2026 Varsity Cup

2026 Varsity Cup
Countries	South Africa
Date	16 February – 13 April 2026
Top point scorer	Therlow Prins (25) Correct as of 24 Feb 2026
Top try scorer	Therlow Prins (5) Correct as of 24 Feb 2026
Official website
varsitycup.co.za
←  2025

The 2026 Varsity Cup is the 19th season of the Varsity Cup, the premier competition in the annual Varsity Rugby series in South Africa. The tournament takes places between eight university teams and played between 16 February and 13 April 2026. ^[1]

This competition forms part of the broader Varsity Rugby programme administered by Varsity Sport, which aims to promote university rugby and provide a pathway for emerging talent into professional rugby structures. ^[2] Matches were broadcast nationally on SuperSport.

The 2026 edition is staged under the campaign theme "Who’s NXT?", highlighting Varsity Cup’s role as a launchpad for future professional and international players and introducing the new Tap-or-Kick post-try power play law to further encourage attacking rugby. ^[3]

Competition rules and information

Eight university teams will participate in the 2026 Varsity Cup. During the pool stage, each team played the other seven sides once, either home or away. ^[1]

Teams were awarded:

• four points for a win
• two points for a draw
• one bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match
• one bonus point for losing by seven points or fewer

Teams are ranked primarily by log points, and then by points difference (points scored minus points conceded). ^[1]

The top four teams at the conclusion of the pool stage advanced to the semi-finals. The two highest-ranked teams hosted the semi-finals, and the highest-ranked remaining finalist hosted the final. ^[4]

Teams

Location of teams in the 2026 Varsity Cup
CUT Ixias NWU Eagles UFS Shimlas UJ UP Tuks Wits Emeris Durban Western Cape
Western Cape
Maties UCT Ikey Tigers UWC

The teams that played in the 2026 Varsity Cup are:

2026 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
Emeris	Varsity College	University of KwaZulu Natal
UJ	University of Johannesburg	UJ Stadium , Johannesburg
CUT Ixias	Central University of Technology	CUT Stadium , Bloemfontein
UP Tuks	University of Pretoria	Fanie du Toit Sport Ground , Potchefstroom

Standings

2026 Varsity Cup Log

The current log for the 2026 Varsity Cup is:

2026 Varsity Cup log
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	BP	Pts
1	NWU Eagles	2	2	0	0	122	57	65	18	8	2	0	2	10
2	UP Tuks	2	2	0	0	76	44	32	10	6	2	0	2	10
3	Maties	2	1	0	1	78	69	9	13	8	2	0	2	6
4	UCT Ikey Tigers	2	1	0	1	105	72	33	14	12	1	0	1	5
5	UJ	2	1	0	1	80	80	0	11	13	1	0	1	5
6	UFS Shimlas	2	1	0	1	72	77	-5	9	11	1	0	1	5
7	CUT Ixias	2	0	0	2	76	142	-66	11	20	2	0	2	2
8	Emeris	2	0	0	2	56	124	-68	10	17	1	0	1	1
*Legend: Pos = Position, Pl = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = 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 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 Qualification: The top four teams qualified for the semifinals.

Round-by-round

Team Progression – 2026 Varsity Cup
Team	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Semi	Final
UCT Ikey Tigers	0 (8th)	5 (4th)
Maties	1 (5th)	6 (3rd)
UFS Shimlas	5 (4th)	5 (6th)
UP Tuks	5 (3rd)	10 (2nd)
UJ	5 (1st)	5 (5th)
CUT Ixias	1 (7th)	2 (7th)
NWU Eagles	5 (2nd)	10 (1st)
Emeris	1 (6th)	1 (8th)
The table above shows a team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.
Key:	win	draw	loss

Pool stage

Results

The following matches were played in the 2026 Varsity Cup:

Round 1

16 February 2026 16:45

UFS Shimlas	50–39	Maties
Try: du Preez  15' Botha  18' Jacobus  24, 41' Kleynhans  56' Shamburg  63' Con: Pierre Giddy  16' (4) Pen: Pierre Giddy (76 p), (78 p) Cards: Shamburg  83'	Report	Try: Mpofu  27' Rynhardt  35' Marx  37' Christiaan  40' Combrinck  44' Erasmus  82' Poswa  84' Con: Christiaan

UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town Referee: Jonathan Lottering

16 February 2026 19:00

CUT Ixias	42–59	NWU Eagles
Try: Seyoko Swartbooi Muller Jacobs Con: Myburgh Pen: Myburgh (p) Cards: Frans	Report	Try: Prins (2) Venter McLoughlin Krugel Doyi Du Bois Turner De Villiers Con: Mostert Van Willing Cards: McLoughlin

CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein Referee: Juan de Bod

16 February 2026 19:00

UJ	61–41	Emeris
Try: Du Toit (2) Mphafi Gabreilsen Marimo Ferreira Africa Molefe Sibisi Con: Gabrielsen (3) Pen: Gabrielsen (p) Jt Kapank (p) Cards: Africa	Report	Try: Marais Orde Steyl Okota Sigauke Con: Marx (2) Cards: Davis

UJ Stadium, Johannesburg Referee: Sean Muller

16 February 2026 19:00

UP Tuks	38–22	UCT Ikey Tigers
Try: Smith  4' Myeni  12',  21' Pretorius  33' Kobus  67' Ntshangase  77' Con: Divan  5',  34'	Report	Try: Davids  0' Benade  7' Aidan Norris  70' Pen: Vermeulen (19 p)

LC de Villiers Stadium, Pretoria Referee: Dylen November

Round 2

23 February 2026 16:45

NWU Eagles	63–15	Emeris
Try: Prins  14' Prins Prins Fourie Fourie Van Zyl Luan Oosthuizen	Report	Try: Okonta  10' Siguake  63' Etzebeth

Fanie du Toit Sport Ground, Potchefstroom

23 February 2026 19:00

UCT Ikey Tigers	83–34	CUT Ixias
	Report

UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town

23 February 2026 19:00

UFS Shimlas	22–38	UP Tuks
	Report

Shimla Park, Bloemfontein

23 February 2026 19:00

Maties	39–19	UJ
Try: Rynhardt  18' Marx  45' Ngobeni  51' Con: Christiaan (46 p) Pen: Christiaan (31 p)	Report	Try: Mphafi  32'

Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

Fixtures

Round 3

	2 March 2026	UJ	v	NWU Eagles
	16:45

	2 March 2026	UP Tuks	v	Maties
	19:00

	2 March 2026	CUT Ixias	v	UFS Shimlas
	19:00

	2 March 2026	Emeris	v	UCT Ikey Tigers
	19:00

Round 4

	9 March 2026	UCT Ikey Tigers	v	UJ
	16:45

	9 March 2026	Maties	v	Emeris
	19:00

	9 March 2026	UP Tuks	v	CUT Ixias
	19:00

	9 March 2026	UFS Shimlas	v	NWU Eagles
	19:00

Round 5

	16 March 2026	UCT Ikey Tigers	v	Maties
	16:45

	16 March 2026	UJ	v	UFS Shimlas
	19:00

	16 March 2026	Emeris	v	CUT Ixias
	19:00

	16 March 2026	NWU Eagles	v	UP Tuks
	19:00

Round 6

	23 March 2026	CUT Ixias	v	UJ
	16:45

	23 March 2026	UP Tuks	v	Emeris
	19:00

	23 March 2026	Maties	v	NWU Eagles
	19:00

	23 March 2026	UFS Shimlas	v	UCT Ikey Tigers
	19:00

Round 7

	30 March 2026	NWU Eagles	v	UCT Ikey Tigers
	16:45

	30 March 2026	UJ	v	UP Tuks
	19:00

	30 March 2026	CUT Ixias	v	Maties
	19:00

	30 March 2026	Emeris	v	UFS Shimlas
	19:00

Statistics

Points leaders

* Correct as at 24 February 2026 (Round 2) ^[5]

Rank	Player	University	Points
1	Therlow Prins	NWU Eagles	25
T2	Kehan Myburgh	CUT Ixias	22
T2	Alex Vermeulen	UCT Ikey Tigers	22
4	Nicallen Gabrielsen	UJ	21
T5	MJ Mostert	NWU Eagles	20
T5	Divan Du Toit	UP Tuks	20
T7	Bradley Pierre Giddy	UFS Shimlas	16
T7	Christiaan Van Heerden Smith	Maties	16
T9	Aidan Norris	UCT Ikey Tigers	15
T9	Jack Benade	UCT Ikey Tigers	15
T11	Andile Myeni	UP Tuks	10
T11	Chijindu Okota	Emeris	10
T11	Jacobus Bezuidenhout	UFS Shimlas	10
T11	Jacques Marais	Emeris	10
T11	Josh Du Toit	UJ	10
T11	Juan Orde Steyl	Emeris	10
T11	Kutlo Seyoko	CUT Ixias	10
T11	CJ Erasmus	Maties	10
T11	CJ Marx	Maties	10
T11	Dillon Smith	UP Tuks	10
T11	Edward Sigauke	Emeris	10
T11	Jordan Mcloughlin	NWU Eagles	10
T11	Kamo Molefe	UJ	10
T11	Raydon Swartbooi	CUT Ixias	10
T11	Rynhardt Van Der Linden	Maties	10
T11	Thabang Mphafi	UJ	10
T11	Josh Miller	UCT Ikey Tigers	10
T11	Tian Van Zyl	NWU Eagles	10

Tries leaders

* Correct as at 24 February 2026 (Round 2) ^[5]

Rank	Player	University	Tries
1	Therlow Prins	NWU Eagles	5
T2	Jack Benade	UCT Ikey Tigers	3
T2	Aidan Norris	UCT Ikey Tigers	3
T4	Andile Myeni	UP Tuks	2
T4	Jacobus Bezuidenhout	UFS Shimlas	2
T4	Josh Du Toit	UJ	2
T4	Jacques Marais	Emeris	2
T4	Juan Orde Steyl	Emeris	2
T4	Chijindu Okota	Emeris	2
T4	Kutlo Seyoko	CUT Ixias	2
T4	Dillon Smith	UP Tuks	2
T4	CJ Marx	Maties	2
T4	Rynhardt Van Der Linden	Maties	2
T4	CJ Erasmus	Maties	2
T4	Thabang Mphafi	UJ	2
T4	Kamo Molefe	UJ	2
T4	Edward Sigauke	Emeris	2
T4	Raydon Swartbooi	CUT Ixias	2
T4	Jordan Mcloughlin	NWU Eagles	2
T4	Josh Miller	UCT Ikey Tigers	2
T4	Tian Van Zyl	NWU Eagles	2

Conversion leaders

* Correct as at 24 February 2026 (Round 2) ^[5]

Rank	Player	University	Cons
1	MJ Mostert	NWU Eagles	10
2	Alex Vermeulen	UCT Ikey Tigers	7
T3	Bradley Pierre Giddy	UFS Shimlas	5
T3	Nicallen Gabrielsen	UJ	5
T5	Divan Du Toit	UP Tuks	4
T5	Kehan Myburgh	CUT Ixias	4
T5	Christiaan Van Heerden Smith	Maties	4
T8	Frederick Marx	Emeris	2
T8	Ruan Van Willing	NWU Eagles	2
10	Shaun Ray	UFS Shimlas	1

Penalty leaders

* Correct as at 24 February 2026 (Round 2) ^[5]

Rank	Player	University	Pens
1	Divan Du Toit	UP Tuks	4
2	Kehan Myburgh	CUT Ixias	3
T3	Bradley Pierre Giddy	UFS Shimlas	1
T3	Nicallen Gabrielsen	UJ	1
T5	Alex Vermeulen	UCT Ikey Tigers	1
T5	Shaun Ray	UFS Shimlas	1
T5	Jt Kapank	UJ	1
T5	Christiaan Van Heerden Smith	Maties	1

References

1. "Varsity Cup 2026 Fixtures & Results". Varsity Cup. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
2. "About Varsity Rugby". Varsity Cup. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
3. "FNB Varsity Cup and Shield 2026 to Showcase Rugby's Future Talent". Varsity Cup. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
4. "Varsity Cup Competition Rules". Varsity Cup. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
5. "Varsity Cup Round 1 Review – Explosive Starts and Eye-catching Stats 2026". SA Rugby Hub. Retrieved 18 February 2026.