The 2026 Varsity Cup season opens with clear targets on the backs of the defending champions. FNB UCT return as title holders after edging FNB Maties in a dramatic final. Expectations will be high, and challengers will be lining up from round one. The Ikeys will need to show once more that they can handle the pressure of being the team to beat.
FNB UCT head coach Robbie Fleck says winning the 2025 title was not only about winning, but about how they won it.
“Our style has been our purpose. The way we play. The Ikey way. Once the players understood it and believed in the way we wanted to play, regardless of the result, we knew we were going to be there at the end and competing for that title.”
Despite several key players departing at the end of the season, Fleck remains excited for the 2026 season and what comes next.
“We would like to go back-to-back and be the first UCT team ever to achieve that. Our campaign this year is to be braver in everything we do. A braver UCT team is an even more dangerous one.”