Ikeys vs Maties in final repeat
28 Nov 2008
UCT will host Stellenbosch in the opening round of next year’s Varsity Cup – a repeat of this year’s final.
The defending champions, Maties, scored a try with the last movement of the game at Coetzenburg this year to claim the title from Ikeys.
UCT will now get a chance to get some sort of revenge when they host Stellenbosh at Groote Schuur, while this match will be preceded by the NMMU vs Shimlas game at the same venue, with both games televised live. All the fixtures will take place on a Monday night, with the Easter weekend programme that was adopted this year, scrapped.
Francois Pienaar, the driving force behind the tournament, said market research showed that Monday nights is the best time for the fixtures to take place. “We’re taking Mondays back!” declared Pienaar.
“We did it last year already, but not all the games were played on Mondays,” he said in a statement. “But, moving forward, we don’t want to compete with anything else anymore.
“Our extensive research has shown that the public want to watch ‘Monday-night football’; the students are back at their universities after weekends away and they want to grab an ice-cold beer and watch their teams play some entertaining rugby on Monday nights.”
Of the 31 matches, 19 will be televised. The inaugural tournament was a massive success and Pienaar said this placed extra pressure on next year’s competition.
“There is plenty of excitement ahead of the 2009 tournament, but at the same time we’re also a bit nervous due to the successful start we made this past season,” said Pienaar.
“People were a bit unsure what to expect this year but, now, after a great start to the Varsity Cup, there is a massive sense of anticipation out there,” he added. “People I meet on the street come up to me asking me about next year – it puts pressure on us, the organisers, players and coaches, but it’s good pressure.
“It’s our responsibility to deliver on the brand that we promised this past season and I have no doubt that the Varsity Cup can be as good as it was in 2008. However, it won’t simply be as good, it will be better!”
The Varsity Cup proved to be a nursery for young players in the country and Pienaar is adamant it will be the same in 2009.
“The Varsity Cup has shown that there is plenty of talent in our country. Take Mat Turner, from UCT, for instance. He began 2008 as a Varsity Cup player; he is now playing against some of the best players in Europe as a Premiership player in England.
“I believe we are fortunate to have some fantastic coaches in the Varsity Cup – we witnessed some exciting rugby in 2008. If the coaches embrace that same approach in 2009 we could be in for one helluva ride!”
The 2009 Varsity Cup fixtures:
Monday, February 2:
Shimlas v NMMU, Groote Schuur Rugby Field – 2.45pm (TV)
UCT v Maties, Groote Schuur Rugby Field – 4.45pm (TV)
UJ v TUT, Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds – 4.45pm (TV)
Pukke v Tuks, Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds – 6.45pm (TV)
Monday, February 9:
TUT v UCT, TUT Stadium – 4.45pm (TV)
NMMU v Tuks, Xerox NMMU Stadium, South Campus – 6.45pm
Shimlas v Pukke, Shimla Park – 6.45pm (TV)
Maties v UJ, Danie Craven Stadium – 7.30pm
Monday, February 16:
UCT v UJ, Groote Schuur Rugby Field – 4.45pm (TV)
Tuks v TUT, LC de Villiers Stadium – 6.45pm (TV)
Shimlas v Maties, Shimla Park – 6.45pm
Pukke v NMMU, Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds – 6.45pm
Monday, February 23:
UJ v Shimlas, Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds – 4.45pm (TV)
Tuks v UCT, LC de Villiers Stadium – 6.45pm
NMMU v TUT, Xerox NMMU Stadium, South Campus – 6.45pm
Maties v Pukke, Danie Craven Stadium – 6.45pm (TV)
Monday, March 2:
Shimlas v Tuks, Shimla Park – 4.45pm (TV)
TUT v Maties, TUT Stadium – 6.45pm
UJ v Pukke, Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds – 6.45pm
NMMU v UCT, Xerox NMMU Stadium, South Campus – 6.45pm (TV)
Monday, March 9:
Maties v NMMU, Danie Craven Stadium – 4.45pm (TV)
TUT v Pukke, TUT Stadium – 6.45pm
UCT v Shimlas, Groote Schuur Rugby Field – 6.45pm
UJ v Tuks, Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds – 6.45pm (TV)
Monday, March 16:
Pukke v UCT, Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds – 4.45pm (TV)
NMMU v UJ, Xerox NMMU Stadium, South Campus – 6.45pm
TUT v Shimlas, TUT Stadium – 6.45pm
Tuks v Maties, LC de Villiers Stadium – 6.45pm (TV)
Monday, March 23:
Semi-finals: TBC
Monday, March 30:
Final: TBC
23 Comments
28 Nov 2008, 11:33 am
Learner Dragons
28 Nov 2008, 11:34 am
And this time Ikeys will kick their ***.
28 Nov 2008, 11:35 am
uct played against maties?
..
jeez, and here i thought it was uct vs privince!
28 Nov 2008, 11:35 am
#3 asha1:
province, that is
28 Nov 2008, 11:38 am
jeez, but this site is slow today
..
a nice structure/ helter skelter thread would certainly liven things up a bit
28 Nov 2008, 11:39 am
what the f*ck?
we just lost 3 wickets in 4 balls!
we went from 405/5 to 405/8 in one over!!
28 Nov 2008, 11:41 am
#6 asha1:
becoming worse
4 wickets in 2 overs now
28 Nov 2008, 11:47 am
#7 asha1:
this asha1 is such a nice chap
he’s the only one responding to my posts
…
jeez, i’m bored!
what i wouldnt give for a nice brawl right now!
28 Nov 2008, 12:28 pm
#8 asha1:
Jake has the habit of starting all his sentences with “Jeez”
28 Nov 2008, 12:30 pm
Sorry Asha,I been sitting for half and hour but nothing seems to be getting me into a brawl mode,it is Friday after all.
28 Nov 2008, 12:37 pm
#9 Sheriff:
he has?
i mustve impressed him with something i said!
28 Nov 2008, 12:38 pm
#11 asha1:
Even Percie.
Soutie habit.
28 Nov 2008, 12:38 pm
#10 oxfordshark:
exactly
a nice brawl early in the day will go a long way towards ensuring that you have one heck of a thirst by the end of the day!
28 Nov 2008, 12:40 pm
#12 Sheriff:
Percy (of course)
28 Nov 2008, 13:47 pm
I heared that if Cheeky Watson is ellected president of EP 2morrow, that he’ll get JW to coach EP and also have +- R20 mill to buy some players… Hope JW will do better than **** PdV did with the Spears with his Dolly & Ashley Johnstone
28 Nov 2008, 14:25 pm
#15 suffer_guy:
if its true
the emphasis should be on R20 million rand to buy players … something pdv did not get
but
hey, you’re a d@@s, should why should i try and change that?
28 Nov 2008, 14:42 pm
#2 PissAnt: Se moer!!! Ek wed jou ‘n bottel rooiwyn Maties gaan daai game wen.
28 Nov 2008, 14:58 pm
asha hou maar by die kerrie eet, los die rugby vir die manne
28 Nov 2008, 15:31 pm
#18 suffer_guy:
geen problemie omie
…
sal ek bietjie verstand ook vir omie los?
28 Nov 2008, 17:55 pm
Ok, ek is daar 2 Feb, go Maties ,. moer hulle!…eishhh, ek voel sleg om dit te se, maar dis ET et al se skuld….
Ek hou van Ikeys, my oupa en my familiespan…maar al hierdie radikale bloggers op keo deesdae maak dat ek my UCT papiere wil wegsteek, raak skaam om te se ek was daar….vir n rukkie.
28 Nov 2008, 18:03 pm
#20 Pietman:
Hier is meestal maar min radikale bloggers oor, almal is nou al verban.
Die mees radikaalstes wat oorbly is nou die regse radikales, ek sal nie nou name noem nie
Op watter Universiteit was jy meeste van die tyd?
29 Nov 2008, 06:43 am
#21 Robzim:
Nee, ek werk sommer die Rom Rom voor die Varsity so bietjie, spot net!
Ek het n groot ‘soft spot’ vir UCT, my aangenome dogter gaan hopelik daar inskryf eendag (gaan haar Februarie die kampus wys), en ek het tans twee uitruilstudente daar by die ‘Oxford of Africa’. Ek beveel altyd UCT aan by die mense hier wat nie Afrikaans magtig is nie.
(Ek was net 6 maande daar, bestuursdiploma se module daar moes afle, nooit voltyds aan UCT gewees nie, maar my ooms en nefies wel, familietradisie.)
29 Nov 2008, 21:50 pm
The 2008 series was spoilt by bad refereeing. The Maties were carried by the refs (and not the angels) into the final. A certain Joey Damons of WP gave an inexplicable penalty to Maties against Tukkies to take them into the final. That brain surgeon with the speed cop mentaliy, Andre (the clown prince) Watson decided that local refs can be used. That buggered up the whole tournament.
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