| 2018 Varsity Cup | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Countries | South Africa |
| Date | 29 January – 16 April 2018 |
| Champions | Maties (4th title) |
| Runners-up | NWU Pukke |
| Relegated | NMU Madibaz |
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.
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. [1]
The following teams took part in the 2018 Varsity Cup competition:
The final standings for the 2018 Varsity Cup were: [2] [3]
| 2018 Varsity Cup standings | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Maties | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 301 | 129 | +172 | 40 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 34 |
| 2 | NWU Pukke | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 304 | 156 | +148 | 39 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 33 |
| 3 | UJ | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 261 | 154 | +107 | 31 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 27 |
| 4 | Wits | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 241 | 230 | +11 | 33 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 25 |
| 5 | UFS Shimlas | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 246 | 284 | -38 | 33 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| 6 | UCT Ikey Tigers | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 182 | 181 | +1 | 23 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
| 7 | UP Tuks | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 257 | 208 | +49 | 35 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 15 |
| 8 | CUT Ixias | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 178 | 435 | -257 | 24 | 55 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 9 | NMU Madibaz | 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 |
The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Cup: [4]
| 29 January 2018 | UP Tuks | 17–19 | UFS Shimlas | LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria | ||
| 16:45 |
| 29 January 2018 | UCT Ikey Tigers | 26–30 | Wits | UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town | ||
| 18:30 |
| 29 January 2018 | NWU Pukke | 70–7 | CUT Ixias | Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom | ||
| 18:30 |
| 29 January 2018 | UJ | 3–31 | Maties | UJ Stadium, Johannesburg | ||
| 19:00 |
| Bye/s: NMU Madibaz |
| 5 February 2018 | NMU Madibaz | 17–27 | UCT Ikey Tigers | NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth | ||
| 16:45 |
| 5 February 2018 | Maties | 56–21 | UFS Shimlas | Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch | ||
| 18:30 |
| 5 February 2018 | UJ | 48–21 | CUT Ixias | UJ Stadium, Johannesburg | ||
| 18:30 |
| 5 February 2018 | Wits | 25–19 | UP Tuks | Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg | ||
| 19:00 |
| Bye/s: NWU Pukke |
| 12 February 2018 | CUT Ixias | 38–37 | NMU Madibaz | CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein | ||
| 16:45 |
| 12 February 2018 | UFS Shimlas | 44–24 | Wits | Shimla Park, Bloemfontein | ||
| 18:30 |
| 12 February 2018 | UCT Ikey Tigers | 18–15 | NWU Pukke | UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town | ||
| 18:30 |
| 12 February 2018 | Maties | 24–16 | UP Tuks | Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch | ||
| 19:00 |
| Bye/s: UJ |
| 19 February 2018 | NMU Madibaz | 29–32 | Wits | NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth | ||
| 16:45 |
| 19 February 2018 | Maties | 75–12 | CUT Ixias | Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch | ||
| 18:30 |
| 19 February 2018 | UCT Ikey Tigers | 27–32 | UFS Shimlas | UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town | ||
| 18:30 |
| 19 February 2018 | NWU Pukke | 18–15 | UJ | Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom | ||
| 19:00 |
| Bye/s: UP Tuks |
| 26 February 2018 | Wits | 30–30 | Maties | Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg | ||
| 16:45 |
| 26 February 2018 | UCT Ikey Tigers | 23–13 | UP Tuks | UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town | ||
| 18:30 |
| 26 February 2018 | NMU Madibaz | 5–37 | NWU Pukke | NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth | ||
| 18:30 |
| 26 February 2018 | UFS Shimlas | 12–49 | UJ | Shimla Park, Bloemfontein | ||
| 19:00 |
| Bye/s: CUT Ixias |
| 5 March 2018 | UP Tuks | 26–40 | NWU Pukke | LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria | ||
| 16:45 |
| 5 March 2018 | UJ | 69–8 | NMU Madibaz | UJ Stadium, Johannesburg | ||
| 18:30 |
| 5 March 2018 | CUT Ixias | 18–52 | Wits | CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein | ||
| 18:30 |
| 5 March 2018 | Maties | 33–14 | UCT Ikey Tigers | Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch | ||
| 19:00 |
| Bye/s: UFS Shimlas |
| 12 March 2018 | Wits | 17–29 | UJ | Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg | ||
| 16:45 |
| 12 March 2018 | CUT Ixias | 26–54 | UP Tuks | CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein | ||
| 18:30 |
| 12 March 2018 | NMU Madibaz | 0–19 | Maties | NMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth | ||
| 18:30 |
| 12 March 2018 | NWU Pukke | 56–21 | UFS Shimlas | Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom | ||
| 19:00 |
| Bye/s: UCT Ikey Tigers |
| 19 March 2018 | CUT Ixias | 23–30 | UCT Ikey Tigers | CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein | ||
| 16:45 |
| 19 March 2018 | UFS Shimlas | 28–22 | NMU Madibaz | Shimla Park, Bloemfontein | ||
| 18:30 |
| 19 March 2018 | Wits | 31–35 | NWU Pukke | Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg | ||
| 18:30 |
| 19 March 2018 | UP Tuks | 30–30 | UJ | LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria | ||
| 19:00 |
| Bye/s: Maties |
| 26 March 2018 | UFS Shimlas | 69–33 | CUT Ixias | Shimla Park, Bloemfontein | ||
| 16:45 |
| 26 March 2018 | UP Tuks | 82–21 | NMU Madibaz | LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria | ||
| 18:30 |
| 26 March 2018 | UJ | 18–17 | UCT Ikey Tigers | UJ Stadium, Johannesburg | ||
| 18:30 |
| 26 March 2018 | NWU Pukke | 33–33 | Maties | Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom | ||
| 19:00 |
| Bye/s: Wits |
| 2 April 2018 | NWU Pukke | 60–31 | UJ | Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom | ||
| 16:30 |
| 2 April 2018 | Maties | 65–18 | Wits | Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch | ||
| 19:00 |
| 16 April 2018 | Maties | 40–7 | NWU Pukke | Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch | ||
| 19:00 |
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