In the previous 29 seasons of the Premiership since it was first played in the 1996/97 campaign, the league title holders have won only 16 times in their opening game of the following campaign.
There have been eight draws and five defeats, with Mamelodi Sundowns’ 1-1 draw at Chippa United in their first game of last season a testament to how rustiness can affect the result.
Those five defeats were also largely unexpected. Champions Sundowns lost their opening league fixture twice, to Umtata Bush Bucks in 2000 and then to AmaZulu in 2007.
The other defending champions to lose their opening game in defence of their title were Pirates in 2003, when SuperSport United beat them, and then SuperSport themselves in 2010, when they suffered a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Bidvest Wits. Wits, in turn, lost their opening game in 2017 to Cape Town City.
Pirates have started a season as defending champions on four previous occasions in the last 30 years.
Aside from that defeat to SuperSport, they beat Bush Bucks at home in 2001, won away at Black Leopards in 2011 and defeated Lamontville Golden Arrows at home in 2012.
Before this campaign, Sundowns had been defending champions for eight years in a row and won six of their opening league matches. Aside from the draw with Chippa, they were also held by Kaizer Chiefs in 2018.
AmaKhosi had four opening games as champions themselves and won three of them, before also being held by Chippa in 2015.
Performances of defending champions in their first game of the following Betway Premiership season:
1997-98: Cape Town Spurs 0 Manning Rangers 3
1998-99: Cape Town Spurs 1 Mamelodi Sundowns 1
1999-00: SuperSport United 1 Mamelodi Sundowns 4
2000-01: Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Umtata Bush Bucks 1
2001-02: Orlando Pirates 2 Umtata Bush Bucks 1
2002-03: Jomo Cosmos 2 Santos 3
2003-04: SuperSport United 2 Orlando Pirates 0
2004-05: Dynamos 1 Kaizer Chiefs 4
2005-06: Bush Bucks 0 Kaizer Chiefs 1
2006-07: AmaZulu 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 0
2007-08: Mamelodi Sundowns 1 AmaZulu 2
2008-09: SuperSport United 1 Free State Stars 0
2009-10: Maritzburg United 1 SuperSport United 1
2010-11: Bidvest Wits 3 SuperSport United 0
2011-12: Black Leopards 0 Orlando Pirates 2
2012-13: Orlando Pirates 2 Lamontville Golden Arrows 1
2013-14: Mpumalanga Black Aces 0 Kaizer Chiefs 1
2014-15: Mamelodi Sundowns 1 Maritzburg United 1
2015-16: Chippa United 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0
2016-17: Maritzburg United 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 0
2017-18: Bidvest Wits 0 Cape Town City 1
2018-19: Mamelodi Sundowns 1 Kaizer Chiefs 1
2019-20: Mamelodi Sundowns 2 SuperSport United 0
2020-21: Kaizer Chiefs 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 3
2021-22: Mamelodi Sundowns 1 AmaZulu 0
2022-23: Cape Town City 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 2
2023-24: Sekhukhune United 1 Mamelodi Sundowns 2
2024-25: Mamelodi Sundowns 2 SuperSport United 0
2025-26: Chippa United 1 Mamelodi Sundowns 1