FNB Varsity Cup boosts SA rugby
University rugby in South Africa will never be the same again.
That was the message on Thursday at the launch of the FNB Varsity Cup, presented by Steinhoff International, which will kick off on February 18.
The top 8 universities in the country take part in the inaugural year, with one of the matches televised live on a Monday night.
The concept was derived from the very successful Monday Night Football in the United States and will become a reality with the help of First National Bank and the SA Rugby Union.
The 8 teams play in a single round against each other, followed by two semi-finals and a final. A FNB Varsity Cup Festival will be held in George over the Easter weekend. There the eight teams will play three league fixtures each, based on the successful model of the old national club championships in Durban.
"Steinhoff Internationals varied and national involvement in varsity and youth league sport is all about commitment and passion," says Derrik Matthew, Marketing Executive Director of Steinhoff International Group Services.
The participating teams are NWU-Puk Rugby Institute (NWU-Pukke), the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the University of Pretoria (Tukkies), the University of Stellenbosch (Maties), the University of the Free State (Shimlas), the University of Cape Town (Ikeys), the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
Francois Pienaar, former Springbok captain and chairman of the Varsity Cup board of directors, said it was a true privilege to add value to rugby in a country that was crowned World Champions in 2007.
"This competition should keep the next echelon of rugby players who are not entirely ready for the big scene yet, in the country, and help them develop their skills locally.
"FNB's involvement is a natural progression from the very successful Classic Clashes at secondary school level."
The competition is for players 25 years and younger and the timing of the tournament enables teams to take part in their local leagues and other Saru fixtures.
By sponsoring this competition, FNB and the sub-sponsors, Steinhoff International, and the partner sponsors Castle Lager and Canterbury are investing in the future of rugby in South Africa.
An important component of the competition is residence rugby. The residence league champions of all eight universities will gather in George over the Easter weekend to contest the National Residence League Championship. All hostel rugby at these 8 institutions will be sponsored by Steinhoff International during 2008.
"Rugby at university level has always played a major role in the building blocks of South African rugby," says Mervin Green, Manager of Youth Rugby SARU.
"This competition will give more players an opportunity to develop into true professionals. The input of the sponsors is fantastic and Steinhoff International and FNB's commitment to the development of the game in rugby are much appreciated."
Fixtures for the competition: Monday 18 February 2008 Maties vs. Tuks (T) UJ vs. TUT UCT vs. NWU-Pukke Saturday 23 February 2008 NWU-Pukke vs. TUT NMMU vs Maties Monday 25 February 2008 UJ vs Shimlas (T) UCT vs. Tuks Saturday 1 March 2008 Tuks vs. Shimlas Monday 3 March 2008 NWU-Pukke vs. Maties (T) TUT vs. NMMU UJ vs. UCT Saturday 8 March 2008 Tuks vs. UJ Maties vs. Shimlas Monday 10 March 2008 TUT vs. UCT (T) NMMU vs. NWU-Pukke Saturday 15 March 2008 Shimlas vs. NMMU A FNB Easter weekend tournament will be played in George, where the teams from all eight universities will play three league matches each in a period of five days.
The George fixtures: Thursday 20 March 2008 NMMU vs. UJ (T) NWU-Pukke vs. Tuks (T) UCT vs. Maties (T) TUT vs. Shimlas (T) Saturday 22 March 2008 Maties vs. UJ NWU-Pukke vs. Shimlas Tuks vs. TUT NMMU vs. UCT Monday 24 March 2008 UCT vs. Shimlas (T) TUT vs. Maties (T) NWU-Pukke vs. UJ (T) NMMU vs. Tuks (T) Monday 31 March 2008 Semi-finals x 2 (T) Monday 7 April 2008 Final (T). - Sapa