The 1989 Lion Cup was the seventh edition of the Lion Cup, the premier domestic rugby union knock-out competition in South Africa.
All 26 South African provincial teams took part in this competition.
The four teams ranked 23 to 26 played each other in the qualifying round with the two winners advancing to round one, where they joined the teams ranked 9 to 22.
These sixteen teams played in eight matches, with the winners advancing to round two, where the top 8 ranked teams will join.
In Round Two, the sixteen remaining teams would be reduced to eight and would be followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the Final.