Who has Rocked the Most?

The exciting on-field action aside, the Pink Shorts campaign in the 2010 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International has given rugby fans plenty to talk – and, in some cases, brag – about.

Introduced this year to reward the ‘Player that Rocks’ – via the four weekly Man of the Match Awards – the Pink Shorts campaign has also allowed South Africa’s rugby-watching public to get behind rugby players living with cancer, thanks to the Varsity Cup Trust and the SMS ‘voteline’ that goes with it.

The campaign began in Week One when all eight Varsity Cup captains played their opening matches in pink shorts, with the respective Players that Rock then wearing the pink shorts thereafter.

At the same time, Varsity Cup supporters and viewers have also been able to donate money to the Varsity Cup Trust via an SMS line since February 1, with every SMS – sent to 36199, together with your favourite university’s name – counting as a R5 donation towards the Varsity Cup Trust.

On the field, meanwhile, 20 players have picked up Man of the Match Awards so far, in five rounds of action up; with Pukke scrumhalf Andries Mahoney having a stranglehold on the pink shorts in Potchefstroom with three Player that Rocks titles, followed by UCT’s JJ Gagiano and Maties halfback Conrad Hoffmann – both of whom have already picked up two Man of the Match Awards.

With the majority of the Man of the Match Awards going to Maties, UCT and Pukke players (12 out of 20 between them) it is no surprise that those three teams also occupy the top three places on the Varsity Cup log after five rounds of action, but the Maties are also currently in the lead when it comes to the SMS campaign.

As at Tuesday, March 2, just over 30 percent of the SMS’s that have helped raise funds for the Varsity Cup Trust had been cast by Maties fans, with Pukke snapping at their heels with 23 percent. Tuks were next best at 13 percent, with UCT in fourth place; followed by Shimlas (fifth place) UJ, TUT and NMMU.

There is, however, still enough time for you – out there – to earn the ultimate bragging rights for your favourite university, so make sure you get SMS the name of YOUR favourite team to 36199 before it is too late!

The Players that have Rocked thus far:

Week Two – Monday, February 1:
Shimlas 30 UCT 30 – PW van Vuuren (Shimlas)
NMMU 20 Maties 68 – Dabeon Draghoender (Maties)
TUT 14 UJ 28 – Wayne Swart (UJ)
Tuks 24 Pukke 35 – Andries Mahoney (Pukke)

Week Two – Monday, February 8:
UCT 18 Pukke 11 – JJ Gagiano (UCT)
Maties 62 TUT 0 – Conrad Hoffmann (Maties)
Shimlas 54 NMMU 5 – Boom Prinsloo (Shimlas)
Tuks 34 UJ 34 – Cornell Hess (Tuks)

Week Three – Monday, February 15:
TUT 30 Tuks 42 – Justin van Staden (Tuks)
UJ 10 Maties 43 – Conrad Hoffmann (Maties)
Pukke 17 Shimlas 16 – Andries Mahoney (Pukke)
NMMU 9 UCT 65 – Yaya Hartzenberg (UCT)

Week Four – Monday, February 22:
UCT 25 TUT 19 – Ash Wells (pictured above with Helen Zille – UCT)
Maties 31 Shimlas 15 – Tertius Daniller (Maties)
Pukke 22 UJ 23 – Ryno Luus (UJ)
Tuks 63 NMMU 36 – Francois van Wyk (Tuks)

Week Five – Monday, March 1:
Maties 64 Tuks 17 – Johan Herbst (Maties)
UJ 23 UCT 30 – JJ Gagiano (UCT)
NMMU 24 Pukke 31 – Andries Mahoney (Pukke)
Shimlas 37 TUT 31 – Hanno Pieterse (Shimlas)

Remaining Varsity Cup league fixtures:

Week Six – Monday, March 8:
UJ v NMMU, UJ Stadium – 6.30pm (TV)
Tuks v Shimlas, Tuks Rugby Stadium – 6.30pm
Pukke v TUT, Fanie du Toit Stadium – 6.30pm
Maties v UCT, Danie Craven Stadium – 8.30pm (TV)

Week Seven – Monday, March 15:
Pukke v Maties, Fanie du Toit Stadium – 4.30pm (TV)
UCT v Tuks, Groote Schuur Rugby Fields – 6.30pm
Shimlas v UJ, Shimla Park – 6.30pm (TV)
TUT v NMMU, TUT Stadium – 6.30pm

Click HERE for more on the Varsity Cup Pink Shorts campaign!