'Varsity Cup to trump Vodacom Cup'
Former Springbok centre Robbie Fleck has thrown his weight behind the inaugural FNB Varsity Cup – a new university rugby tournament that is set to take South African rugby by storm when it starts in two weeks’ time.
In fact, Fleck believes this new tournament will take over from the Vodacom Cup as South African rugby’s new breeding ground.
The FNB Varsity Cup will see SA’s top eight university teams pit themselves against each other in a single round league competition, starting on Monday, February 18, with the top four teams progressing to the semi-finals and then a final in April.
The tournament, the brainchild of 1995 World Cup-winning captain Francois Pienaar, will be played mostly on Monday evenings throughout South Africa during February and March, whilst some matches will even be broadcast on pay channel, <i>SuperSport</i>.
“I only wish we had a similar competition when I was still playing at UCT,” wrote Fleck in his popular weekly column on <i>sport365.co.za</i>.
“When I first broke into the UCT first team, Intervarsity – against the Maties – had begun to die down, which is sad as I had many fond memories supporting UCT whilst a scholar still.
“In fact, I opted to play for UCT based purely on those matches I used to watch – they were always the underdogs against Stellenbosch and I wanted nothing more than an opportunity to play for the Ikeys against the Maties in an Intervarsity match.”
Fleck – who broke into the Western Province set-up in 1997, after a series of superb performances for UCT’s first team – is confident that the Varsity Cup will be more successful than the Vodacom Cup, which is played at the same time as the Super 14.
“Truth be told, it gives these guys a fantastic opportunity to showcase their own talents, especially if they missed out on Craven Week selection. However, at the same time, it also advertises the university – hopefully some bright, talented scholars out there will be tempted to go to UCT based simply on watching the Ikeys play in the Varsity Cup.
“I can’t praise the sponsors enough; university and club rugby has been neglected in recent times, yet, here we have a tournament that can usurp the Vodacom Cup as the next best thing to Super 14 and Currie Cup rugby.
“The Vodacom Cup has not covered itself in too much glory since its inception in the late 1990s and I believe that club rugby needs to be used to identify talent, something the Vodacom Cup has just not done.”
Fleck – who played his last Test match for South Africa in 2002 – is based in Cape Town once again, after playing club rugby in England before being forced into retirement in 2005.
Aside from his work commitments in the ‘Mother City’, Fleck is also part of the University of Cape Town’s coaching staff for the entire 2008 season. Fleck will be coaching the ‘Ikeys’ backs – with head coach John Dobson looking after the forwards – and he is looking forward to cutting his coaching teeth at this level.
“I have never seen a Varsity team so focused, which makes it easy for us coaches,” wrote Fleck, “I mean, have you ever heard of UCT students training during January – on their own??
“The set-up at UCT is also very professional, we have a strong support staff and no stone is being left unturned ahead of this exciting tournament. However, we are aware of the battle that we face, especially against teams like Maties, Pukke and Tukkies – all of whom have budgets considerably bigger than us.
“One thing is for sure though, expect to see a lot of heart from this UCT side and we will continue to play the exciting brand of 15-man rugby that has always been synonymous with Ikey rugby.”
