Varsity Cup tweaks... again
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The 2020 Varsity Cup, fortunately, will have no law changes however, this year’s fixtures will have a later kick-off times.
The Varsity Cup founder Francois Pienaar believes the innovation will make Varsity Cup fixtures far more accessible across the board.
“With Varsity Cup games all being played at 19:00 (SA time), everyone knows what time the fixtures are no matter what campus you are on. It also allows the students to finish their lectures, get dinner and get to the stadium for some #RugbyThatRocks.”
The 2020 tournament kick offs with a classic Northern derby with UP-Tuks taking on NWU – a repeat of last season’s semi-final. Both teams have announced new head coaches going into the season, with former Springbok flyhalf and 2007 World Cup winner André Pretorius taking over the reins at NWU, while Nico Luus will step up as head coach of UP-Tuks.
In the same round, current champions Maties will host Shimlas, the surprise package of 2019, who the ‘Maroon Machine’ beat in the semi-finals. Maties will also head into the season with a new man in charge, Drikus Hancke, who steps in for Hawies Fourie who has taken over the head coaching role at the Cheetahs.
The 2020 season of Varsity Cup is also a promotion/relegation year, which will mean that the team that finishes on top of the Varsity Shield log, over the combined log of 2019 and 2020, will automatically be promoted to the 2021 season of Varsity Cup.
The ninth-placed team of the Varsity Cup log, over the combined log of 2019 and 2020, will automatically be relegated to Varsity Shield in 2021.
The team that finishes eighth on the Varsity Cup and the team ending in the second position of Varsity Shield over the combined log of 2019 and 2020, will play in the promotion/relegation match on 21 April 2020. The winner of this match will play Varsity Cup in 2021.
Meanwhile, the Varsity Shield takes over Fridays.
Varsity Shield will celebrate 10 years of exhilarating rugby action in 2020 and to mark this exciting occasion, the competition will have one fixture per week televised on Friday nights.
Varsity Shield has proven to be one of South Africa’s rugby treasures, producing four Springboks, namely Trevor Nyakane, Curwin Bosch, S’bu Nkosi and Herschel Jantjies.
Varsity Cup Manager, Xhanti-Lomzi Nesi believes the innovation will be massive for South African rugby development, as well as the popularity of Varsity Shield fixtures.
“The Varsity Shield getting a weekly fixture on SuperSport will be hugely beneficial for community and university rugby in the KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, as well as driving interest in the tournament in these areas. The Varsity Shield will now own Friday nights and will build on the momentum Varsity Shield has been creating during its 10 years of existence.”
“Varsity Shield is our biggest growth market as the seven Varsity Shield universities collectively represent around 215 000 students – a third of the entire public university student population,” explained Nesi, “We have heard the pleas of the fans and decided to act upon it and televise one Varsity Shield fixture per week.”
World Cup winner Jantjies paid tribute the tournament for giving him a platform to build on.
“The Varsity Shield grants young players, who didn’t make it straight out of school into a provincial or professional setup, the opportunity to showcase their talent and to also further their studies in aid for life after rugby.
“Varsity Shield and my former coach Chester Williams definitely gave my career a kick-start.”
In 2019, the inaugural Eastern Cape Double-Derby took the BCM Stadium in East London by storm, and 2020 will be no different. On 21 February, Madibaz Rugby Stadium will host two Eastern Cape derbies with UFH taking on Rhodes and Madibaz hosting their old rivals, WSU.
Varsity Shield teams will have the chance to be promoted in 2020 with it being a promotion/relegation year. The team who top of the Varsity Shield log, over the combined log of 2019 and 2020, will automatically go up to the Varsity Cup for 2021. The team at the bottom of the Varsity Cup log, over the combined log of 2019 and 2020, will automatically go down to the Varsity Shield for 2021.
Source: Varsity Cup
Soon…
Save the date and brace yourself for another epic season of the #RugbyThatRocks! 🏉🤘
Proudly brought to you by @FNBSA and @SteersSA pic.twitter.com/zIFX2dJSYM
— Varsity Cup (@varsitycup) January 6, 2020
