THE STAGE IS SET FOR ANOTHER AWESOME VARSITY CUP
Cape Town, 26 January 2015 – Kick off of the 2015 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International season is just two weeks away and excitement is starting to build. The competition was officially launched in Johannesburg at the Copperleaf Golf Estate on Monday morning and there is plenty to look forward to in this year’s tournament.
The 2015 season will see the reintroduction of the White Card rule. This rule allows coaches and captains to refer decisions for review to Television Match Officials (TMOs) during games, was first introduced during the inaugural Varsity Cup competition in 2008. The system is back this year and is endorsed by the South African Rugby Union (SARU).
“This is a new test from Varsity Cup that we believe the world of rugby will look at favourably on after the World Cup,” stated Jurie Roux.
The competition will also be sticking with its innovation of using two referees, following the success of the trial last season.
With new rules also comes a new format and this year’s Young Guns and Koshuis competitions will see the eight teams split into two pools with four teams each. The teams will play each other across pools meaning each team will play four matches. The points log will be combined and the final will be contested by the two teams at the top of the two groups at the end of the group fixtures. There is extra incentive to top the group as the final will be played at the home ground of the team which tops the log.
The newbies from the Central University of Technology (CUT) from Bloemfontein will make their bow this year after winning promotion from the Varsity Shield. Duitser Bosman, CEO of Varsity Sports, believes that this will further strengthen the quality of the competition.
“CUT did extremely well in last year’s Varsity Shield competition and I am very excited to see how they do in this year’s Varsity Cup. They have great structures in place and I am sure they will cause an upset or two,” Bosman quoted.
To ensure that the competition continues to bring out the best in young rugby talent, only bona-fide students can take part in the tournament. The definition of “bona-fide student” is attached below the release.
To make it even easier to back your boytjies Varsity Cup replica jerseys from Maties, Ikeys, Tuks and UJ will be available to purchase at selected at Edgars Active stores across the country. This is another way in which the Varsity Cup is catering for its loyal supporters who really want to back their boytjies in every which way possible.
Throughout the tournament, fans will enjoy non-stop action with cheerleaders, giveaways, new rules and unique university presentations adding to the rugby that rocks.
Photo: Varsity Cup
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