The final fixtures and tournament dates are now available for the 16th edition of South Africa’s premier student rugby competition, with the FNB Varsity Cup set to return to full-capacity stadiums at campuses around the country on Monday 20 February.
The FNB Varsity Shield season is set to start on Thursday 16 February. All Varsity Shield rounds will be played on Thursday evenings and Varsity Cup matches on Monday nights.
“The heat is on in 2023 and we can’t wait to see the ‘rugby that rocks’ returning to packed stadiums at campuses around the country! Brace yourself for hot rugby, hot fans and hot entertainment where rivalry is celebrated, memories are made and new champions will be crowned,” said FNB Varsity Cup founder Francois Pienaar.
“For the first time in the tournament’s history, there will be eight teams in the Varsity Cup and eight teams in Varsity Shield vying for the honour of lifting the coveted trophy. With the added pressure of it being a promotion-relegation year, we can expect sizzling competition as teams put everything on the line.”
Pienaar further announced the introduction of a women’s competition this year. “As one of the fastest growing team sports around the world, we are proud to ignite women’s rugby at university level in South Africa,” he added.
With all Covid-19 restrictions lifted, stadiums will return to full capacity and fans will again have the opportunity to show why they are the hottest, loudest and most colourful in SA thanks to the Fans That Rock competition.
The opening round of the FNB Varsity Cup will feature defending champions FNB UP-Tuks and FNB UFS at 17:00, while at 19:00 it will be time for the always heated Cape derby between FNB Maties and FNB UCT. Both games will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
The FNB Varsity Shield tournament gets off to a flaming start with title holders FNB UFH taking on Eastern Cape rivals FNB WSU at 19:00.
Ticketing and further match details will be released soon.
