The 2019 Varsity Cup was the 12th season of the Varsity Cup, the top competition in the annual Varsity Rugby series. It was played between 4 February and 22 April 2019 and featured nine university teams.

There was a debut in the competition for , who won promotion from the Varsity Shield in 2018.

Competition rules and information

There were nine participating university teams in the 2019 Varsity Cup. They played each other once during the pool stage, either at 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 after the pool stage qualified for the semifinals, which were followed by a final.

Teams

Location of teams in the 2019 Varsity Cup Western Cape

The teams that played in the 2019 Varsity Cup are:

2019 Varsity Cup teams Team name 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 Western Cape University of the Witwatersrand

Pool stage

Standings

The final log for the 2019 Varsity Cup was:

2019 Varsity Cup log Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts 1 8 8 0 0 385 129 +256 52 18 6 0 38 2 8 6 1 1 284 115 +169 38 14 3 1 30 3 8 6 0 2 267 152 +115 35 18 5 0 29 4 8 4 0 4 245 255 -10 34 35 5 1 22 5 8 3 1 4 227 262 −35 30 34 5 1 20 6 8 3 0 5 215 309 −94 30 37 3 1 16 7 8 3 0 5 156 276 −120 17 39 2 0 14 8 8 1 0 7 159 239 −80 20 31 2 1 7 9 8 1 0 7 198 399 −201 26 56 3 0 7 Correct as at 4 April 2019.

Legend and competition rules Legend: Qualified for the semifinals. 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 Competition rules: Qualification: The top four teams qualified for the semifinals.

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

Matches

The following matches were played in the 2019 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 15Reinhardt FortuinRW 14Munier HartzenbergOC 13David BritsIC 12Chris Smit LW 11Edwill van der MerweFH 10Jordan Chait SH 9 Remu Malan N8 8 Stephan Streicher OF 7 Chris Massyn (c)BF 6 Johann van NiekerkRL 5 Ben-Jason DixonLL 4 Zirk JansenTP 3 Sazi Sandi HK 2 Daniel Jooste LP 1 Wayrin Losper Replacements: 16HJ Luus 17Leon Lyons 18Piet Strauss 19Mitchell Carstens 20Jesse Johnson 21Brendon Nell 22Anton du Toit 23Carlisle Nel Coach:Hawies Fourie FB 15Vaughen Isaacs RW 14Dewald NaudeOC 13Lourens PretoriusIC 12Erich Cronje LW 11Irvin AliFH 10Tinus de Beer SH 9 Theo Maree N8 8 Denzel HillOF 7 Hanru Sirgel BF 6 Stephan SmitRL 5 Ruan Nortje LL 4 Marius Verwey (c)TP 3 Jean-Pierre Smith HK 2 Johan Grobbelaar LP 1 Etienne Janeke Replacements: 16Werner Fourie 17Jacobus Eloff 18Bart le Roux 19Brian Leitch 20Raegan Oranje 21Damian Bonaparte 22Xolisa Guma 23Ewart Potgieter Coach: Nico Luus Player of the Match: Johann van Niekerk

North v South match

After the season, a further match was played between a selection of players from the northern universities — , , , and — and a selection of players from the southern universities — , , and :

References