Ikey Tigers

Last updated

UCT Ikey Tigers
University of Cape Town logo.svg
Full nameUniversity of Cape Town Rugby Football Club
Location Cape Town, South Africa
Region Western Cape
Ground(s)UCT Rugby Fields- The Green Mile [1] (Capacity: 4000+)
Captain(s)Siphumezo Dyonase
League(s) FNB Varsity Cup
2025 3rd
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Kit left arm.svg
Kit body whitehoops.png
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Team kit
Official website
www.uctrfc.co.za

The Ikey Tigers are a South African rugby union team from the University of Cape Town in the Western Cape who compete in the FNB Varsity Cup.

Contents

History

The "Ikey" nickname originated in the 1910s as an antisemitic epithet applied to UCT students by the students of Stellenbosch University, because of the supposed large number of Jewish students at UCT. [2]

Since the inception of the FNB Varsity Cup, the Ikey Tigers have been one of the strongest competitors, finishing runners up in 2008 and 2010. Both final loses fell at the hands of the Ikeys arch rival, the Maties. In 2008 UCT went down to Maties by 16–10 in the inaugural Varsity Cup final after topping the log at the end of the round robin stage of the competition. In 2009, UCT were once again prominent in the round robin stage, finishing second and qualifying for a second home semi-final. They lost the game to the NWU Pukke by 17–19.

The 2010 Varsity Cup saw another strong showing from UCT as they once again finished second on the log. They qualified for their second final by beating the Shimlas of Free State at home by 27–21. They then went on to play Maties in the final with the game resulting in the closest winning margin in the history of the competition with Maties winning by 17–14.

In 2011 UCT finished second on the log for a third successive time and claimed an unprecedented 4th Semi-Final appearance. They once again faced Shimlas in their home semi-final, beating them by 57–20 to qualify for their third final. The 2011 final took place on 11 April in Pretoria featuring UCT against Tuks. UCT won by 26–16 to claim their first ever Varsity Cup title.

Stadium

The rugby fields at UCT UCT rugby fields.jpg
The rugby fields at UCT

The Ikey Tigers play their home fixtures on the Groote Schuur Rugby Field which is adjacent to the university campus. The fields are known commonly by UCT students as The Green Mile. Since the inception of the Varsity Cup, the field has not met the required standards for night fixtures which has resulted in UCT playing two "home" finals away, namely in 2008 when they had to travel to Stellenbosch to play Maties and in 2011 when they had to travel to Pretoria to play Tuks. On 7 March 2011 the UCT rugby club received a $1 million donation from Neville Isdell which allowed them to dust off their longtime plans to build a proper rugby stadium. [3]

Rivalries

The Ikey Tigers main rivalry is with Stellenbosch University's Maties. The rivalry is fuelled by the relative geographical proximity of the two universities, and their status as the two top universities in the Western Cape. This rivalry is further intensified by the fact that they are the two most successful teams in the competition and have competed two finals against each other. Matches between these two teams draw large crowds and are normally televised on SuperSport.

Results:

DateHome TeamScoreAway TeamReference
20 March 2008UCT38–34Maties [4]
7 April 2008Maties16–10UCT [5]
2 February 2009UCT10–12Maties [6]
8 March 2010Maties23–17UCT [7]
29 March 2010Maties17–14UCT [8]
7 March 2011UCT16–37Maties [9]
12 March 2012Maties45–5UCT [10]
4 March 2013UCT15–37Maties [11]
10 February 2014Maties16–33UCT [12]
24 March 2014UCT20–8Maties [13]

Current squad

The squad for the 2016 Varsity Cup was named as follows: [14]

UCT Ikey Tigers Varsity Cup squad

Hookers

  • Flag of South Africa.svg Brenton Greaves
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Keagan Timm
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Malanus Pesach

Props

  • Flag of Namibia.svg Joel Carew
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Alex Goldstein
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Michael Kumbirai
  • Flag of South Africa.svg David Maasch
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Samuel Theron
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Msizi Zondi

Locks

  • Flag of South Africa.svg Olwethu Hans
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Jade Kriel
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Gary Porter
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Duncan John Saffy

Loose forwards

  • Flag of South Africa.svg Guy Alexander (c)
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Brendan Ross Clements
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Jason Klaasen
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Sean Paterson
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Mark Prior
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Aphiwe Qaba
  • Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Alva Junior Senderayi
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Luke Stringer
  • Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Nyasha Tarusenga
  • Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Tino Zakeyo

Scrum-halves

  • Flag of South Africa.svg Hilio de Abreu
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Stefano de Gouveia
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Dylan-Lee Tidbury
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Steve Wallace

Fly-halves

  • Flag of South Africa.svg Robert Anderson
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Tom Bednall

Centres

  • Flag of South Africa.svg Paul Hendry
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Justin Heunis
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Rico Lategan
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Sebastian Rudolph Adran Roodt
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Joel Clive Smith

Wingers

  • Flag of England.svg Suwi Chibale
  • Flag of England.svg Bradley Janse van Rensburg
  • Flag of England.svg Rayno Mapoe
  • Flag of Namibia.svg Nate Nel
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Jesse Wilensky
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Lihleli Xoli

Fullbacks

(c) Denotes team captain.

Season standings

Ikey Tigers Varsity Cup Final Standings
SeasonPositionPWDLPFPAPDBPPtsPlay-off Result
2008 2nd7601260149+111731Losing finalists
2009 1st7502177121+56525Losing semi-finalists
2010 2nd7511223139+84325Losing finalists
2011 2nd7502213134+79323Champions
2012 7th7115164195–3139Won relegation play-off
2013 7th7124159198–39311
2014 2nd7502186141+45424Champions
2015 3rd7412258157+101422Losing semi-finalists
2016 8th7007103324–22133Won relegation play-off
2017 8th8206140248−10819
2018 6th8404182181+1521
2019 5th8314227262−35620
2021 2nd9810174741Losing finalists
2022 3th8Losing semi-finalists
2023 2nd9Losing finalists [15]
2024 2nd9Losing finalists [16]
2025 3th9Champions

Individual records

Player awards

Notable players and coaches

See also

References

  1. "Varsity Cup Fixtures" (PDF). uct.ac.za. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  2. Swanson, Felicity (2007). "'Die SACS kom terug': intervarsity rugby, masculinity and white identity at the University of Cape Town, 1960s-1970s". In Field, Sean; et al. (eds.). Imagining the City: Memories and Cultures in Cape Town (PDF). Cape Town: HSRC Press. p. 210. ISBN   978-0-7969-2179-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  3. "Million-dollar boost for UCT rugby stadium". www.news.uct.ac.za. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – UCT 38–34 Maties". South African Rugby Union. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – UCT 10–16 Maties". South African Rugby Union. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – UCT 10–12 Maties". South African Rugby Union. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Maties 23–17 UCT". South African Rugby Union. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Maties 17–14 UCT". South African Rugby Union. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – UCT 16–37 Maties". South African Rugby Union. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Maties 45–5 UCT". South African Rugby Union. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT 15–37 FNB Maties". South African Rugby Union. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB MATIES 16–33 FNB UCT 1ST XV". South African Rugby Union. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  13. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT 1ST XV 20–8 FNB MATIES". South African Rugby Union. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  14. "SA Rugby Squad – FNB UCT IKEYS : 2016 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  15. Bodlani, Lilitha (17 April 2023). "Eagles crowned 2023 FNB Varsity Cup champions". Varsity Cup. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  16. Bodlani, Lilitha (22 April 2024). "Shimlas sink Ikeys in dramatic fashion to be crowned 2024 Varsity Cup champions". Varsity Cup. Retrieved 23 April 2024.