Varsity Cup
Varsity Shield
Young Guns
Women’s
Res
Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each university's internal champions competing in the Koshuis Rugby Championships (now known as Res Rugby). In 2011, a second tier competition called the Varsity Shield was added, increasing the number of participating universities to thirteen. A Young Guns tournament for the Under-20 side of the Varsity Cup teams was launched in 2012. A further expansion for the 2017 season saw three additional universities added to the Varsity Shield, totaling sixteen teams.
The 2026 Varsity Cup tournament was the 19th season of the rugby union competition, the highest university rugby competition in South Africa. were the 2026 Varsity Cup champions, securing a record sixth Varsity Cup title, the most by any team in the competition’s history. The Varsity Cup was dominated by Maties during the competition's formative years. In 2025 the beat Maties after they won the first three tournaments in a row. Four other sides – (NWU Pukke), UCT Ikey Tigers, and – have also won the tournament subsequently. Those five sides, along with , participated in the Varsity Cup in each season since its conception, while , , , and participated in the Varsity Cup on occasion, but also played in the second-tier Varsity Shield competition in certain seasons. , , , and have never been able to win promotion to the Varsity Cup, spending all their time in the Varsity Shield tournament.
Currently the only team to have won the Varsity Cup and have been demoted to the Varsity Shield are UP Tuks, following a winless 2023 Varsity Cup campaign.
History
The Varsity Cup tournament was founded in 2008, with former Springbok World Cup winning captain, Francois Piennaar playing a key role in the establishment. It featured the rugby teams of eight universities, with Maties, , , , , , and being the founding members of the competition. At the same time, the Koshuis Rugby Championships (now known as Res Rugby) was also launched; this competition featured the university residence (koshuis) teams that won the internal league for each of the Varsity Cup universities.
In 2011, a second tier was added below the Varsity Cup tournament, called the Varsity Shield, which featured the rugby teams of a further five universities. , , , and were the expansion teams that were added to the Varsity Shield for its first season.
In 2012, an Under-20 competition was also added, called the Young Guns. Each season, the same eight teams that took part in the Varsity Cup could enter their youth teams in this Young Guns competition. The name "Varsity Rugby" was also coined in 2012 to describe the four competitions collectively.
From the inception of the tournament in 2008 until 2017, the title sponsors of the tournaments were First National Bank and Steinhoff International. For this reason, the competitions were officially known as the "FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International", "FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International", "FNB Young Guns presented by Steinhoff International" and the "Steinhoff Koshuis Rugby Championships". In 2018, Steinhoff withdrew as a sponsor, with FNB retaining the sponsorship rights.
Player eligibility
The Varsity Rugby competitions implemented rules to help ensure that the majority of the players are bona fide students of the relevant universities. In the 2012 season, Varsity Cup and Varsity Shield sides were required to have 16 full-time students in their 23-man squads. The Young Guns and Res Rugby competitions were restricted to full-time students only. In the 2013 season, Varsity Cup teams were required to have 18 full-time students in their 23-man squads. In addition, students needed to have passed at least 30% of their previous year's courses, and all players, even non-students, must have finished high school. From the 2014 season, Varsity Cup teams were required to have 20 full-time students in their 23-man squads and an entire squad consisting of full-time students were to be fielded from 2015 onwards.
A quota system was also introduced to aid transformation in rugby. Each team had to include a certain number of players of colour in both their matchday squads and starting line-ups (for 2018, eight players of colour had to be included in the matchday squad, with five of those in the starting line-up).
Competition rules
Throughout its history, Varsity Rugby adopted experimental rules during the competitions. Since 2012, a points scoring system was adopted whereby conversions would count three points instead of the traditional two, while penalties and drop goals would count two points instead of the usual three. In 2016, a bonus points system was introduced whereby teams could get two of four bonus points for tries, based on where the try-scoring move originated on the field of play. 2017 saw this rule simplified: if a try is originated from the scoring team's own half, it receives two extra points.
The competition was one of the first to adopt 23-man squads to include two props, which reduced the number of uncontested scrums in matches. They also experimented with having two referees officiating in matches and a white card review system, whereby team captains can refer certain incidents to the television match official.
In addition, each school nominates a "Player That Rocks" each week, who wears pink shorts in his next game. Proceeds from the "Player That Rocks" initiative, along with other fund-raisers, go to a charity nominated by each university that fights domestic violence in their local area.
Teams
The following sides have participated in Varsity Rugby since the competition's inception in 2008:
List Varsity Cup teams Team University Stadium Central University of Technology Stellenbosch University North-West University University of Cape Town University of the Free State University of Johannesburg University of Pretoria University of the Witwatersrand Emeris Varsity College University of KwaZulu Natal List of Varsity Shield teams Team University Stadium Cape Peninsula University of Technology Nelson Mandela University Rhodes University Tshwane University of Technology University of Fort Hare University of KwaZulu-Natal University of the Western Cape Walter Sisulu University Emeris Varsity College University of KwaZulu Natal
Varsity Cup
The Varsity Cup is the premier Varsity Rugby competition and is contested on an annual basis between the nine foremost university rugby union teams in South Africa. The competition – known as the "FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International" for sponsorship reasons – was first held in 2008. It was won by Maties in the first three seasons. Between 2011 and 2014, and both won the competition on two occasions, while the only other winner was , who won it in 2015.
Those four teams, along with , , and , were the founding members of the competition in 2015. All eight those teams took part in every season of the competition, with the exception of the TUT Vikings who were relegated to the Varsity Shield competition at the end of the 2012 competition. Their place was taken by , who took part in 2013 and 2014 before they too were relegated, and , who took part since 2015.
Between 2008 and 2016, there were eight teams taking part in the competition; this was expanded to nine teams from 2017 onwards. returned to the Varsity Cup for 2017, winning promotion from the 2016 Varsity Shield.
Format
The tournament starts with a round robin stage, during which all teams play each other once, either home or away. Teams are awarded four points for a win and two points for a draw. Teams may also be awarded bonus points for either scoring four tries in a game, or for losing a match by a margin of seven points or less.
Depending on where the move starts, a team can be awarded nine points for scoring a try. If the move starts within the side's half, that leads to a try being scored without losing possession along the way, an additional two bonus points are awarded, earning them seven points for scoring the try. If the conversion is successful, the try will be worth nine points.
At the end of the round robin stage, the top four teams progress to the semi-finals of the play-off stage. In the semi-finals, the team that finishes first has home advantage against the team that finishes fourth, while the team that finishes second has home advantage against the team that finishes third. The semi-final winners progress to the final, played at the venue of the higher-placed team.
Since the introduction of the Varsity Shield tournament in 2011, a promotion/relegation system between the Varsity Cup and Varsity Shield competitions was also introduced. In 2011, the bottom Varsity Cup side played in a play-off match against the Varsity Shield champions. In 2012, promotion/relegation was changed to a bi-annual process occurring in even-numbered years. The bottom team is automatically relegated to the Varsity Shield and replaced by the champions of the Varsity Shield. In addition, the seventh-placed team will take part in a promotion/relegation play-off against the Varsity Shield runner-up. At the end of the 2016 competition, following a decision to expand the competition to nine teams, the bottom team played in the relegation play-off instead.
Teams
The following teams have participated in the Varsity Cup:
Varsity Cup teams Team Seasons Competitions Champions Play-offs 2015–2026 12 0 0 Emeris 2026 1 0 0 2008–present 19 5 16 2008–2018, 2021–2022 13 0 2 2008–present 19 2 13 2008–2012 5 0 0 2008–present 19 3 11 2008–present 19 2 9 2008–present 19 0 7 2008–2023; 2025–present 18 6 13 2019–2022, 2024 5 0 0 2013–2014, 2017–2025 11 0 1 Updated on 13 April 2026. Includes 2020 season, although no champion was crowned.
Seasons
Varsity Cup seasons Year Winner Score Runner-up Losing semi-finalists Relegated 2008 Maties 16–10 , 2009 Maties 11–6 , 2010 Maties 17–14 , 2011 26–16 , 2012 29–21 Maties , 2013 44–5 Maties , 2014 39–33 Maties, 2015 63–33 , 2016 7–6 Maties , 2017 28–21 Maties , 2018 Maties 40–7 , 2019 Maties 34–12 , 2021 34–27 Maties, 2022 29–23 Maties , 2023 27–25 , Maties 2024 45–42 , Maties 2025 44–21 Maties , 2026 31–3 Maties,
Team records TeamChampionsRunners-upThird/Fourth to knockoutsRelegations6 (2012, 2013, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2026)2 (2011, 2019)5 (2008, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2025)13 1 (2023)5 (2008, 2009, 2010, 2018, 2019)6 (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2025)5 (2014, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2026)163 (2011, 2014, 2025)5 (2008, 2010, 2021, 2023, 2024)3 (2009, 2015, 2022)112 (2016, 2023)5 (2009, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2026)6 (2008, 2010, 2012, 2019, 2024)132 (2015, 2024)7 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2026)97 (2010, 2011, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025)72 (2013, 2014)2 1 (2018) 1 (2018)1 2 (2014, 2025) 1 (2024) 1 (2026) 1 (2012)Emeris
Women's Varsity Cup
The Women's Varsity Cup tournament's inaugural competition was in 2023. Maties was crowned first-ever Varsity Cup Women’s champions. The Baby Blues of the University of Fort Hare were the 2024 champions.
Teams
The following teams have participated in the Varsity Cup:
Varsity Cup teams Team Seasons Competitions Champions Play-offs 2023–present 4 2 3 2023–present 4 0 1 2023–present 4 0 1 2023–present 4 2 3 2023–present 4 0 3 2024–present 3 0 1 Updated on 11 April 2026.
Seasons
Varsity Cup seasons Year Winner Score Runner-up 2023 63–9 2024 37–31 2025 21–10 2026 24–21
Varsity Shield