Varsity Sevens: Kovsies win it all

The University of the Free State added the Varsity Sevens trophy to the cabinet after claiming the Varsity Cup title earlier in the year to be crowned the undisputed university rugby champions.

UFS-Kovsies managed to overcome The University of Pretoria 24-19 in a pulsating final at Villager FC in Cape Town to round off a fantastic weekend for the Bloemfontein students – who also topped the table after the round-robin phase of the competition.

Tuks secured their place in the final after overcoming the University of Johannesburg in the semifinal while Kovsies got the better of NWU-Pukke in their semifinal.

Pukke then went on to wrap-up third place when they beat UJ 31-19 in the third/fourth playoff. There was some silverware for UCT-Ikeys as they claimed the Plate after a last-second try to beat Cape-rivals UWC 17-12 in a seesaw encounter. The defending champions Maties had to settle for seventh place after losing to UCT in their Plate semifinal while NMMU ended the tournament in ninth position.

The University of Fort Hare managed to bag their first – and only – win of the tournament in their final match against Walter Sisulu University to secure ninth spot.

Results:

Final: UFS-Kovsies 24-19 UP-Tuks

Third/Fourth: NWU-Pukke 31-19 UJ

Plate Final: UCT-Ikeys 17-12 UWC

Seventh/Eighth: Maties 30-7 NMMU

Ninth/10th: WSU 26-32 UFH

Final Standings:

Champions: University of the Free State

Second: University of Pretoria

Third: North West University

Fourth: University of Johannesburg

Fifth: University of Cape Town

Sixth: University of the Western Cape

Seventh: University of Stellenbosch

Eighth: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Ninth: University of Forth Hare

10th: Walter Sisulu University