2014 Varsity Cup


The 2014 Varsity Cup was contested from 3 February to 7 April 2014. The tournament was the seventh season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring eight South African universities.
The tournament was won by for the second time; they beat 39–33 in the final played on 7 April 2014. were automatically relegated to the second-tier Varsity Shield competition for 2015, but won their relegation play-off match against to remain in the Varsity Cup for 2015.

Rules

The Varsity Cup used a different scoring system to the regular system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points.
All Varsity Cup games also had two referees officiating each game, props' jerseys featured a special gripping patch to ensure better binding, intended to reduce collapsing scrums and the mark will be extended to the entire field.

Competition

There were eight participating universities in the 2014 Varsity Cup. 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.
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 finished 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.
The bottom team in the Varsity Cup was relegated to the 2015 Varsity Shield competition, while the Varsity Shield winner was promoted to the 2015 Varsity Cup. There was also a promotion/relegation match between the 7th-placed team in the Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield runner-up at the end of the 2014 season.

Teams

The following teams took part in the 2014 Varsity Cup competition:

Standings

The final league standings for the 2014 Varsity Cup were:

Round-by-round

Fixtures and results

The 2014 Varsity Cup fixtures were as follows:
  • All times are South African .

    Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Semi-finals

Final

Players

Player statistics

The following table contain points which have been scored in competitive games in the 2014 Varsity Cup:

Squad lists

The teams released the following squad lists:
Forwards
Backs
tbc
  • Jacobus de Kock
  • Lars Esdar
  • Dirk Kotzé
Coach
  • Chris Rossouw
Forwards
Backs
Coach
Forwards
Backs
Coach
  • Robert du Preez
Forwards
Backs
  • James Alexander
  • Suwi Chibale
  • Dean Grant
  • Nick Holton
  • Huw Jones
  • Ross Jones-Davies
  • Nate Nel
  • Martin Sauls
  • Guy Schwikkard
  • Liam Slatem
  • Richard Stewart
  • Dave Strachan
  • Lihleli Xoli
  • Did not play:
  • Tom Bednall
  • Paul Cohen
  • Ryan Dugmore
  • Paul Hendry
  • Trent Jenkinson
  • Brendan Rodgers
Coach
  • Kevin Musikanth
Forwards
Backs
Coach
Forwards
Backs
Coach
Forwards
Backs
Coach
Forwards
  • Rinus Bothma
  • JJ Breet
  • Conor Brockschmidt
  • Senna Esterhuizen
  • Jason Fraser
  • JP Jonck
  • Ferdinand Kelly
  • Ashley Kohler
  • Hannes Ludick
  • James Marx
  • Thato Mavundla
  • Devin Montgomery
  • Gideon Muller
  • Rendani Ramovha
  • Pieter van Biljon
  • Kyle Wood
  • Did not play:
  • KK Kgame
  • Max Mhamhe
  • Luvuyo Pupuma
  • Cameron Shafto
  • Phaka Zuma
Backs
  • Riaan Arends
  • Brent Crossley
  • Ashlon Davids
  • Mandla Dube
  • Jacques Erasmus
  • Divan Ferguson
  • Nkuli Gamede
  • Joshua Jarvis
  • Ruhan Nel
  • Wilton Pietersen
  • Matt Torrance
  • Did not play:
  • Alistair Ballantyne
  • Greg Blom
  • Ryno Brits
  • Kenneth du Plessis
  • Grant Janke
  • Jared Meyer
  • Ish Nkolo
  • Lonwabo Semane
Coach
  • Andy Royle