Robbie Fleck's UCT primed to peak as Varsity Cup nears business end
EXCLUSIVE: UCT coach Robbie Fleck looks ahead to the big derby against Maties and explains why the Ikeys have taken four rounds to hit their stride.
After four rounds, Tuks lead the Varsity Cup log with 20 points, followed by the NWU Eagles in second place (17) and UCT in third (15).
Shimlas, Maties and UJ are ranked fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, although they have the same number of log points (11).
The pecking order may change over the next three weeks, as some of the teams start to feel the effects of a relentless Varsity Cup schedule.
It will only get tougher for UCT, who will face Maties at home, Shimlas in Bloemfontein, and the Eagles in Potchefstroom during this period.
That said, it’s a challenge the Ikeys have been preparing for since the start of the preseason.
Fleck and company have persisted with the management strategy that served them well across the 2025 campaign and culminated in UCT winning the Varsity Cup title.
Over the past two years, fewer matches have been staged in the pre-season, and as a result, UCT have gone into the tournament slightly undercooked.
The upside of the strategy is that players remain relatively fresh over the course of the campaign and are at their physical and mental peak come the business end.
Earlier this season, UCT lost 22-38 to Tuks in Pretoria in the first round, before going on to beat CUT 83-34 and Emeris 32-10.
This past Monday, UCT scored 11 tries in a 87-38 demolition of UJ on the Green Mile.
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👌🏽🍾🏉🏉🏉 Coast to coast banger and Jack Benade gets his hattrick in sensational fashion for the @ikeytigers as they romp to a massive victoryover the Orange Army.
#RugbyThatRocks #WhosNXT pic.twitter.com/BoSzC239WN— Varsity Cup (@varsitycup) March 9, 2026
“We prepared well for the UJ clash, because we know how much they’ve improved under new coach Therlow Pietersen and how they recently beat the Eagles [35-26],” Fleck told Rugby365.
“It was the perfect storm, some of the best attacking rugby I’ve seen. We were completely dominant in terms of keeping the ball and converting our chances in the opposition 22, especially in the first half.”
The former Springbok centre went on to explain why it was such an important display in the context of UCT’s campaign – and why the Ikeys have taken four weeks to hit top gear.
“Much like last year, we’ve had a slow start to the campaign,” he said.
“It’s an approach that has its pros and cons, but it worked for us last season, and we’re happy with how we are building in 2026.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t come away with the win against Tukkies in the first round, but we always knew that we’d grow stronger as the round-robin progressed.
“We’ve been building nicely over the past four weeks, and while we aren’t yet at our full potential, I’m happy with where we are at this stage of the competition.”
The Varsity Cup round-robin phase is staged over seven consecutive weeks, while there is no respite ahead of the semifinals and Final.
Player management over the campaign is key, particularly over the last few weeks of the league phase, where the fight for play-off spots intensifies.
“You have to manage these players across what is a very demanding competition,” said Fleck.
“You can get them fit and ready, but it’s an intense schedule, and you have to be able to cope with the highs and lows over an eight or nine-week period.
“We went into the campaign knowing that it would only get tougher as the weeks progressed.
“It would have been nice to have an ‘easier’ clash somewhere in the final three rounds, and maybe a chance to rotate a bit more.
“But we know we’ve got three top teams in Maties, Shimlas and the Eagles, and we are ready for the challenge.
“We started slowly, because we always knew we would need to peak at the back end of the round-robin. We’re into the business end of the tournament now.”
Maties beat UCT 31-24 in the league phase last season.
The Ikeys had their revenge, however, when they thumped Maties 44-21 in the Final staged in Stellenbosch.
UCT, as the defending champions and the winner of the most recent derby, will go into Monday’s clash on the Green Mile as favourites.
Fleck, however, was reluctant to accept the favourites tag.
“It’s Intervarsity, and previous form counts for nothing,” he pointed out.
“There are no real favourites ahead of this game. It’s always a tough, tight contest between UCT and Maties, and if you look back at recent seasons, they’ve been our Achilles heel in the round-robin phase.
“It doesn’t matter that we beat them in the final last season. The teams have changed a great deal over the past 12 months, with 12 guys leaving us after the 2025 campaign. It’s much the same for Maties.”
A clash of styles may be on the cards, given the traditional strengths of both teams.
And yet, the Ikeys have taken giant strides in other areas in recent seasons.
“Our defence was incredible in that 2025 final, especially around the maul,” said Fleck.
“That is something we’ve really focused on over the past season or two, and while attack is part of our identity and purpose, we realise that defence is a key piece to the puzzle.
“Tukkies got on top of our maul in Round One, but we’ve been steadily improving since then. Our defence has got better each week, if you think about how porous we were against Tukkies.
“These may be viewed as non-traditional strengths, but we know how essential they are to a complete game, and how good mauling and good defence can lead to opportunities for the attack.”
