Monday night lights
No other match, since the advent of the Varsity Cup in 2008, has enjoyed a build-up as big as tonight’s top of the log fixture between the defending champion Maties and UCT’s Ikey Tigers.
The Maties, having recorded five bonus point victories up until now, will go head-to-head with their Cape rivals at 8.30pm tonight at a sold-out Danie Craven Stadium.
With Stellenbosch expecting a crowd reminiscent of the 2008 final – when these selfsame teams produced a dramatic finale to the first-ever tournament – there won’t even be space for the standard man and his dog or those that took to climbing trees in 2008 to watch the game from outside the stadium.
With plenty to play for, and match-ups galore (amongst the players and between the coaches), it is understandable why there is so much interest in this game – something Francois Pienaar could only have dreamt about when he launched this competition in 2008.
The Maties, of course, will be looking for a sixth successive – and record-equalling – victory, whilst UCT need to win, or pick up two losing bonus points, to stay ahead of Pukke on the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International log.
UCT achieved six wins in a row in 2008, with Maties doing the same in 2009, but no team has emerged unbeaten from the league season.
“It seems nobody is giving us a chance – but, believe me, we do. We may not be the most talented team to have walked the earth… but we are just that – a team,” said UCT head coach John Dobson in conversation with varsitycup.co.za.
“I think we have competed pretty well – as the statistics have shown this week – and I think every time we [UCT and Stellenbosch] play each other, any given team can win, there really is nothing in it, if you look at our Varsity Cup history.”
Maties coach Chean Roux added: “You can bet your bottom dollar that the Ikeys will hit the ground running against us and we have to, and will, be ready for them. If either team is not firing come kick-off, they could be in for a hiding.
“Hopefully we will meet again, later in the tournament, but I have no doubt that Monday’s game will be a real spectacle.
“Having the top two teams playing in front of a full house, and live on TV at 8.30pm, is a great opportunity for the Varsity Cup, its sponsors and the crowd – we’re all looking forward to it here in Stellenbosch.”
Tonight’s match will kick-off at 8.30pm, having initially been meant to start at 6.30pm. The kick-off time, however, was moved to a later slot in order to accommodate Stellenbosch’s graduation ceremony, which takes place earlier in the day.
The game will be televised live on SuperSport One, with the UJ v NMMU clash (today’s other televised match, in Johannesburg) getting underway at 6.30pm.
In other Varsity Cup fixtures today, Tuks host Shimlas in Pretoria and Pukke – last year’s losing finalists – will go head-to-head with the winless TUT Vikings.
MUST-READ STORY: Not much between Maties and Ikeys on overall Varsity Cup log!
