There were seven participating teams in the 1987 Currie Cup Division A and five in the Division B. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. The top two teams in Division A qualified for the title play-offs, along with the top team from Division B. In the semi-finals, the team that finished second in Division A had to play against the team that finished top of Division B, while the team that finished top of Division A had a bye through to the final. The top two teams in Division B qualified for the Division B finals.
The venue for the semi-final and the finals are determined by a rotation system. For example, if Team A and Team B played the final at the home venue of Team A on the previous occasion they met in a final, then Team B will host the next final, irrespective of log positions.
Promotion – Relegation play-offs
The bottom team on the respective logs qualified for the relegation play-offs. The Division A team played off against the team placed top in Division B. The winner of this match qualified for the 1988 Currie Cup Division A, while the losing team qualified for the 1988 Currie Cup Division B.
The bottom team on the Division B log qualified for the relegation play-offs. That team played off against the team that won the 1987 Santam Bank Trophy Division A over two legs. The winner over these two ties qualified for the 1988 Currie Cup Division B, while the losing team qualified for the 1988 Santam Bank Trophy Division A.
As champions of Division B, South West Africa qualified to the semi-finals of the Currie Cup competition, where they met Division A runners-up Transvaal.
