Rivalry in university rugby tournaments will be taken to another level. This comes as eight universities will be competing in the Varsity Cup and Varsity Shield division.
The 16th edition of South Africa’s premier student rugby competition will officially commence in February. Featuring eight top South African university teams, the tournament will see teams compete in the FNB Varsity and Varsity Shield tournament, officially kicking off on 16 February.
This year the Varsity Cup returns to full-capacity stadiums at campuses around the country. All games of the Varsity Shield will be played on Thursday evenings with Varsity Cup division played on Monday nights. Th opening round of matches are set to commence on 20 February.
“We can not wait to see the rugby that rocks returning to packed stadiums around the country. Brace yourself for hot rugby, hot fans, and entertainment where rivalry is celebrated, memories are made and new champions will be crowned,” said Francois Pienaar, the Varsity Cup founder.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, eight teams will compete in the Varsity Cup, and eight in Varsity Shield. In addition, this year includes a women’s competition forming part of the season. They will be vying to lift the coveted trophies in the respective divisions.
“With the added pressure of it being a promotion-relegation year, we can expect sizzling competition as teams put everything on the line. As one of the fastest growing team sports around the world, we are proud to ignite women’s rugby at university level in South Africa,” said Pienaar.
With Covid-19 restrictions lifted, stadiums will return to full-capacity and fans will have the opportunity to show why they are the hottest, loudest and most colourful in the Fans That Rock competition.
The tournament was founded in 2008. The Maties team of Stellenbosch University boast a record of winning the competition from 2008 to 2010, and then in 2018 and 2019, while the University of Pretoria’s Tuks won in 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2021. The University of Cape Town’s Ikeys won it in 2011 and 2014. The University of the Free State’s Shimlas and the North West University boast one title each, in 2015 and 2016.
The opening round of the Varsity Cup matches on 20 February features the defending champions Tuks taking on Shimlas at 17:00m. At 19:00,it will be time for the Cape derby between Maties of Stellenbosch University and Ikeys of the University of Cape Town.
The matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
