It can wait. Go to the game
The 2009 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International was officially launched at the SuperSport studios in Randburg on Monday afternoon, with guest speaker Francois Pienaar pledging an even more successful event after the outstanding success of the 2008 tournament.
Pienaar arrived at the SuperSport studios in dramatic fashion on Monday – perched on a Harley Davidson, along with Master of Ceremonies Kobus Wiese – before addressing a packed crowd, which included representatives from all eight universities and members of the South African rugby media.
Having released the 2009 fixtures at the end of last year with a promise of “taking Mondays back”, Pienaar held firm on that assurance again on Monday; pointing to the new sponsors on board – joining original tournament sponsors First National Bank (FNB), Steinhoff International and Canterbury – and the shorter fixture list to back up his assertion.
“With new sponsors Olmeca Tequila and Pharmaton Multivitamin on board we believe we have the right setting to make 2009 even better than the inaugural year,” said 1995 RWC-winning captain Pienaar, the man responsible for putting this tournament together.
“Last year’s tournament captured the imagination of the South African rugby public, but we’ve changed to a single round of league matches in 2009, followed by a semifinal and a final – making it a compact nine-week tournament with all the elements to change the shape of university rugby in South Africa.”
Of course, the 2008 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International certainly did more than just change the shape of rugby in SA, with Pienaar pointing out: “74 players from last year’s Varsity Cup earned provincial contracts this season, and Pukke coach Matthew Proudfoot has since been appointed as the Western Province coach.
“The average age of each player in last year’s competition was 21.2 years, making the Varsity Cup the perfect feeder system for those players that are too old to play age-group rugby,” added Pienaar. “It’s obvious to me that the Varsity Cup will continue to add even more value to SA Rugby in the future – in more ways than one.”
Mervin Green, SA Rugby Youth and Club Rugby Manager, agreed with Pienaar, saying: “The success of the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International in 2008 was fantastic, in general, for rugby in South Africa.
“We believe that in the future the talent will boil over in this competition, and this will serve as an outstanding vehicle for the final touches of raw talent to rugby in our country. This competition is the only one of its nature in world rugby and a true asset to SA Rugby.”
The on-field action aside – which gets underway with two double-headers on Monday, February 2 – Pienaar also revealed at Monday’s launch that the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International had made giant strides off the field too.
With plenty of advertising in the national media and new sponsors on board, coupled with a big drive to involve all the various universities’ alumni, another major change sees the addition of a brand-new Varsity Cup website with a fresh look and feel and up to date news, exclusive columns and competitions.
“We have to speak to our youth market, and what better way than a top-notch website? Students can live university rugby on www.varsitycup.co.za,” said Pienaar.
“We will ensure that our website is constantly updated with the latest news and views and we have various bloggers signed up and dedicated team pages for each University,” he added.
“To top it all off, we’re also running a fantastic Varsity Cup prediction game in conjunction with SuperBru, whilst readers can also win a Harley Davidson – like the one here – on the official Varsity Cup website.”
FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International – Rugby that Rocks!
