2018 Varsity Cup

The 2018 Varsity Cup was contested from 29 January to 16 April 2018. The tournament (known as the FNB Varsity Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring South African universities.

Competition rules and information

There were nine participating universities in the 2018 Varsity Cup. During the round-robin stage of the competition, 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 received 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.

Tries were worth five or seven points, depending on the point where the try-scoring move originated. If the try-scoring move originated in the opponents' half, it would count five points. If the move originated in the try-scoring team's own half, two bonus points were awarded and the try would be worth seven points.

For the 2018 season, the Varsity Cup introduced a Power Play rule; when a team calls for the Power Play, they can nominate two opposition backline players to be removed from the field of play for a period of three minutes.

Teams

The following teams took part in the 2018 Varsity Cup competition:

2018 Varsity Cup teams Team name University Stadium Central University of Technology Stellenbosch University Nelson Mandela 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 standings for the 2018 Varsity Cup were:

2018 Varsity Cup standings Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts 1 8 6 2 0 301 129 +172 40 16 6 0 34 2 8 6 1 1 304 156 +148 39 21 6 1 33 3 8 5 1 2 261 154 +107 31 22 4 1 27 4 8 4 1 3 241 230 +11 33 29 6 1 25 5 8 5 0 3 246 284 -38 33 38 4 0 24 6 8 4 0 4 182 181 +1 23 24 2 3 21 7 8 2 1 5 257 208 +49 35 26 3 2 15 8 8 1 0 7 178 435 -257 24 55 3 1 8 9 8 0 0 8 139 332 −193 17 44 1 3 4

Legend and competition rules Legend: Top four teams; qualified to the semi-finals. P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games 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 To relegation play-off. Relegated to the 2019 Varsity Shield. Competition rules: Play-offs: The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals. The first-placed team hosted the fourth-placed team and the second-placed team hosted the third-placed team. The higher-ranked semi-final winner then hosted the lower-ranked semi-final winner in the final. 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

Pool Stages

The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Cup:

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Round eight

Round nine

Play-offs

Semi-finals

Final

FB 15Carlisle NelRW 14Duncan SaalOC 13Michal HaznarIC 12Chris Smit LW 11Edwill van der MerweFH 10Christopher Smith SH 9 Remu Malan N8 8 Marno Redelinghuys OF 7 Chris MassynBF 6 Johann van NiekerkRL 5 Johan MomsenLL 4 Ernst van RhynTP 3 Neethling Fouche HK 2 Wilmar Arnoldi LP 1 Chippie Oelofse (c) Replacements: 16HJ Luus 17Ricky Nwagbara 18Piet Strauss 19Brandon Valentyn 20Stefan Streicher 21Brandon Nel 22Munier Hartzenberg 23Jordan Chait Coach:Hawies Fourie FB 15Tapiwa Mafura RW 14Jimmy MpailaneOC 13Evardi BoshoffIC 12Akhona Nela LW 11Dean StokesFH 10Schalk Hugo SH 9 Chriswill September N8 8 Tiaan BezuidenhoutOF 7 Estehan Visagie BF 6 Gideon van der MerweRL 5 Walt Steenkamp LL 4 Johan Retief (c)TP 3 Robert Hunt HK 2 Louis van der Westhuizen LP 1 Matimu Manganyi Replacements: 16Percy Mngadi 17Nelius Theron 18Theodore Ferreira 19Jaco Swanepoel 20Wandile Mazibuko 21Nkosana Mbatha 22Henko Marais 23Justin Newman Coach: Jonathan Mokuena Player of the Match: Johann van Niekerk

2018 Varsity Cup

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