VC: Coaches have their say
There were a host of big names in attendance at Monday’s launch of the 2009 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International – headed up by none other than Springbok coach Peter de Villiers.
Speaking afterwards about the Varsity Cup, De Villiers – who is looking ahead to his second year in charge of the Boks – said: “If you look at how some of the players came through from 2008, one can see that it’s a great competition.”
The Varsity Cup coaches, meanwhile, revealed just how much work had already gone into their preparations ahead of the 2009 Varsity Cup – a tournament that many are tipping will go down to the wire.
“I don’t know how to measure my side,” admitted new NWU Pukke coach Rudy Joubert at Monday’s launch at the SuperSport studios in Randburg.
Of course, Joubert has just moved to Potchefstroom where he now coaches the national champions, Pukke, who lost to UCT in a last-second penalty (32-31) in last year’s Varsity Cup semifinals.
“We have oodles of talent, but not much experience at the back. However, there is so much character that I’m confident,” said Joubert, lauding the structures put in place by former coach Matthew Proudfoot, who is now with Western Province.
Losing 2008 finalists Ikeys (UCT) were determined to do well in 2009, but head coach John Dobson admitted it could be difficult.
“We caught the guys somewhat unawares last year,” said Dobson, who this year has enlisted the help of Bob Skinstad and Jake White as technical advisors.
“We were young and we were too light to get into forward battles and decided to run everything wide. Fleckie (former Springbok centre Robbie Fleck) did wonders and will be back this season.
“We’re hoping for the best and will follow the same approach this year,” promised Dobson.
Champions Maties, who won the 2008 final on the stroke of the hooter when they beat the Ikeys in a pulsating game, have been working hard to defend their title.
“The players now know what awaits them,” said Maties coach Chean Roux, a former Stormers No.8. “They seem very determined, but we’ve not been doing anything different from last year.”
Tukkies – who lost to the Maties in the semifinals in extra-time – have been working hard and new coach Freddie Grobler is confident that the many off-season player gains could again see them surprise the fancied sides.
During the 2008 season, 74 black players took part in the competition; an average of 7.03 tries were scored per match by players averaging 21.2 years of age; and the semifinals saw 155 points scored with one semifinal being decided by the final act of the match and the other going into extra-time – emphasising the excitement of the first-ever Varsity Cup.
An even bigger two months of Monday nights awaits in 2009, with Francois Pienaar – the man responsible for putting this tournament together last year – saying: “Our extensive research has shown that the public want to watch ‘Monday-night football’; the students are back at their universities after weekends away and they want to grab an ice-cold beer and watch their teams play some entertaining rugby on Monday nights.”
The University of Free State (Shimlas) and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) will officially kick-off the 2009 Varsity Cup at the Groote Schuur Rugby Fields in Cape Town on February 2 at 2.45pm, before the Ikeys-Maties match at 4.45pm.
At the Fanie du Toit Ground in Potchefstroom the Pukke will meet Tukkies, while the University of Johannesburg will play Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
All four matches in Round One will be televised live on SuperSport, with a total of 19 matches (including the play-offs) set to be televised in the tournament. That means a minimum of two matches will be televised live every Monday evening.
“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,” said Pienaar.
“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,” he added.
“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.”
Sapa and additional reporting
