Moor Cup comes home
The Moor Cup’s history has been one of prestige and mystery. The cup went missing for 81 years before it was handed over to King Sports and 1957 and found its home in the hands of the Natal Rugby Union where it is fiercely contested now
The Moor Cup is regarded as an important part of South African rugby and is contested by the top KwaZulu-Natal rugby clubs.
This 140-year-old cup is also the oldest cup in world rugby and was manufactured in Birmingham, England in 1873.
It was not a floating trophy and the first team that won it held a raffle to see who would keep it. George Moor was the lucky player.
The Moor Cup’s history has been one of prestige and mystery. The cup went missing for 81 years before it was handed over to King Sports and 1957 and found its home in the hands of the Natal Rugby Union where it is fiercely contested now. Recently while Allen Tweddle was at a rugby game, supporting his son Matthew who plays for Johnson College Rovers, he got acquainted with Jos Robson, who instigated a documentary about the Moor Cup.
Mr Tweddle received a visit from Mr Robson about two weeks ago and he was fascinated to learn the history of the Moor Cup.
“I asked him why was it called the Moor Cup and he told me that it is believed that it was named after a family from the Bergville/Winterton area. So I called Malcolm Moor to find out if he could shed some light on the subject,” explained Mr Tweddle.
Malcolm Moor confirmed that George Moor was his great, great, great uncle.
On Wednesday at Blue Haze Country Lodge, the Moor Cup “travelled home.” Jos Robson and a small film crew met Malcolm Moor and former rugby player Hans Beier. The Moor Cup was admired and photographed and this leg of its journey will be featured in the documentary.
