2017 Varsity Shield

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.

2017 Varsity Shield
CountriesSouth Africa
Date9 February – 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
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
CPUTCape Peninsula University of TechnologyCPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town
RhodesRhodes UniversityRhodes Great Field, Grahamstown
TUT VikingsTshwane University of TechnologyTUT Stadium, Pretoria
UFH BluesUniversity of Fort HareDavidson Rugby Field, Alice
UKZN ImpiUniversity of KwaZulu-NatalHoward College Rugby Stadium, Durban
Peter Booysen Sports Park, Pietermaritzburg
UWCUniversity of the Western CapeUWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town
WSU All BlacksWalter Sisulu UniversityBuffalo 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 UWC6501274102+1466127
2 UFH Blues6402144102+423120
3 UKZN Impi640213297+353120
4 WSU All Blacks [note 1] 6303118138−202014
5 CPUT [note 2] 620491152−611110
6 TUT Vikings620494142−48019
7 Rhodes610590210−120116

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 N/A
WSU All Blacks 0
(7th)		 0
(7th)		 4
(6th)		 4
(6th)		 9
(4th)		 14
(4th)		 14
(4th)		 Lost N/A
CPUT 1
(4th)		 1
(6th)		 1
(7th)		 1
(7th)		 1
(7th)		 5
(6th)		 10
(5th)		 N/A N/A
TUT Vikings 4
(3rd)		 4
(5th)		 5
(5th)		 5
(5th)		 5
(6th)		 9
(5th)		 9
(6th)		 N/A N/A
Rhodes 1
(5th)		 6
(3rd)		 6
(4th)		 6
(4th)		 6
(5th)		 6
(6th)		 6
(7th)		 N/A N/A
Key: win draw loss bye

Matches

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

Round One
Bye/s: UKZN Impi

Round Two
Bye/s: TUT Vikings

Round Three
Bye/s: CPUT

Round Four
Bye/s: WSU All Blacks

Round Five
Bye/s: Rhodes

Round Six
Bye/s: UWC

Round Seven
Bye/s: UFH Blues

Semi-Finals

Final

See also

Notes
  1. 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. 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.
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