Division|2011]]
| Golden Lions
| 42–16
| {{Rut|Sharks (Currie Cup)}}
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|[[2014 Currie Cup Premier Division|2014]]
|[[Western Province (rugby)|Western Province]]
| 19–16
| Golden Lions
|[[Newlands Stadium|Newlands]], [[Cape Town]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|[[2015 Currie Cup Premier Division|2015]]
| Golden Lions
| 32–24
|[[Western Province (rugby)|Western Province]]
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|[[2019 Currie Cup Premier Division|2019]]
| [[Free State Cheetahs]]
| 31-28
| Golden Lions
|[[Free State Stadium]], [[Bloemfontein]]
|-
|[[2024 Currie Cup Premier Division|2024]]
|Golden Lions
|14-16
|{{Rut|Sharks (Currie Cup)}}
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|}

=== Super 10 ===
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; border-collapse:collapse;"
|- style="background:#C1D8FF;"
!Season
!Winners
!Score
!Runner-up
!Venue
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1993
|Transvaal
|20 - 17
|[[Auckland]]
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1995
|[[Queensland]]
|30 - 16
|Transvaal
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|}

=== Vodacom Cup ===
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; border-collapse:collapse;"
|- style="background:#C1D8FF;"
!Season
!Winners
!Score
!Runner-up
!Venue
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1998
|[[Griquas (rugby)|Griqualand West]]<sup>4</sup>
|57 - 0
|Golden Lions XV
|[[Griqua Park]], [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|1999
|Golden Lions XV
|73 - 7
|[[Griquas (rugby)|Griqualand West]]
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|2002
|Golden Lions XV
|54 - 38
|[[Blue Bulls]]
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|2003
|Golden Lions XV
|26 - 17
|[[Blue Bulls]]
|[[Loftus Versfeld Stadium|Loftus Versfeld]], [[Pretoria]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|2004
|Golden Lions XV
|35 - 16
|[[Blue Bulls]]
|[[Ellis Park Stadium|Ellis Park]], [[Johannesburg]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|2013
|Golden Lions XV
|42 - 28
|[[Pumas (Currie Cup)|Pumas]]
|[[Mbombela Stadium]], [[Nelspruit]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|2014
|[[Griquas (rugby)|Griquas]]
|30 - 6
|Golden Lions XV
|[[Griqua Park]], [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]]
|- style="background:#F5FAFF;"
|}

===Notes===
{{refbegin}}
<sup>1</sup> Orange Free State have since been renamed to the Free State Cheetahs.<br />
<sup>2</sup> Northern Transvaal was renamed to the Blue Bulls.<br />
<sup>3</sup> The Falcons were originally known as Eastern Transvaal.<br />
<sup>4</sup> Griqualand West was renamed to Griquas.
{{refend}}

{{anchor|Golden Lions XV}}

==Current squad==

The following players have been included so far in the Golden Lions squad for the [[2023 Currie Cup Premier Division]]:<ref name="Match Centre">{{cite web | url=https://www.sarugby.co.za/match-centre/ | title=Match Centre | publisher=SA Rugby | access-date=13 March 2023}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size:90%; width:70%"
|-
! colspan="100%" | Golden Lions Currie Cup squad
|- valign="top"
|
'''Props'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Kabous Bezuidenhout]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} '''[[Ruan Dreyer]]'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Kayden Kiewit]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Morgan Naudé]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Asenathi Ntlabakanye]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Rhynardt Rijnsburger]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Sti Sithole]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Ruan Smith]]

'''Hookers'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[PJ Botha]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Morné Brandon]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Michael van Vuuren]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Jaco Visagie]] ([[Captain (sports)|c]])

'''Locks'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Pieter Jansen van Vuren]]
* {{Flagicon|Zimbabwe}} [[Darrien Landsberg]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Raynard Roets]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Ruben Schoeman]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[PJ Steenkamp]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Connor van Buuren]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Ruan Venter (rugby union, born 2002)|Ruan Venter]]

||

'''Loose forwards'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Jarod Cairns]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} Ruan Delport
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Renzo du Plessis]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Travis Gordon]] 
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Francke Horn]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[JC Pretorius]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Sibusiso Sangweni]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Cal Smid]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Ruhan Straeuli]]
* {{Flagicon|Democratic Republic of Congo}} [[Emmanuel Tshituka]]

'''Scrum-halves''' 
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Jurich Claasens]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Nico Steyn]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Morné van den Berg]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[André Warner]]

'''Fly-halves'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Vaughen Isaacs]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Gianni Lombard]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Sanele Nohamba]]

||

'''Centres'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Tyler Bocks]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Rynhardt Jonker]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Marius Louw]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Bronson Mills]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} Matt More
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Mannie Rass]]

'''Wingers'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Boldwin Hansen]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Rabz Maxwane]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Kelly Mpeku]]
* {{Flagicon|Democratic Republic of Congo}} [[Ilunga Mukendi]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Prince Nkabinde]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Stean Pienaar]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Zeilinga Strydom]]
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Edwill van der Merwe]]

'''Fullbacks'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} '''[[Andries Coetzee]]'''
* {{Flagicon|South Africa}} [[Quan Horn]]
* {{Flagicon|Namibia}} '''[[Tiaan Swanepoel]]'''
|-
| colspan="100%" style="height: 10px;" | 
|-
| colspan="100%" style="text-align:center;" | <small>([[Captain (sports)|c]]) Denotes team captain, '''Bold''' denotes internationally capped.</small> {{notelist|group="Squad"}}
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* Official club website - [http://www.lionsrugby.co.za/ LionsRugby.co.za] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010404073646/http://www.lionsrugby.co.za/ |date=4 April 2001 }}
* Supporter Page - [http://www.lionsworld.co.za/ LionsWorld.co.za]
* Supporter Forum - [http://www.lionsworld.co.za/forum/ LionsWorld.co.za/Forum]
* Supporter Page - [http://www.transvaal.co.za/ Transvaal.co.za]
* Supporter Page - [http://www.wetalkrugby.com/ WeTalkRugby.com]

{{Currie Cup}}
{{Golden Lions squad}}
{{Rugby Challenge}}
{{Rugby union in South Africa}}
{{Vodacom Cup}}
{{Greater Johannesburg|sports}}

[[Category:Golden Lions| ]]
[[Category:1889 establishments in the South African Republic]]
[[Category:Rugby union teams in South Africa]]
[[Category:Sport in Johannesburg]]
[[Category:Rugby clubs established in 1889]]