Photo Credit: Speedshots.co.za
Day two of the 2021 Varsity Cup will see the University of Cape Town (Ikeys) play against the University of Stellenbosch (Maties) in the third and last match of the day. The match will be played at the TUKS rugby stadium @ 19h00.
This year, the FNB Varsity Cup and the FNB Varsity Shield will take place inside a secure bio-bubble in Pretoria from 4 April to 24 May. With the majority of matches set to take place at Tuks Stadium and no fans in attendance, this year’s stadium will feature something extra for FNB Varsity Cup fans watching live on SuperSport.
University of Stellenbosch (Maties) head coach Drikus Hancke said “I think this year’s Varsity Cup will be the most tightly contested in a while. There are a lot of good teams who will be well prepared. It will be weird not I expect games, but we know they wil be watching on TV. We are aiming to win the tournament, but want to take it match by match and keep improving as the tournament progresses.”
"A lot of our Young Guns [U20 players] from last year have come through, but we also have a lot of senior guys from last year who will play again in 2021. Our captain for this year’s campaign, [centre] David Brits, is very experienced and he and the other senior players have helped the youngsters during pre-season.”
David Brits, captain of Maties said like everyone, he is extremely excited to get back on the field. "It will obviously be the first time we have a Varsity Cup in a bio-bubble and it will be different without the fans. But that’s not really why we play the game."
"Some guys are using this tournament as a stepping-stone to greater rugby heights while others are just playing for the love of the game. That’s what makes the Varsity Cup special. We want to showcase our abilities on TV. There will obviously be challenges along the way, but we’ve overcome so many already to get to where we are now."
The player to watch on the Maties side is Waqar Solaan. Solaan is a big, powerful, explosive, skilful No 12, who dominates in contact, distributes well and is an excellent defender.
Solaan is from Patensie but lives in Hankey; both are small farm towns in the Eastern Cape. He attended Grey High School in Port Elizabeth and played for Eastern Province at the U18 Craven Week. He then signed for Western Province, who he has represented at U19 and U21 levels, and played his first season of FNB Varsity Cup in 2020.
University of Cape Town (Ikeys) head coach Tom Dawson-Squibb said “Tuks and Maties are always favourites in the Varsity Cup, as the two strong, well-resourced universities.
"However, I think you’re disingenuous as a coach if you don’t talk about trying to win a competition in which you’re playing."
My expectations are that we must compete to win while ensuring that our rugby programme makes players better. I want guys to sit on their stoep when they are 70 having a brandy and coke, or sparkling water, and look back and say, “Those were some of the most incredible times of my life”.
We want to win every game and win the trophy, but if we lose to a team that is better than us, then so be it.”
“When the Stormers played that internal match between the Dassies and Penguins last September, I did a count – and there were 15 players who were eligible for Maties’ 2021 Varsity Cup squad and just one for UCT.
We’ve lost some really big players in our pack, including [flanks] Nama Xaba, Busanda Mabena and [lock] Dave Meihuizen, and a substantial number of backs, especially outside backs.
We’ve moved one of our scrumhalves, Liam Kloosman, to the wing, and will bring through a couple of other outside backs this season. [Centre] Evardi Boshoff has joined us from NWU. He’s a really exciting, highly skilful player with a big career ahead of him. So we have an exciting, if not star-studded, group of players. Last year, [flanks] Liam Greenhalgh and Niel Otto were co-captains. This year, Liam will captain the team and have a strong leadership group around him.”
Liam Greenhalgh (UCT) Captain said he thinks the 2021 tournament in the bio-bubble at Tuks will be the most exciting yet. The neutral venues and intense playing format are going to level the playing field completely.
"The teams will face challenges in terms of Covid protocols, mental health and player management, so I think every single game is going to be an absolute nail-biter."
"From an Ikey Tigers perspective, we are in the best mental and physical condition I’ve ever seen in my six years at the club, so I’m really excited for us to go out there and compete to the best of our ability."
UCT Player to watch Robert Hunt didn’t play in last year’s FNB Varsity Cup because of injury and this will be his final campaign as he finishes studying at UCT in June.
The 24-year-old tighthead prop, who was an undergraduate at NWU and played senior rugby for the Leopards, takes great pride in his scrumming, hits the breakdown hard and is a strong ball-carrier with good passing and offloading skills.
"He is a fierce competitor, who is desperate to succeed for his team and become a professional rugby player," says UCT coach Tom Dawson-Squibb.
FNB UCT Ikeys – 15 Athi Gazi, 14 Liam Kloosman, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Michael Brink, 11 Rethabile Louw, 10 James Tedder, 9 William Rose, 8 Christian Stehlik, 7 Neil Otto, 6 Liam Greenhalgh (c), 5 Gary Porter, 4 Matthew Grobler, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Devon Arendse, 1 Luthando Woji. Replacements: 16 Josh van Vuuren, 17 Seth Christian, 18 Jovan Bekker, 19 Byron Bowes, 20 Taariq Kruger, 21 Kyle Bowman, 22 Sibabalwe Mzanywa, 23 Rihaz Fredericks.
FNB Maties – 15 Adriaan van der Bank, 14 Munier Hartzenberg, 13 David Brits, 12 Waqar Solaan, 11 Mike Mavovana, 10 Nevaldo Fleurs, 9 Bobby Alexander, 8 Hannes Gous, 7 Matthys Kitshoff, 6 Mitchell Carstens, 5 Juan Beukes, 4 Simon Miller, 3 Matimu Manganyi, 2 Hendrik Luus, 1 Dian Bleuler. Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 James Combrinck, 19 Matthew Gray, 20 Jacobus Nel, 21 Lian du Toit, 22 Taigh Schoor, 23 Sibabalwe Xamlashe.