The 2014 Varsity Cup was contested from 3 February to 7 April 2014. The tournament (also known as the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring eight South African universities.
The tournament was won by for the second time; they beat 39–33 in the final played on 7 April 2014. were automatically relegated to the second-tier Varsity Shield competition for 2015, but won their relegation play-off match against to remain in the Varsity Cup for 2015.
Rules
The Varsity Cup used a different scoring system to the regular system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points.
All Varsity Cup games also had two referees officiating each game, props' jerseys featured a special gripping patch to ensure better binding, intended to reduce collapsing scrums and the mark will be extended to the entire field.
Competition
There were eight participating universities in the 2014 Varsity Cup. These teams played each other once over the course of the season, either home or away.
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top four teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.
The bottom team in the Varsity Cup was relegated to the 2015 Varsity Shield competition, while the Varsity Shield winner was promoted to the 2015 Varsity Cup. There was also a promotion/relegation match between the 7th-placed team in the Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield runner-up at the end of the 2014 season.
Teams
The following teams took part in the 2014 Varsity Cup competition:
2014 Varsity Cup teams Team name University Stadium Stellenbosch University Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University North-West University University of Cape Town University of the Free State University of Johannesburg University of Pretoria University of the Witwatersrand
Standings
The final league standings for the 2014 Varsity Cup were:
2014 Varsity Cup log Pos Team Pl W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts 1 7 6 0 1 226 130 +96 30 16 3 0 27 2 7 5 0 2 186 141 +45 26 21 4 0 24 3 7 4 1 2 174 159 +15 23 22 3 0 21 4 7 4 0 3 165 177 –12 22 23 2 1 19 5 7 3 1 3 164 173 –9 23 24 4 0 18 6 7 3 1 3 156 120 +36 21 14 2 0 16 7 7 1 1 5 135 191 –56 17 26 2 2 10 8 7 0 0 7 78 193 –115 12 28 0 2 2 * Legend: Pos = Position, Pl = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points, , and qualified to the semi-finals. qualified to the relegation play-offs. were relegated to the 2015 Varsity Shield.Points breakdown:*4 points for a win*2 points for a draw*1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less*1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match
Round-by-round
Team Progression – 2014 Varsity Cup Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 Semi Final 0 (8th) 5 (5th) 9 (4th) 9 (5th) 14 (3rd) 19 (2nd) 24 (2nd) Won Won 5 (1st) 10 (1st) 10 (2nd) 15 (2nd) 19 (1st) 23 (1st) 27 (1st) Won Lost 1 (6th) 1 (7th) 6 (6th) 10 (4th) 12 (6th) 16 (5th) 21 (3rd) Lost 5 (2nd) 9 (2nd) 9 (3rd) 9 (6th) 13 (5th) 17 (3rd) 19 (4th) Lost 5 (3rd) 6 (4th) 6 (7th) 11 (3rd) 13 (4th) 13 (6th) 18 (5th) 2 (4th) 7 (3rd) 11 (1st) 16 (1st) 16 (2nd) 16 (4th) 16 (6th) 2 (4th) 3 (6th) 8 (5th) 8 (7th) 9 (5th) 9 (7th) 10 (7th) 0 (7th) 0 (8th) 0 (8th) 1 (8th) 2 (8th) 2 (8th) 2 (8th) The table above shows a team's progression throughout the season.For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.Key: win draw loss
Pool stages
The 2014 Varsity Cup fixtures were as follows:
All times are South African (GMT+2).
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Round six
Round seven
Play-offs
Semi-finals
Final
FB 15Sylvian Mahuza RW 14Edmar MaraisOC 13Jaap PienaarIC 12Johan Deysel LW 11Luther ObiFH 10Johnny Welthagen SH 9 Tiaan Dorfling (c) N8 8 Juan LanguageOF 7 BF 6 Rhyk WelgemoedRL 5 Francois Robbertse LL 4 Peet van der WaltTP 3 Nhlanhla Ngcamu HK 2 Armand van der Merwe LP 1 Mashudu Mafela Replacements: 16Marius Fourie 17Johan Smith 18Daniel Jordaan 19Philip de Wet 20Dillon Smit 21Rhyno Smith 22Lucien Cupido 23John-Roy Jenkinson Coach: Robert du Preez FB 15Ross Jones-DaviesRW 14Richard StewartOC 13Huw JonesIC 12Guy Schwikkard LW 11Lihleli XoliFH 10Dean Grant SH 9 Laim Slatem (c)N8 8 Michael Botha OF 7 Vince JoboBF 6 Jason KlaasenRL 5 James KilroeLL 4 Shaun McDonaldTP 3 Digby Webb HK 2 Neil Rautenbach LP 1 Joel Carew Replacements: 16Chad Solomon 17Robin Murray 18Kyle Kriel 19Guy Alexander 20James Alexander 21Martin Sauls 22Nathan Nel 23David Maasch Coach:Tom Dawson-Squibb Player of the Match: Armand van der Merwe
Assistant referees: Francois Pretorius (South Africa), Jaco Kotze (South Africa)
Television match official: Johan Greef (South Africa)
Players
Player statistics
The following table contain points which have been scored in competitive games in the 2014 Varsity Cup:
All point scorers No Player Team T C P DG Pts 1 Robert du Preez 5 17 4 0 84 2 Dean Grant 1 20 6 0 77 3 Adriaan Engelbrecht 1 21 3 0 74 4 Gavin Hauptfleisch 1 13 5 0 54 Gouws Prinsloo 1 15 2 0 54 6 Tian Schoeman 0 14 3 0 48 7 Marais Schmidt 0 13 2 0 43 8 Chris Cloete 8 0 0 0 40 9 Sylvian Mahuza 6 0 0 0 30 10 Ross Jones-Davies 5 0 0 0 25 Luther Obi 5 0 0 0 25 Lihleli Xoli 5 0 0 0 25 13 Michael Bernardt 4 0 0 0 20 Tiaan Dorfling 1 5 0 0 20 Jason Klaasen 4 0 0 0 20 Shaun McDonald 4 0 0 0 20 Richard Stewart 4 0 0 0 20 Matt Torrance 1 3 3 0 20 19 David Antonites 3 0 0 0 15 Neil Claassen 3 0 0 0 15 Beyers de Villiers 3 0 0 0 15 Stompie de Wet 3 0 0 0 15 Maphutha Dolo 3 0 0 0 15 Michael Haznar 3 0 0 0 15 Niell Jordaan 3 0 0 0 15 Francois Robertse 3 0 0 0 15 Liam Slatem 3 0 0 0 15 Dillon Smit 2 1 1 0 15 Dries Swanepoel 3 0 0 0 15 Akker van der Merwe 3 0 0 0 15 31 Jarryd Buys 0 4 0 1 14 32 Ashlon Davids 2 1 0 0 13 Warrick Gelant 2 1 0 0 13 34 Enrico Acker 2 0 0 0 10 Tythan Adams 2 0 0 0 10 Craig Barry 2 0 0 0 10 Mike Botha 2 0 0 0 10 Jan de Klerk 2 0 0 0 10 Jacques du Toit 2 0 0 0 10 Joubert Engelbrecht 2 0 0 0 10 Jason Fraser 2 0 0 0 10 Mark Hodgkiss 2 0 0 0 10 Reniel Hugo 2 0 0 0 10 Huw Jones 2 0 0 0 10 Danie Jordaan 2 0 0 0 10 Johnny Kôtze 2 0 0 0 10 Juan Language 2 0 0 0 10 Wiaan Liebenberg 2 0 0 0 10 Hannes Ludick 2 0 0 0 10 Tiaan Macdonald 2 0 0 0 10 Edmar Marais 2 0 0 0 10 Duncan Matthews 2 0 0 0 10 Jean Nel 2 0 0 0 10 Nate Nel 2 0 0 0 10 Ruhan Nel 2 0 0 0 10 Yamkela Ngam 2 0 0 0 10 Divandré Strydom 2 0 0 0 10 Sethu Tom 2 0 0 0 10 PJ Walters 2 0 0 0 10 Rhyk Welgemoed 2 0 0 0 10 61 Chris Smith 1 1 0 0 8 Jaco van der Walt 1 1 0 0 8 63 Johnny Welthagen 1 0 0 1 7 64 Tim Agaba 1 0 0 0 5 Guy Alexander 1 0 0 0 5 Brummer Badenhorst 1 0 0 0 5 Andrew Beerwinkel 1 0 0 0 5 Van Zyl Botha 1 0 0 0 5 JJ Breet 1 0 0 0 5 Gideon Bruwer 1 0 0 0 5 Brent Crossley 1 0 0 0 5 Robert de Bruyn 1 0 0 0 5 Reinier Ehlers 1 0 0 0 5 Martin Ferreira 1 0 0 0 5 Louis Fourie 1 0 0 0 5 Roy Godfrey 1 0 0 0 5 Rohan Janse van Rensburg 1 0 0 0 5 Vince Jobo 1 0 0 0 5 JP Jonck 1 0 0 0 5 Louis Jordaan 1 0 0 0 5 Clearance Khumalo 1 0 0 0 5 Frederick Kirsten 1 0 0 0 5 Tertius Kruger 1 0 0 0 5 Donnovan Marais 1 0 0 0 5 Hoffmann Maritz 1 0 0 0 5 Chris Massyn 1 0 0 0 5 Oupa Mohojé 1 0 0 0 5 Jacques Nel 1 0 0 0 5 Justin Pappin 1 0 0 0 5 Dylan Peterson 1 0 0 0 5 Jacques Pretorius 1 0 0 0 5 Juan Schoeman 1 0 0 0 5 Basil Short 1 0 0 0 5 Roelof Smit 1 0 0 0 5 Caleb Smith 1 0 0 0 5 Joe Smith 1 0 0 0 5 Rudolph Smith 1 0 0 0 5 Jade Stighling 1 0 0 0 5 HP Swart 1 0 0 0 5 Fanie van der Walt 1 0 0 0 5 Arno van Wyk 1 0 0 0 5 Jacques Vermaak 1 0 0 0 5 Harold Vorster 1 0 0 0 5 104 Jaun Kotzé 0 0 0 2 4 105 James Alexander 0 1 0 0 3 106 Rhyno Smith 0 0 1 0 2 * Legend: T = Tries, C = Conversions, P = Penalties, DG = Drop Goals, Pts = Points
Squad lists
The teams released the following squad lists:
Forwards
Wesley Adonis Justin Benn Lungelo Chonco Tertius Daniller Jan de Klerk Beyers de Villiers Charl de Villiers Renier Ehlers Neethling Gericke Ian Groenewald Liam Hendricks Nicol Heyns Frederick Kirsten Boeta Kleinhans Helmut Lehmann Koos Loubser Niel Oelofse Brendan Pitzer Jurg Streicher Wilhelm van der Sluys Did not play: Brianton Booysen Keith Chenoweth Tebogo Letlape Derick Linde Teunis Nieuwoudt Grant Prior Mark Prior Alistair Vermaak Backs
Craig Barry Bjorn Bernardo Robert du Preez JW Dürr Mark Hodgkiss Gerhard Jordaan Louis Jordaan Clearance Khumalo Johnny Kôtze Jean Nel Louis Nel Caleb Smith Chris Smith Did not play: Brandon Asher-Wood Ryno Eksteen Janco Gunter JP Lewis Warren Seals tbc
Jacobus de Kock Lars Esdar Dirk Kotzé Coach
Chris Rossouw
Forwards
Tim Agaba André Barnard Greg Bauer Chris Cloete Wade Elliot Dexter Fahey Martin Ferreira Louis Fourie Roy Godfrey Marcel Groenewald Simon Kerrod Cameron Lindsay Enoch Mnyaka Jody Reyneke Nic Roebeck Stefan Willemse Did not play: Laurence Christie Hannes Huisamen Rob Louw Marzuq Maarman Lumko Mbane Arrie van der Berg Kewan Voysey Stephan Zaayman Backs
Enrico Acker Tythan Adams Michael Bernardt Fanie Booysen Jarryd Buys Aya Dlepu Gavin Hauptfleisch Andile Jho Devon Lailvaux Ivan Ludick Sinakho Mafu Donovan Marais Yamkela Ngam Matt Tweddle Kayle van Zyl Did not play: Ruan Allerston Steven Hansel Dwayne Kelly Sphu Msutwana Juan Smit Billy van Lill Justin van Staden Coach
David Maidza
Forwards
Jaco Buys Stompie de Wet Marius Fourie John-Roy Jenkinson Danie Jordaan Robey Labuschagné Juan Language Mash Mafela Lucky Ngcamu Francois Robertse Joe Smith HP Swart Akker van der Merwe Peet van der Walt Elardus Venter Jacques Vermaak Rhyk Welgemoed Did not play: Wian Fourie Anton Krynauw SJ Niemand Siya November Marno Redelinghuys Ettienne Smith Backs
Lucian Cupido Johan Deysel Tiaan Dorfling Adriaan Engelbrecht Sylvian Mahuza Edmar Marais Hoffmann Maritz Akhona Nela Luther Obi Jaap Pienaar Dillon Smit Rhyno Smith Johnny Welthagen Did not play: Rowayne Beukman Warren Gilbert Lloyd Greeff Gerhard Nortier SW Oosthuizen Sarel Smith Marnus Tack Juandré Williams Percy Williams Coach
Robert du Preez
Forwards
Guy Alexander Mike Botha Joel Carew Vince Jobo James Kilroe Jason Klaasen Kyle Kriel David Maasch Shaun McDonald Robin Murray Neil Rautenbach Chad Solomon Jan Uys Digby Webb Tino Zakeyo Msizi Zondi Did not play: Brad Bosman Deacon Chowles Gareth Ehret Keegan Ehret Zolani Faku Sean Johnstone Mike Kennedy Jade Kriel Sihle Mtwa Wade Schoor Backs
James Alexander Suwi Chibale Dean Grant Nick Holton Huw Jones Ross Jones-Davies Nate Nel Martin Sauls Guy Schwikkard Liam Slatem Richard Stewart Dave Strachan Lihleli Xoli Did not play: Tom Bednall Paul Cohen Ryan Dugmore Paul Hendry Trent Jenkinson Brendan Rodgers Coach
Kevin Musikanth
Forwards
Dolph Botha Gideon Bruwer Tienie Burger Neil Claassen Luan de Bruin Jacques du Toit Elandré Huggett Niell Jordaan Armandt Koster Oupa Mohojé Sihle Ngxabi Markus Odendaal Gerhard Olivier Justin Pappin Nick Schonert Joe van der Hoogt Vaatjie van der Merwe Fanie van der Walt Henco Venter Did not play: Marco Klopper Backs
AJ Coertzen Pieter-Steyn de Wet Maphutha Dolo Franna du Toit