2025 Varsity Cup

2025 Varsity Cup
Countries	South Africa
Date	17 February – 24 April 2025
Champions	UCT Ikey Tigers (3rd title)
Runners-up	Maties
Promoted	Emeris (Varsity College)
Relegated	Wits
Matches played	59
Top point scorer	Ntokozo Makaza
←  2024 2026  →

The 2025 Varsity Cup was the 18th season of the Varsity Cup, the top competition in the annual Varsity Rugby series in men's rugby union. It was played between 17 February and 14 April 2025 and featured eight university teams. ^[1]

One of the key storylines of the season was the UP Tuks resurgence, securing a place in the semifinals following a crucial 29‑19 victory over Stellenbosch's Maties in late March. ^[2] In the championship match at the Danie Craven Stadium , Stellenbosch in Stellenbosch, the UCT Ikey Tigers captured the title with an emphatic 44‑21 win over MatMaties, claiming their third Varsity Cup crown. ^[3] The final was played in front of a packed stadium, highlighting the continued growth in popularity of university rugby in South Africa. ^[4]

Competition rules and information

There were eight participating university teams in the 2025 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 2025 Varsity Cup
CUT Ixias NWU Eagles UFS Shimlas UJ UP Tuks Wits Western Cape
Western Cape
Maties UCT Ikey Tigers

The teams that played in the 2025 Varsity Cup are:

2025 Varsity Cup teams
Team name	University	Stadium
NWU Eagles	North-West University	Fanie du Toit Sport Ground , Potchefstroom
Maties	Stellenbosch University	Danie Craven Stadium , Stellenbosch
UFS Shimlas	University of the Free State	Shimla Park , Bloemfontein
UCT Ikey Tigers	University of Cape Town	UCT Rugby Fields , Cape Town
Wits	University of the Witwatersrand	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
UJ	University of Johannesburg	UJ Stadium , Johannesburg
CUT Ixias	Central University of Technology	CUT Stadium , Bloemfontein
UP Tuks	University of Pretoria	UP Tuks Stadium

Pool stage

Standings

The final log for the 2025 Varsity Cup was:

2025 Varsity Cup log
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TB	LB	Pts
1	Maties	7	6	0	1	248	131	+117	3	0	27
2	UCT Ikey Tigers	7	5	0	2	273	180	+93	3	2	25
3	UP Tuks	7	5	0	2	254	183	+71	2	1	23
4	NWU Eagles	7	4	0	3	324	161	+163	4	1	21
5	UFS Shimlas	7	4	0	3	249	258	−9	4	1	21
6	CUT Ixias	7	3	0	4	140	300	−160	1	1	14
7	UJ	7	1	0	6	164	265	−101	2	1	7
8	Wits	7	0	0	7	147	321	−174	1	2	3

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 2025 Varsity Cup:

Round one

	17 February 2025	Maties	41–37	UFS Shimlas	Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
	17:00		Report

	17 February 2025	UJ	13–29	CUT Ixias	UJ Stadium, Johannesburg
	17:00		Report

	17 February 2025	Wits	8–35	UP Tuks	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
	17:00		Report

	18 February 2025	UCT Ikey Tigers	32–23	NWU Eagles	UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town
	10:00		Report

Round two

	24 February 2025	UP Tuks	37–29	UJ	LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria
	14:45		Report

	24 February 2025	CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein	23–19	UCT Ikey Tigers	CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein
	17:00		Report

	24 February 2025	NWU Eagles	27–29	Maties	Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom
	17:00		Report

	24 February 2025	UFS Shimlas	59–29	Wits	Shimla Park, Bloemfontein
	17:00		Report

Round three

	3 March 2025	UFS Shimlas	49–45	UJ	Shimla Park, Bloemfontein
	14:45		Report

	3 March 2025	Maties	54–0	CUT Ixias	Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
	17:00		Report

	3 March 2025	UCT Ikey Tigers	36–29	UP Tuks	UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town
	17:00		Report

	3 March 2025	Wits	34–39	NWU Eagles	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
	17:00		Report

Round four

	10 March 2025	CUT Ixias	26–63	UP Tuks	CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein
	14:45		Report

	10 March 2025	NWU Eagles	59–14	UFS Shimlas	Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom
	17:00		Report

	10 March 2025	UCT Ikey Tigers	73–17	Wits	UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town
	17:00		Report

	10 March 2025	UJ	7–25	Maties	UJ Stadium, Johannesburg
	17:00		Report

Round five

	17 March 2025	Wits	24–32	UJ	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
	14:45		Report

	17 March 2025	Maties	31–24	UCT Ikey Tigers	Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
	17:00		Report

	17 March 2025	UFS Shimlas	16–9	CUT Ixias	Shimla Park, Bloemfontein
	17:00		Report

	17 March 2025	UP Tuks	26–17	NWU Eagles	LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria
	17:00		Report

Round six

	24 March 2025	UCT Ikey Tigers	40–26	UFS Shimlas	UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town
	14:45		Report

	24 March 2025	CUT Ixias	34–28	Wits	CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein
	17:00		Report

	24 March 2025	Maties	19–29	UP Tuks	Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
	17:00		Report

	24 March 2025	NWU Eagles	52–7	UJ	Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom
	17:00		Report

Round seven

	31 March 2025	UJ	31–49	UCT Ikey Tigers	UJ Stadium, Johannesburg
	14:45		Report

	31 March 2025	NWU Eagles	107–19	CUT Ixias	Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom
	17:00		Report

	31 March 2025	UP Tuks	35–48	UFS Shimlas	LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria
	17:00		Report

	31 March 2025	Wits	7–49	Maties	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
	17:00		Report

Play-offs

	Semi-finals				Final
	7 April 2025
	UP Tuks	35
					14 April 2025
	UCT Ikey Tigers	48
					Maties	21
	7 April 2025
					UCT Ikey Tigers	44
	Maties	19
	UFS Shimlas	7

Semi-finals

	7 April 2025	UP Tuks	35–48	UCT Ikey Tigers	LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria
	14:45		Report

	7 April 2025	Maties	19-07	UFS Shimlas	Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
	17:00		Report

Final

	25 April 2025	Maties	21–44	UCT Ikey Tigers	Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
	17:00		Report

References

1. "Varsity Cup 2025". superbru.co.za.
2. "Tuks book place in Varsity Cup semi‑final with victory over Maties" . Retrieved 17 February 2026.
3. "UCT Ikeys hammer Maties in Varsity Cup final to silence Danie Craven Stadium faithful" . Retrieved 17 February 2026.
4. "Rallying behind Ikey Tigers in Varsity Cup final" . Retrieved 17 February 2026.