The men’s rugby team of the University of the Free State (UFS), the Shimlas, kept the dream to annex this year’s Varsity Cup title alive after securing a slot in the semifinals. They achieved this after beating their archrivals, the Maties of Stellenbosch University (SU), in a must-win tie on Monday (03/04).
The decisive match was played in the Maties’ backyard in Stellenbosch. The visiting Shimlas put on a masterful performance to get the edge over Maties and win by 44 – 12. The result earned the UFS side a semifinal fixture against another Western Cape opponent, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Ikeys.
Maties will clash with the Eagles of the North-West University (NWU) in the other semifinal fixture.
The semifinals will be played on Monday (10/04). The two winners thereof will face off in the final on 17 April.
With the victory on Monday, the men from Bloemfontein concluded another chapter in their rivalry against Maties. They became the first Shimlas side to beat their opponents in Stellenbosch – the previous best being a 13 – 13 draw in 2014. They joined the list of six teams that have managed to win in Matieland, a feat that has only been managed eight times since 2008.
The Shimlas’ progression to the semifinals has brought the team a step closer to annexing the sought-after trophy. This has eluded the UFS boys the past six years, after they won their first-ever cup in 2015.
The gutsy Shimla team is in second position with 25 points, behind the Eagles who boast 31 points.
The Free State pins its hopes on the Shimlas after the Ixias of the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, fell by the wayside.
The Ixias needed to win against the Ikeys to advance to the semifinals.
The CUT lads, however, were unable to sustain their great start in the tournament. This impressive start is memorable due to sensational victories against Tuks of the University of Pretoria (UP), by 43 – 39, and Maties, by 23 – 19.
CUT became the fifth Varsity Cup team to beat the Maties at the Danie Craven Stadium.
