The 2015 Varsity Shield was contested from 2 February to 6 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Varsity Shield, an annual second-tier inter-university rugby union competition featuring five South African universities.

The tournament was won by UKZN Impi for the first time; they beat Wits 29–24 in the final played on 6 April 2015. No team was promoted to the top-tier Varsity Cup competition for 2016.

Competition rules and information

There were five participating universities in the 2015 Varsity Shield. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once 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 two teams qualified for the title play-offs. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished second.

There was no promotion/relegation between the Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield at the end of 2015.

The 2015 Varsity Shield used a different scoring system than the common scoring system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points instead of two, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points instead of three.^[1]

Teams

TUT Vikings

UKZN Impi

UFH Blues

UWC

Wits

Location of teams in the 2015 Varsity Shield

The following teams took part in the 2015 Varsity Shield competition:

Standings

The final league standings for the 2015 Varsity Shield were:^[2]

Round-by-round

The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:

Fixtures

The 2015 Varsity Shield fixtures were released as follows:

• All times are South African (GMT+2).

Round one

The TUT Vikings hooker and captain Hamish Herd scored two tries to help his side to a 21–16 victory over UFH Blues in Pretoria to initially end the round in second spot. However, this result was later expunged and the fixture was awarded as a win to UFH Blues, with a scoreline of 0–0. This meant that UFH Blues moved into topped the log after Round One. The UKZN Impi moved into second spot on the log following a 16–5 victory over UWC in Cape Town, with fly-half Inny Radebe scoring a try and two conversions for the away side, ahead of joint-third sides TUT Vikings and newly relegated Wits who had a bye in this round. UWC were bottom of the log after the first round.^[3]

	2 February 2015	UWC	5–16	UKZN Impi	UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town
	16:45	Try: Gavian Cloete  56' Con: Quaid Langeveldt (0/1)	Report[4] Scoreboard[5]	Try: Marius Louw  31' Inny Radebe  54' Con: Inny Radebe  32', 55' (2/2)	Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni

	2 February 2015	TUT Vikings	21–16	UFH Blues	TUT Stadium, Pretoria
	19:00	Try: Hamish Herd  9', 42' Vian Riekert  75' Con: Paul Walters  10', 43' (2/2) Dylan du Buisson (0/1)	Report[6] Scoreboard[7]	Try: Aziyena Mandaba  16' Con: Sivakele Ulana  17' (1/1) Pen: Sivakele Ulana  26', 34', 40', 59' (4/5)	Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

Round two

A hat-trick from centre Marcel Coetzee helped UKZN Impi to a comprehensive 68–5 victory over TUT Vikings to increase their lead at the top of the log to four points, with TUT dropping to bottom of the log. Wits played their first match of the campaign and ran out comfortable 39–24 winners over UFH Blues, with braces by Ish Nkolo and Constant Beckerling for the side from Johannesburg. Wits moved into second place on the log while UFH dropped down to third after suffering their first defeat of the season. UWC had a bye this round and remained in fourth spot on the log.

	9 February 2015	UFH Blues	24–39	Wits	Davidson Rugby Field, Alice
	18:30	Try: Lwando Nteta  35' Sivakele Ulana  38' Lithabile Mgwadleka  70' Con: Sivakele Ulana  36', 38', 70' (3/3) Cards: Siphesihle Punguzwa  77'	Report[8] Scoreboard[9]	Try: Ish Nkolo  2', 8' Constant Beckerling  22', 63' Ruan van Rensburg  30' Tommy Damba  79' Con: Brandan Hewitt  3', 9', 31' (3/6) Cards: Cameron Shafto 66' to 76'	Referee: Fernando Uithaler

	9 February 2015	UKZN Impi	68–5	TUT Vikings	Peter Booysen Sports Park, Pietermaritzburg
	18:30	Try: Spa Dube  2' Marcel Coetzee  5', 48', 65' Ado Wessels  7' Shayne Makombe  12', 72' Njabulo Mkize  15' Inny Radebe  43' Lwazi Ngcungama  69' Con: Inny Radebe  2', 15' (2/5) Spa Dube  43', 65', 69', 72' (4/5) Cards: Johan du Toit 55' to 66'	Report[10] Scoreboard[11]	Try: penalty try  25' Con: Dylan du Buisson (0/1)	Referee: Ricus van der Hoven

Round three

Braces from Constant Beckerling and Tommy Damba helped Wits emerge victorious from the top-two clash against UKZN Impi, with a comprehensive 56–13 win – their second away win in a row – to move them to the top of the log and with a game in hand over UKZN. UWC moved up to third on the log by beating bottom side TUT Vikings 21–18 in Pretoria, with a two-try haul from Damian Stevens proving decisive. UWC leap-frogged UFH Blues, who dropped to fourth spot after a bye in Round Three.

	16 February 2015	TUT Vikings	18–21	UWC	TUT Stadium, Pretoria
	18:30	Try: RW van der Wal  31' Wessel Jordaan  58' Claude Johannes  71' Con: Dylan du Buisson (0/1) Lewies van Deventer  72' (1/2) Pen: Dylan du Buisson (0/2) Cards: Ruan Pienaar 22' to 32'	Report[12] Scoreboard[13]	Try: José Julies  23' Damian Stevens  34', 52' Con: Herman Share (0/1) Quaid Langeveldt  35', 53' (2/2) Pen: Quaid Langeveldt (0/1) Herman Share (0/1) Cards: Octaven van Stade 65' to 76'	Referee: Renier Vermeulen

	16 February 2015	UKZN Impi	13–56	Wits	Peter Booysen Sports Park, Pietermaritzburg
	18:30	Try: Chris de Beer  8' Spa Dube  70' Con: Spa Dube  70' (1/2)	Report[14] Scoreboard[15]	Try: Constant Beckerling  2', 17' Tommy Damba  19', 55' Luvuyo Pupuma  35' Graham Logan  41' Sibusiso Mngomezulu  67' Con: Brandan Hewitt  3', 18', 20', 37', 41', 56' (6/6) Ruan van Rensburg  67' (1/1) Cards: Constant Beckerling 22' to 33' Ben Baggott  70'	Referee: Jaco Kotze

Round four

The top-versus-bottom match between Wits and TUT Vikings went according to form, with Wits running out 71–36 winners to extend their lead at the top to six points. They ran in ten tries, with Tommy Damba, Ferdinand Kelly and Luxolo Ntsepe getting a brace each, while fly-half Brandan Hewitt scored one of their tries and slotted seven conversions. In the other match, UWC moved level on points with second-placed UKZN Impi who had a bye round, securing an eight-try victory over UFH Blues and running out 49–34 winners with James Verity-Amm grabbing a hat-trick of tries. Both of the losing sides, UFH Blues and TUT Vikings, picked up a bonus point for scoring five tries in their matches, but remained in fourth and fifth respectively.

	19 February 2015	UWC	49–34	UFH Blues	UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town
	18:30	Try: James Verity-Amm  2', 9', 63' Damian Stevens  7' Quaid Langeveldt  18' Wayrin Losper  22' Brandon Valentyn  55' penalty try  78' Con: Darian Hock  10' (1/4) Quaid Langeveldt  56' (1/3) Keanu Langeveldt  79' (1/1) Pen: Keanu Langeveldt (0/1) Cards: Brandon Valentyn  36' Tahriq Allan 44' to 55'	Report[16] Scoreboard[17]	Try: Lwando Mabenge  17' Aziyena Mandaba  26' Lithabile Mgwadleka  31', 67' Sanelise Getye  50' Con: Akhona Matutu  17', 27' (2/3) Sivakele Ulana  68' (1/2) Cards: Siphesihle Punguzwa 6' to 17' Aziyena Mandaba  54'	Referee: Francois Pretorius

	19 February 2015	Wits	71–36	TUT Vikings	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
	18:30	Try: Tommy Damba  7', 47' Luvuyo Pupuma  16' Luxolo Ntsepe  20', 68' Ferdinand Kelly  33', 40' Constant Beckerling  43' AJ van Blerk  60' Brandan Hewitt  71' Con: Brandan Hewitt  8', 17', 40', 43', 60', 68', 72' (7/10) Cards: AJ van Blerk 35' to 45'	Report[18] Scoreboard[19]	Try: Edwin Oliver  12' Tovhowani Nefale  50' Lewies van Deventer  63' Vian Riekert  77' Thabang Kibe  80' Con: Paul Walters  13', 50' (2/3) Lewies van Deventer  78' (1/2) Pen: Paul Walters  3' (1/2) Cards: Armand Marshall 23' to 33'	Referee: Ricus van der Hoven

Round five

League leaders Wits dropped their first points of the season after they were held to a 37–all draw by third-placed UWC in Johannesburg. Wits were leading 37–16 after 55 minutes, but UWC responded with three more tries late in the game to level things up, with winger James Verity-Amm scoring a second consecutive hat-trick after also getting one in Round Four against UFH Blues. UKZN Impi took advantage of their main rivals drawing to secure a 21–13 victory over UFH, which saw them remain in second, but closed the gap to league leaders Wits to five points. UWC finished Round Five a further point behind UKZN, with UFH Blues remaining in fourth spot and TUT Vikings, who did not play this round, staying in fifth at the halfway point of the regular season.

	23 February 2015	UFH Blues	13–21	UKZN Impi	Davidson Rugby Field, Alice
	18:30	Try: Athenkosi Manentsa  14' Siviwe Bisset  69' Con: Akhona Matutu  15' (1/1) Sivakele Ulana (0/1) Cards: Sivakele Ulana 48' to 58'	Report[20] Scoreboard[21]	Try: Inny Radebe  3' Lwazi Ngcungama  11', 32' Con: Inny Radebe  3', 12' (2/2) Rowan Gouws (0/1) Cards: Sanele Malwane 33' to 47'	Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Vusi Msibi

	23 February 2015	Wits	37–37	UWC	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
	18:30	Try: Luvuyo Pupuma  11' Luxolo Ntsepe  27' Ameer Williams  32' Tommy Damba  40' Constant Beckerling  54' Con: AJ van Blerk  11' (1/1) Brandan Hewitt  33', 40', 55' (3/4)	Report[22] Scoreboard[23]	Try: Quaid Langeveldt  7' James Verity-Amm  17', 57', 78' Stuart Austin  70' Con: Quaid Langeveldt  8', 18' (2/3) Herman Share  58', 79' (2/2)	Referee: AJ Jacobs

Round six

With top-placed side Wits having a bye weekend, they saw their lead at the top reduced to just a single point from UKZN Impi, who ran out 21–5 winners over third-placed UWC. UFH Blues secured their second victory of the season, beating TUT Vikings 29–18 in Alice to also pick up a bonus point for scoring four tries. Their log positions remained unchanged, however, with UFH Blues still in fourth and TUT Vikings in last place with two log points.

	2 March 2015	UFH Blues	29–18	TUT Vikings	Davidson Rugby Field, Alice
	17:00	Try: Hlubi Mvana  8' Akhona Matutu  19', 45' Aziyena Mandaba  28' Con: Akhona Matutu  20', 29' (2/3) Sivakele Ulana  46' (1/1) Pen: Akhona Matutu (0/1) Cards: Lwando Mabenge 58' to 68' Siphesihle Punguzwa 69' to 79'	Report[24] Scoreboard[25]	Try: Dylan du Buisson  25', 36' Lewies van Deventer  77' Con: Ruan Pienaar  26' (1/1) Paul Walters (0/1) Dylan du Buisson (0/1) Cards: Claude Johannes 29' to 39'	Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Sindile Ngcese

	2 March 2015	UKZN Impi	21–5	UWC	Howard College Rugby Stadium, Durban
	18:30	Try: Ado Wessels  3' Marcel Coetzee  53' Langelihle Shange  60' Con: Spa Dube  4', 61' (2/3)	Report[26] Scoreboard[27]	Try: Lifa Ghana  24' Con: Quaid Langeveldt (0/1) Cards: José Julies 43' to 54'	Referee: Kurt Weaver

Round seven

After their bye in Round Six, leaders Wits returned to form in spectacular style, running in twelve tries in a 93–0 demolition of UFH Blues in Johannesburg. Luxolo Ntsepe scored a hat-trick, while Constant Beckerling and Josh Jarvis got two tries apiece and fly-half Brandan Hewitt scored one try and nine conversions for a personal points tally of 32 points. Second-placed UKZN Impi kept the pressure on Wits however, scoring nine tries in their 66–41 victory over TUT Vikings to remain just one point behind Wits on the log. Marius Louw grabbed a hat-trick in their victory and Spa Dube contributed 21 points with the boot. UWC remained in third place in the league with their bye, while TUT's four-try bonus point wasn't enough to move them ahead of fourth-placed UFH Blues.

	9 March 2015	TUT Vikings	41–66	UKZN Impi	TUT Stadium, Pretoria
	18:30	Try: Armand Marshall  10' Mandla Mdaka  27', 57', 77' Ross Middlecote  69' Neil de Witt  71' Con: Paul Walters (0/1) Dylan du Buisson  28', 72', 78' (3/5) Pen: Paul Walters  4' (1/1) Cards: Jaco van Staden 17' to 27'	Report[28] Scoreboard[29]	Try: Rico Lategan  13', 46' Marius Louw  18', 24', 35' Njabulo Mkize  31' Matthew Mandioma  48' Ado Wessels  50' Philip Marais  73' Con: Spa Dube  14', 19', 25', 32', 47', 49', 51' (7/8) Rowan Gouws (0/1)	Referee: Vusi Msibi

	9 March 2015	Wits	93–0	UFH Blues	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
	18:30	Try: Constant Beckerling  7', 18' penalty try  22' Brandan Hewitt  31' Luxolo Ntsepe  39', 53', 72' Josh Jarvis  40', 43' Rhyno Herbst  49' Tommy Damba  60' Ben Baggott  77' Con: Brandan Hewitt  8', 19', 22', 32', 39', 40', 44', 49', 54' (9/9) Ruan van Rensburg  72', 77' (2/3)	Report[30] Scoreboard[31]		Referee: Kurt Weaver

Round eight

Hosts Wits emerged victorious in the match between the top two teams in the league, beating UKZN Impi 40–26 to extend their lead at the top of the log to four points. Both teams picked up a four-try bonus point in the match that was only settled with a last-minute Tommy Damba try. This result also meant that Wits secured their place in the final of the competition. UWC kept up their attempt to clinch the other spot in the final by beating TUT Vikings 63–10 in Cape Town. They ran in nine tries, with Quaid Langeveldt, James Verity-Amm and Gordon-Wayne Plaatjes getting a brace each. This result saw them close the gap to second-placed UKZN to six points, with a game in hand. A bye round for UFH Blues saw them remain in fourth spot, well clear of bottom side TUT Vikings.

	16 March 2015	UWC	63–10	TUT Vikings	UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town
	18:30	Try: Quaid Langeveldt  22', 41' James Verity-Amm  27', 47' Stuart Austin  35' Brandon Valentyn  54' Matthew Faught  65' Gordon-Wayne Plaatjes  73', 78' Con: Darian Hock  23', 28', 48', 55' (4/6) Quaid Langeveldt  74', 79' (2/3)	Report[32] Scoreboard[33]	Try: Lewies van Deventer  5' Con: Dylan du Buisson  6' (1/1) Pen: Dylan du Buisson  1' (1/1) Cards: Edwin Oliver 19' to 29'	Referee: Kurt Weaver

	16 March 2015	Wits	40–26	UKZN Impi	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
	18:30	Try: Ayabulela Mdudi  2', 31' Koch Marx  24' Luvuyo Pupuma  57' Tommy Damba  80' Con: Brandan Hewitt  3', 25', 32', 57', 80' (5/5)	Report[34] Scoreboard[35]	Try: Lwazi Ngcungama  15' Spa Dube  47' Marius Louw  63' Philip Marais  75' Con: Spa Dube  16', 48' (2/3) Cards: Ado Wessels 33' to 43' David Harel 57' to 67'	Referee: Renier Vermeulen

Round nine

With their sixth win of the season, Wits ensured that they would finish the regular season top of the log, which meant that the final would be played in Johannesburg. They ran out 50–5 winners over TUT Vikings with two tries apiece from Tommy Damba and Koch Marx. The identity of their opposition in the final was still unknown, since second-placed UKZN Impi had a bye, which saw UWC reduce the gap to just one point. UWC ran out 58–8 winners over UFH Blues with James Verity-Amm getting his third hat-trick of the season and take his try tally up to eleven in just six appearances. That result also ensured that UFH Blues would finish the season in fourth spot with TUT Vikings guaranteed to finish bottom of the log.

	23 March 2015	TUT Vikings	5–50	Wits	TUT Stadium, Pretoria
	18:30	Try: Claude Johannes  75' Con: Vian Riekert (0/1)	Report[36] Scoreboard[37]	Try: Koch Marx  33', 38' Tommy Damba  36' Richard Crossman  45' Ish Nkolo  48', 56' Josh Jarvis  65' Con: Brandan Hewitt  37', 39', 45' (3/5) Ruan van Rensburg  57', 66' (2/2)	Referee: AJ Jacobs

	23 March 2015	UFH Blues	8–58	UWC	Davidson Rugby Field, Alice
	18:30	Try: Ntyatyambo Mkhafu  3' Con: Akhona Matutu  4' (1/1) Cards: Siviwe Bisset 39' to 50' Lwando Nteta  41'	Report[38] Scoreboard[39]	Try: Minenhle Mthethwa  14' James Verity-Amm  21', 34', 53' Quaid Langeveldt  46', 49' Gordon-Wayne Plaatjes  58' Yaasien Railoun  73' Con: Darian Hock  15', 22', 35', 47', 50', 54' (6/7) Herman Share (0/1) Cards: Brandon Beukman  1' Stuart Austin 41' to 51'	Referee: Tahla Ntshakaza

Round ten

The final line-up was completed as UKZN Impi joined already-qualified Wits in the final. A hat-trick from centre Marius Louw secured a 42–0 victory for UKZN over fourth-placed UFH Blues in Durban to ensure the side finished second on the log. Meanwhile, log leaders Wits and third-placed UWC played out their second draw of the season, with their match finishing 21–all in Cape Town after drawing 37–all in their Round Five match in Johannesburg. TUT Vikings had a bye round and finished bottom of the log.

	30 March 2015	UKZN Impi	42–0	UFH Blues	Howard College Rugby Stadium, Durban
	18:30	Try: Marius Louw  6', 38', 46' Philip Marais  14' Langelihle Shange  27' Ado Wessels  78' Con: Spa Dube  7', 28', 39', 47' (4/6) Cards: Langelihle Shange 31' to 41'	Report[40] Scoreboard[41]	Cards: Lwando Nteta 31' to 41' Siphesihle Punguzwa  64'	Referee: Fernando Uithaler

	30 March 2015	UWC	21–21	Wits	UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town
	18:30	Try: Quaid Langeveldt  19' Gordon-Wayne Plaatjes  44' Chadwin Robertson  74' Con: Darian Hock  44' (1/2) Quaid Langeveldt  75' (1/1) Cards: Heynes Kotze  48'	Report[42] Scoreboard[43]	Try: Angus Gordon  9' Josh Jarvis  16' Rhyno Herbst  78' Con: Brandan Hewitt  10', 79' (2/3)	Referee: Quinton Immelman

Final

The 2015 Varsity Shield was won by UKZN Impi, who won their first ever title after handing Wits their first defeat of the season; a 29–24 defeat in the match played in Johannesburg. UKZN Impi took the lead fifteen minute in through captain Lwazi Ngcungama and didn't relinquish it for the remainder of the match. Fly-half Inny Radebe was the top scorer in the match with eleven points.

	6 April 2015	Wits	24–29	UKZN Impi	Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
	16:45	Try: Tommy Damba  40' Constant Beckerling  47' Ferdinand Kelly  78' Con: Brandan Hewitt  40', 48', 78' (3/3)	Report[44] Scoreboard[45]	Try: Lwazi Ngcungama  15' Chris de Beer  32' Inny Radebe  43' Alwayno Visagie  68' Con: Inny Radebe  16', 44' (2/3) Spa Dube  69' (1/1) Drop: Inny Radebe (0/1)	Referee: Ricus van der Hoven

Honours

The honour roll for the 2015 Varsity Shield was as follows:

Players

Player statistics

The following table contain points which were scored in the 2015 Varsity Shield:^[46]

Squad lists

The teams released the following squad lists:

TUT Vikings^[47]

UFH Blues^[48]

UKZN Impi^[49]

UWC^[50]

Wits^[51]

Discipline

The following table contains all the cards handed out during the tournament:^[52]

Sendings-off and multiple sin-binnings
Player	Team
Brandon Beukman	UWC	1	0
Heynes Kotze	UWC	1	0
Aziyena Mandaba	UFH Blues	1	0
Siphesihle Punguzwa	UFH Blues	0	4
Lwando Nteta	UFH Blues	0	2

Single sin-binnings
Player	Team
Tahriq Allan	UWC	0	1
Stuart Austin	UWC	0	1
Ben Baggott	Wits	0	1
Constant Beckerling	Wits	0	1
Siviwe Bisset	UFH Blues	0	1
Johan du Toit	UKZN Impi	0	1
David Harel	UKZN Impi	0	1
Claude Johannes	TUT Vikings	0	1
José Julies	UWC	0	1
Lwando Mabenge	UFH Blues	0	1
Sanele Malwane	UKZN Impi	0	1
Armand Marshall	TUT Vikings	0	1
Edwin Oliver	TUT Vikings	0	1
Ruan Pienaar	TUT Vikings	0	1
Cameron Shafto	Wits	0	1
Langelihle Shange	UKZN Impi	0	1
Sivakele Ulana	UFH Blues	0	1
Brandon Valentyn	UWC	0	1
AJ van Blerk	Wits	0	1
Octaven van Stade	UWC	0	1
Jaco van Staden	TUT Vikings	0	1
Ado Wessels	UKZN Impi	0	1
* Legend: = Sent off, = Sin-binned

Referees

The following referees officiated matches in the 2015 Varsity Shield:

• Stephan Geldenhuys
• Quinton Immelman
• AJ Jacobs
• Cwengile Jadezweni
• Jaco Kotze
• Vusi Msibi
• Sindile Ngcese
• Tahla Ntshakaza
• Francois Pretorius
• Fernando Uithaler
• Ricus van der Hoven
• Renier Vermeulen
• Kurt Weaver