2017 Varsity Shield
CountriesSouth Africa
Date9 February – 10 April 2017
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South African Rugby 2017

The 2017 Varsity Shield was the 2017 edition of the Varsity Shield, an annual second-tier inter-university rugby union competition featuring university sides in South Africa. The tournament – known as the FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons – was the seventh season of the Varsity Shield and was contested from 9 February to 10 April 2017.

Competition rules and information

There were seven participating universities in the 2017 Varsity Shield. 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.

Teams

2017 Varsity Shield is located in South Africa
CPUT
Rhodes
TUT Vikings
UKZN Impi
UFH Blues
UWC
WSU All Blacks
Location of teams in the 2017 Varsity Shield

The following teams took part in the 2017 Varsity Shield competition:

2017 Varsity Shield teams
Team name University Stadium
CPUT Cape Peninsula University of Technology CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town
Rhodes Rhodes University Rhodes Great Field, Grahamstown
TUT Vikings Tshwane University of Technology TUT Stadium, Pretoria
UFH Blues University of Fort Hare Davidson Rugby Field, Alice
UKZN Impi University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College Rugby Stadium, Durban
Peter Booysen Sports Park, Pietermaritzburg
UWC University of the Western Cape UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town
WSU All Blacks Walter Sisulu University Buffalo City Stadium, East London

Standings

The final standings for the 2017 Varsity Shield were:[1]

2017 Varsity Shield standings
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 UWC 6 5 0 1 274 102 +172 6 1 27
2 UFH Blues 6 4 0 2 144 102 +42 3 1 20
3 UKZN Impi 6 4 0 2 132 97 +35 3 1 20
4 WSU All Blacks [note 1] 6 3 0 3 118 138 −20 2 0 14
5 CPUT [note 2] 6 2 0 4 91 152 −61 1 1 10
6 TUT Vikings 6 2 0 4 94 142 −48 0 1 9
7 Rhodes 6 1 0 5 90 210 −120 1 1 6

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:

Team Progression – 2017 Varsity Shield
Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 Semi Final
UWC 5
(2nd) 		7
(2nd) 		12
(1st) 		17
(1st) 		22
(1st) 		22
(1st) 		27
(1st) 		Won
UFH Blues 5
(1st) 		10
(1st) 		11
(2nd) 		16
(2nd) 		20
(2nd) 		20
(2nd) 		20
(2nd) 		Won
UKZN Impi 0
(6th) 		5
(4th) 		9
(3rd) 		14
(3rd) 		14
(3rd) 		15
(3rd) 		20
(3rd) 		Lost —
WSU All Blacks 0
(7th) 		0
(7th) 		4
(6th) 		4
(6th) 		9
(4th) 		14
(4th) 		14
(4th) 		Lost —
CPUT 1
(4th) 		1
(6th) 		1
(7th) 		1
(7th) 		1
(7th) 		5
(6th) 		10
(5th) 		— —
TUT Vikings 4
(3rd) 		4
(5th) 		5
(5th) 		5
(5th) 		5
(6th) 		9
(5th) 		9
(6th) 		— —
Rhodes 1
(5th) 		6
(3rd) 		6
(4th) 		6
(4th) 		6
(5th) 		6
(6th) 		6
(7th) 		— —
Key: win draw loss bye

Matches

The following matches were played in the 2017 Varsity Shield:[4]

Round one

9 February 2017 UWC 26–23 CPUT UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town  
16:45 Report[5]
Scoreboard[6]


9 February 2017 TUT Vikings 16–12 Rhodes TUT Stadium, Pretoria  
18:30 Report[7]
Scoreboard[8]


9 February 2017 UFH Blues 32–0 [note 1] WSU All Blacks Davidson Rugby Field, Alice  
19:00 Report[9]
Scoreboard[10]
Bye/s: UKZN Impi

Round two

13 February 2017 UFH Blues 32–31 UWC Davidson Rugby Field, Alice  
18:30 Report[11]
Scoreboard[12]


13 February 2017 Rhodes 32–0 [note 2] CPUT Rhodes Great Field, Grahamstown  
18:30 Report[13]
Scoreboard[14]


13 February 2017 WSU All Blacks 0–32 [note 1] UKZN Impi Buffalo City Stadium, East London  
18:30 Report
Scoreboard[15]
Bye/s: TUT Vikings

Round three

20 February 2017 UWC 88–8 Rhodes UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town  
18:30 Report
Scoreboard[16]


20 February 2017 TUT Vikings 13–17 WSU All Blacks TUT Stadium, Pretoria  
18:30 Report
Scoreboard[17]


20 February 2017 UKZN Impi 16–10 UFH Blues Peter Booysen Sports Park, Pietermaritzburg  
18:30 Report
Scoreboard[18]
Bye/s: CPUT

Round four

27 February 2017 UWC 30–10 TUT Vikings UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town  
18:30


27 February 2017 Rhodes 10–30 UFH Blues Rhodes Great Field, Grahamstown  
18:30


27 February 2017 CPUT 0–32 [note 2] UKZN Impi CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town  
18:30
Bye/s: WSU All Blacks

Round five

6 March 2017 UFH Blues 28–16 TUT Vikings Davidson Rugby Field, Alice  
18:30


6 March 2017 WSU All Blacks 32–0 [note 2] CPUT Buffalo City Stadium, East London  
18:30


6 March 2017 UKZN Impi 5–53 UWC Howard College Rugby Stadium, Durban  
18:30
Bye/s: Rhodes

Round six

13 March 2017 TUT Vikings 21–16 UKZN Impi TUT Stadium, Pretoria  
18:30


13 March 2017 Rhodes 15–45 WSU All Blacks Rhodes Great Field, Grahamstown  
18:30


13 March 2017 CPUT 29–12 UFH Blues CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town  
18:30
Bye/s: UWC

Round seven

20 March 2017 WSU All Blacks 24–46 UWC Buffalo City Stadium, East London  
18:30


20 March 2017 UKZN Impi 31–13 Rhodes Howard College Rugby Stadium, Durban  
18:30


20 March 2017 CPUT 39–18 TUT Vikings CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town  
18:30
Bye/s: UFH Blues

Semi-finals

27 March 2017 UWC 50–26 WSU All Blacks UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town  
18:30


27 March 2017 UFH Blues 45–8 UKZN Impi Davidson Rugby Field, Alice  
18:30

Final

10 April 2017 UWC 45–2 UFH Blues UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town  
16:45

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c WSU All Blacks were found guilty of fielding ineligible players in their first two matches of the season. Both matches were awarded as a 32–0 victory to their opponents.[2]
  2. ^ a b c d CPUT were found guilty of fielding ineligible players in three of their matches during the season. All those matches were awarded as a 32–0 victory to their opponents.[3]

References

  1. ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2017 FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  2. ^ "FNB WSU docked points for fielding ineligible players" (Press release). Varsity Cup. 6 March 2017. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Ineligibility takes the Shield's spotlight, again". Rugby365. 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Varsity Shield Fixtures". Varsity Cup. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  5. ^ "FNB UWC edge out a resilient FNB CPUT side in an entertaining derby match". Varsity Cup. 9 February 2017. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  6. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UWC 26–23 FNB CPUT". South African Rugby Union. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  7. ^ "FNB Vikings leave it late to defeat newcomers FNB Rhodes". Varsity Cup. 10 February 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB TUT 16–12 FNB Rhodes". South African Rugby Union. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Maiden win for newcomers FNB WSU in a five-try thriller". Varsity Cup. 9 February 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UFH 12–33 FNB WSU". South African Rugby Union. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  11. ^ "UFH fight till the death to earn maiden win against FNB UWC". Varsity Cup. 14 February 2017. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UFH 32–31 FNB UWC". South African Rugby Union. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  13. ^ "FNB Rhodes suffer last minute loss to FNB CPUT". Varsity Cup. 14 February 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  14. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB Rhodes 10–13 FNB CPUT". South African Rugby Union. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  15. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB WSU 42–21 FNB UKZN". South African Rugby Union. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  16. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UWC 88–8 FNB Rhodes". South African Rugby Union. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  17. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB TUT 13–17 FNB WSU". South African Rugby Union. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  18. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UKZN 16–10 FNB UFH". South African Rugby Union. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.

External links

Varsity Rugby
Rugby union in South Africa
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