The 2018 Varsity Cup was contested from 29 January to 16 April 2018. The tournament (known as the FNB Varsity Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring South African universities.

2018 Varsity Cup
CountriesSouth Africa
Date29 January – 16 April 2018
ChampionsMaties (4th title)
Runners-upNWU Pukke
RelegatedNMU Madibaz
← 2017
2019 →

Competition rules and information

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There were nine participating universities in the 2018 Varsity Cup. During the round-robin stage of the competition, these teams played each other once over the course of the season, either home or away. Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).

The top four teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that received fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.

Tries were worth five or seven points, depending on the point where the try-scoring move originated. If the try-scoring move originated in the opponents' half, it would count five points. If the move originated in the try-scoring team's own half, two bonus points were awarded and the try would be worth seven points.

For the 2018 season, the Varsity Cup introduced a Power Play rule; when a team calls for the Power Play, they can nominate two opposition backline players to be removed from the field of play for a period of three minutes.[1]

Teams

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The following teams took part in the 2018 Varsity Cup competition:

2018 Varsity Cup teams
Team name University Stadium
CUT Ixias Central University of Technology CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein
Maties Stellenbosch University Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
NMU Madibaz Nelson Mandela University NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth
NWU Pukke North-West University Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom
UCT Ikey Tigers University of Cape Town UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town
UFS Shimlas University of the Free State Shimla Park, Bloemfontein
UJ University of Johannesburg UJ Stadium, Johannesburg
UP Tuks University of Pretoria LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria
Wits University of the Witwatersrand Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg

Standings

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The final standings for the 2018 Varsity Cup were:[2][3]

2018 Varsity Cup standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 Maties 8 6 2 0 301 129 +172 40 16 6 0 34
2 NWU Pukke 8 6 1 1 304 156 +148 39 21 6 1 33
3 UJ 8 5 1 2 261 154 +107 31 22 4 1 27
4 Wits 8 4 1 3 241 230 +11 33 29 6 1 25
5 UFS Shimlas 8 5 0 3 246 284 -38 33 38 4 0 24
6 UCT Ikey Tigers 8 4 0 4 182 181 +1 23 24 2 3 21
7 UP Tuks 8 2 1 5 257 208 +49 35 26 3 2 15
8 CUT Ixias 8 1 0 7 178 435 -257 24 55 3 1 8
9 NMU Madibaz 8 0 0 8 139 332 −193 17 44 1 3 4

Matches

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The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Cup:[4]

Round one

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29 January 2018 UP Tuks 17–19 UFS Shimlas LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria  
16:45


29 January 2018 UCT Ikey Tigers 26–30 Wits UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town  
18:30


29 January 2018 NWU Pukke 70–7 CUT Ixias Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom  
18:30


29 January 2018 UJ 3–31 Maties UJ Stadium, Johannesburg  
19:00
Bye/s: NMU Madibaz

Round two

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5 February 2018 NMU Madibaz 17–27 UCT Ikey Tigers NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth  
16:45


5 February 2018 Maties 56–21 UFS Shimlas Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch  
18:30


5 February 2018 UJ 48–21 CUT Ixias UJ Stadium, Johannesburg  
18:30


5 February 2018 Wits 25–19 UP Tuks Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg  
19:00
Bye/s: NWU Pukke

Round three

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12 February 2018 CUT Ixias 38–37 NMU Madibaz CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein  
16:45


12 February 2018 UFS Shimlas 44–24 Wits Shimla Park, Bloemfontein  
18:30


12 February 2018 UCT Ikey Tigers 18–15 NWU Pukke UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town  
18:30


12 February 2018 Maties 24–16 UP Tuks Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch  
19:00
Bye/s: UJ

Round four

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19 February 2018 NMU Madibaz 29–32 Wits NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth  
16:45


19 February 2018 Maties 75–12 CUT Ixias Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch  
18:30


19 February 2018 UCT Ikey Tigers 27–32 UFS Shimlas UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town  
18:30


19 February 2018 NWU Pukke 18–15 UJ Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom  
19:00
Bye/s: UP Tuks

Round five

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26 February 2018 Wits 30–30 Maties Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg  
16:45


26 February 2018 UCT Ikey Tigers 23–13 UP Tuks UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town  
18:30


26 February 2018 NMU Madibaz 5–37 NWU Pukke NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth  
18:30


26 February 2018 UFS Shimlas 12–49 UJ Shimla Park, Bloemfontein  
19:00
Bye/s: CUT Ixias

Round six

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5 March 2018 UP Tuks 26–40 NWU Pukke LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria  
16:45


5 March 2018 UJ 69–8 NMU Madibaz UJ Stadium, Johannesburg  
18:30


5 March 2018 CUT Ixias 18–52 Wits CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein  
18:30


5 March 2018 Maties 33–14 UCT Ikey Tigers Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch  
19:00
Bye/s: UFS Shimlas

Round seven

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12 March 2018 Wits 17–29 UJ Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg  
16:45


12 March 2018 CUT Ixias 26–54 UP Tuks CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein  
18:30


12 March 2018 NMU Madibaz 0–19 Maties NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth  
18:30


12 March 2018 NWU Pukke 56–21 UFS Shimlas Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom  
19:00
Bye/s: UCT Ikey Tigers

Round eight

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19 March 2018 CUT Ixias 23–30 UCT Ikey Tigers CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein  
16:45


19 March 2018 UFS Shimlas 28–22 NMU Madibaz Shimla Park, Bloemfontein  
18:30


19 March 2018 Wits 31–35 NWU Pukke Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg  
18:30


19 March 2018 UP Tuks 30–30 UJ LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria  
19:00
Bye/s: Maties

Round nine

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26 March 2018 UFS Shimlas 69–33 CUT Ixias Shimla Park, Bloemfontein  
16:45


26 March 2018 UP Tuks 82–21 NMU Madibaz LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria  
18:30


26 March 2018 UJ 18–17 UCT Ikey Tigers UJ Stadium, Johannesburg  
18:30


26 March 2018 NWU Pukke 33–33 Maties Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom  
19:00
Bye/s: Wits

Semi-finals

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2 April 2018 NWU Pukke 60–31 UJ Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom  
16:30


2 April 2018 Maties 65–18 Wits Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch  
19:00

Final

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16 April 2018 Maties 40–7 NWU Pukke Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch  
19:00

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Varsity Cup announces exciting new Power Play for 2018" (Press release). Varsity Cup. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Fixtures & Logs". Varsity Cup. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2018 FNB Varsity Cup". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Varsitybeker: Tuks en Maties vroeg slaags". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 8 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
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