The 2019 Varsity Shield was the 9th season of the Varsity Shield, the second-tier competition in the annual Varsity Rugby series. It was played between 18 February and 11 April 2019 and featured seven university teams.

2019 Varsity Shield
CountriesSouth Africa
Date18 February – 11 April 2019
← 2018
2020 →

There was a debut in the competition for NMU Madibaz, who were relegated from the Varsity Cup in 2018.

Competition rules and information

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There were seven participating university teams in the 2019 Varsity Shield. They played each other once during the pool stage, either at 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 after the pool stage qualified for the semifinals, which were followed by a final. 2019 is a non-relegation year.

Teams

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Location of teams in the 2019 Varsity Shield

The teams that played in the 2019 Varsity Cup are:

2019 Varsity Cup teams
Team name University Stadium
CPUT Cape Peninsula University of Technology CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town
NMU Madibaz Nelson Mandela University NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Rhodes Rhodes University Rhodes Great Field, Grahamstown
TUT Vikings Tshwane University of Technology TUT Stadium, Pretoria
UFH Blues University of Fort Hare Davidson Rugby Field, Alice
UKZN Impi University of KwaZulu-Natal Peter Booysen Sports Park, Pietermaritzburg
WSU All Blacks Walter Sisulu University Buffalo City Stadium, East London

Pool stage

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Standings

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The final log for the 2019 Varsity Shield was:[1]

2019 Varsity Shield log
Pos Team P W D L PD Pts
1 NMU Madibaz 6 6 0 0 200 30
2 CPUT 6 5 0 1 105 25
3 WSU All Blacks 6 3 0 3 31 18
4 UKZN Impi 6 3 0 3 22 16
5 UFH Blues 6 2 0 4 −22 9
6 TUT Vikings 6 1 0 5 -176 5
7 Rhodes 6 1 0 5 -160 4
Correct as at 20 February 2019.

Matches

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The following matches were played in the 2019 Varsity Shield:[1]

Round one

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18 February 2019 NMU Madibaz 38–21 CPUT NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth  
18:30 Having been relegated from the Varsity cup, NMU started the game as a team that had something to prove. They played hard and were the evetualy winners.


18 February 2019 UFH Blues 22–36 WSU All Blacks Davidson Rugby Field, Alice  
18:30


18 February 2019 UKZN Impi 50–10 Rhodes Howard College Rugby Stadium, Durban  
18:30
Bye/s: TUT Vikings

Round two

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21 February 2019 Rhodes 13–12 UFH Blues Rhodes Great Field, Grahamstown  
16:45


21 February 2019 CPUT 57–28 TUT Vikings CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town  
18:30 CPUT and TUT looked evenly matched throughout the game. In the first half it looked as though the game could go either way. However in the second half, CPUT came out strong and dominated to eventually secure the game.


21 February 2019 WSU All Blacks 3–32 NMU Madibaz Buffalo City Stadium, East London  
19:00
Bye/s: UKZN Impi

Round three

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25 February 2019 NMU Madibaz 53–8 Rhodes NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth  
18:30


25 February 2019 WSU All Blacks 22–28 CPUT Buffalo City Stadium, East London  
18:30


25 February 2019 TUT Vikings 7–52 UKZN Impi TUT Stadium, Pretoria  
18:30 Playing away from their TUT stadium the game promised much. TUT cam out firing but the UKZN players absorbed the pressure and eventually came back to thoroughly dominate the game in all aspects.
Bye/s: UFH Blues

Round four

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4 March 2019 UKZN Impi 12–41 NMU Madibaz Peter Booysen Sports Park, Pietermaritzburg  
18:30


4 March 2019 Rhodes 6–32 WSU All Blacks Rhodes Great Field, Grahamstown  
18:30


4 March 2019 UFH Blues 33–7 TUT Vikings Davidson Rugby Field, Alice  
18:30 Try: Brandt Fields,Sokhana Mpemba(2),Rocur Julies,Mihlali Nobomvu,Lukho Jongizulu
Con: Rocur Julies (2), Brandt Fields (2)
Tut was soundly beaten in the forward battle. Many a scrum went backwards by the might of the UFH scrum. TUT will need to up their game to regain pride this season. Try: Laro Delport
Con: Mauritz Maritz
Bye/s: CPUT

Round five

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11 March 2019 WSU All Blacks 27–28 UKZN Impi Buffalo City Stadium, East London  
18:30


11 March 2019 TUT Vikings 25 –17 Rhodes TUT Stadium, Pretoria  
18:30 TUT's first win of the season. Playing for pride the bottom feeders played a tough game.In an evenly matched game, the eventual winners were TUT


11 March 2019 CPUT 41–25 UFH Blues CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town  
18:30
Bye/s: NMU Madibaz

Round six

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18 March 2019 NMU Madibaz 62–5 TUT Vikings NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth  
18:30 Can any team stop NMU? certainly not TUT who were completely dominated in all aspects. Big loss for TUT


18 March 2019 UKZN Impi 18–24 UFH Blues Howard College Rugby Stadium, Durban  
18:30


18 March 2019 Rhodes 10–52 CPUT Rhodes Great Field, Grahamstown  
18:30
Bye/s: WSU All Blacks

Round seven

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25 March 2019 UFH Blues 9–32 NMU Madibaz Davidson Rugby Field, Alice  
18:30


25 March 2019 TUT Vikings 13–40 WSU All Blacks TUT Stadium, Pretoria  
18:30 This game started off as an evenly matched affair. Till the second half where WSU came back to thrash TUT. New blood is needed in TUT.


25 March 2019 CPUT 69–40 UKZN Impi CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town  
18:30
Bye/s: Rhodes

Play-offs

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Semifinals

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4 April 2019 FNB CPUT 40–8 FNB WSU CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town  


4 April 2019 FNB Madibaz 46–0 FNB UKZN NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth  

Final

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11 April 2019 FNB Madibaz 28–32 FNB CPUT NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth  
18:15

References

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  1. ^ a b "2019 Varsity Cup". Varsity Cup. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.