The FNB Varsity Cup head coaches look ahead to this year’s unique campaign in Tshwane, which kicks off on 4 April. All matches will be played at TUKS or Loftus Versveld in a bio bubble.
Pieter Bergh - CUT
“CUT have never reached the Varsity Cup semi-finals – we’re usually fighting to stay in the tournament – but for me, it’s all about improving each season. In my first season as coach, in 2019, we won three Varsity Cup games for the first time, and we were on track to better that record in 2020. It would be great to reach the semi-finals this year, but as long as we keep improving, I will be happy. We will take the tournament bubble by bubble. I think there will be a lot of injuries this year. We probably have the smallest squad of all the Varsity Cup universities, so we will need to have a lot of luck when it comes to injuries.”
Andre Pretorius - NWU Eagles (Pukke)
“We are extremely grateful to Varsity Cup and SA Rugby for making this year’s tournament happen. We will just be happy to be on the field again. Players won’t take any game for granted after what happened last year. When things get tough on the training field, the guys remember that they could always be doing online “training”. This year’s tournament format will be challenging for players and coaches, and I think the teams that adapt the quickest to it – and accept it for what it is – will do the best.”
Dewey Swartbooi - UJ
“We just want to give a good account of ourselves and be better than we were last year. Playing in a bio-bubble without fans will be something different. The crowds at UJ Stadium have given us a big boost over the last couple of years so we will miss that.”
Nico Luus - UP-TUKS
“I’m just happy that the guys are back on the field. Having all the teams at one venue will level the playing field to some extent, but those with bigger squads will be better off when it comes to playing three games in quick succession. I think a lot will depend on teams’ luck when it comes to injuries, as well as preparation and the conditioning of players. We played three games in five days at the USSA tournament a couple of years ago, and by game three we had to scrape a team together. But this year’s Varsity Cup will be great and the most important thing is that the guys can play.”
Hugo van As - Wits
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to get back on the rugby field and express ourselves again. But if you don’t prepare to do well, you may as well not arrive, so we are trying to find that balance between enjoying a special tournament and doing well in it.”
Andre Tredoux - Madibaz
“Our guys are really keen to get back onto the field having not played rugby for a year. It is what they love doing, so they are excited to get going and make the step up from the Varsity Shield to the Varsity Cup. We’ve had to look hard at our fitness levels and the boys have worked really hard. We’re South Africans, so we want to win, but we also have realistic expectations. We want to be as competitive as possible in this year’s competition.”
Tom Dawson-Squibb - UCT Ikeys
“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.”
Drikus Hancke - Maties
“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 to have fans at the games, but we know they will 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.”
Pote Human - UFS Shimlas
“The guys have worked really hard during pre-season and are hungry to play rugby again. It’s not going to be easy to play three games in quick succession in a bubble, and in our last bubble, we play both Tuks and Maties. All the teams will have the same challenge, though, and I think those that suffer the least injuries will do well.”
Paul Treu - UWC
“Our immediate goal is to stay in the Varsity Cup, as the bottom two teams on the combined 2021-2022 log will be relegated to the Varsity Shield. Our obvious concern is the tight five as UWC have traditionally been targeted at the set-piece by other universities. It’s something we have worked on but it won’t be resolved in this campaign, we’re taking a long-term approach to bolstering our tight five. We have done as much as we can from coaching and scientific perspectives to prepare the players for this campaign. Player recovery will be important during the tournament and you don’t want to overload players with too much detail in between games.”