2019 Varsity Shield

2019 Varsity Shield
Countries	South Africa
Date	18 February – 11 April 2019

The 2019 Varsity Shield was the 9th season of the Varsity Shield, the second-tier competition in the annual Varsity Rugby series. It was played between 18 February and 11 April 2019 and featured seven university teams.

There was a debut in the competition for Template:Rut NMU Madibaz, who were relegated from the Varsity Cup in 2018.

Competition rules and information

There were seven participating university teams in the 2019 Varsity Shield. They played each other once during the pool stage, either at 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 after the pool stage qualified for the semifinals, which were followed by a final. 2019 is a non-relegation year.

Teams

Template:Rut CPUT

Template:Rut NMU Madibaz

Template:Rut Rhodes

Template:Rut TUT Vikings

Template:Rut UFH Blues

Template:Rut UKZN Impi

Template:Rut WSU All Blacks

class=notpageimage|

Location of teams in the 2019 Varsity Shield

The teams that played in the 2019 Varsity Cup are:

Pool stage

Standings

The final log for the 2019 Varsity Shield was:

2019 Varsity Shield log
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PD	Pts
1	Template:Rut NMU Madibaz	6	6	0	0	200	30
2	Template:Rut CPUT	6	5	0	1	105	25
3	Template:Rut WSU All Blacks	6	3	0	3	31	18
4	Template:Rut UKZN Impi	6	3	0	3	30	16
5	Template:Rut UFH Blues	6	2	0	4	−12	9
6	Template:Rut TUT Vikings	6	1	0	5	-175	5
7	Template:Rut Rhodes	6	1	0	5	-160	4
Correct as at 20 February 2019.

Legend and Competition rules
Legend:
	Qualified for the semifinals.		P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TF = Tries For, TA = Tries Against, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Log Points
Competition rules:
Qualification: The top four teams qualified for the semifinals. Points breakdown: * 4 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less * 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match

Matches

The following matches were played in the 2019 Varsity Shield:

Round One

	18 February 2019	Template:Rut NMU Madibaz	38–21	Template:Rut CPUT	Template:Rus NMU Stadium
	18:30		Having been relegated from the Varsity cup, NMU started the game as a team that had something to prove. They played hard and were the evetualy winners.

	18 February 2019	Template:Rut UFH Blues	22–36	Template:Rut WSU All Blacks	Template:Rus Davidson Rugby Field
	18:30

	18 February 2019	Template:Rut UKZN Impi	50–10	Template:Rut Rhodes	Template:Rus Howard College Rugby Stadium
	18:30

Bye/s: Template:Rut TUT Vikings

Round Two

	21 February 2019	Template:Rut Rhodes	13-12	Template:Rut UFH Blues	Template:Rus Rhodes Great Field
	16:45

	21 February 2019	Template:Rut CPUT	57-28	Template:Rut TUT Vikings	Template:Rus CPUT Sports Stadium
	18:30		CPUT and TUT looked evenly matched through out the game. In the first half it looked as though the game could go either way. However in the 2nd half, CPUT came out strong and dominated to eventually secure the game.

	21 February 2019	Template:Rut WSU All Blacks	3-32	Template:Rut NMU Madibaz	Template:Rus Buffalo City Stadium
	19:00

Bye/s: Template:Rut UKZN Impi

Round Three

	25 February 2019	Template:Rut NMU Madibaz	53-8	Template:Rut Rhodes	Template:Rus NMU Stadium
	18:30

	25 February 2019	Template:Rut WSU All Blacks	22–28	Template:Rut CPUT	Template:Rus Buffalo City Stadium
	18:30

	25 February 2019	Template:Rut TUT Vikings	7–52	Template:Rut UKZN Impi	Template:Rus TUT Stadium
	18:30		Playing away from their TUT stadium the game promised much. TUT cam out firing but the UKZN players absorbed the pressure and eventually came back to thoroughly dominate the game in all aspects.

Bye/s: Template:Rut UFH Blues

Round Four

	4 March 2019	Template:Rut UKZN Impi	12–41	Template:Rut NMU Madibaz	Template:Rus Peter Booysen Sports Park
	18:30

	4 March 2019	Template:Rut Rhodes	6–32	Template:Rut WSU All Blacks	Template:Rus Rhodes Great Field
	18:30

	4 March 2019	Template:Rut UFH Blues	33–7	Template:Rut TUT Vikings	Template:Rus Davidson Rugby Field
	18:30	Try: Brandt Fields,Sokhana Mpemba(2),Rocur Julies,Mihlali Nobomvu,Lukho Jongizulu Con: Rocur Julies (2), Brandt Fields (2)	Tut was soundly beaten in the forward battle. Many a scrum went backwards by the might of the UFH scrum. TUT will need to up their game to regain pride this season.	Try: Laro Delport Con: Mauritz Maritz

Bye/s: Template:Rut CPUT

Round Five

	11 March 2019	Template:Rut WSU All Blacks	27-28	Template:Rut UKZN Impi	Template:Rus Buffalo City Stadium
	18:30

	11 March 2019	Template:Rut TUT Vikings	25 –17	Template:Rut Rhodes	Template:Rus TUT Stadium
	18:30		TUT's first win of the season. Playing for pride the bottom feeders played a tough game.In an evenly matched game, the eventual winners were TUT

	11 March 2019	Template:Rut CPUT	41–25	Template:Rut UFH Blues	Template:Rus CPUT Sports Stadium
	18:30

Bye/s: Template:Rut NMU Madibaz

Round Six

	18 March 2019	Template:Rut NMU Madibaz	62–5	Template:Rut TUT Vikings	Template:Rus NMU Stadium
	18:30		Can any team stop NMU? certainly not TUT who were completely dominated in all aspects. Big loss for TUT

	18 March 2019	Template:Rut UKZN Impi	18–24	Template:Rut UFH Blues	Template:Rus Howard College Rugby Stadium
	18:30

	18 March 2019	Template:Rut Rhodes	10–52	Template:Rut CPUT	Template:Rus Rhodes Great Field
	18:30

Bye/s: Template:Rut WSU All Blacks

Round Seven

	25 March 2019	Template:Rut UFH Blues	9–32	Template:Rut NMU Madibaz	Template:Rus Davidson Rugby Field
	18:30

	25 March 2019	Template:Rut TUT Vikings	13–40	Template:Rut WSU All Blacks	Template:Rus TUT Stadium
	18:30		This game started off as an evenly matched affair. Till the second half where WSU came back to thrash TUT. New blood is needed in TUT.

	25 March 2019	Template:Rut CPUT	69–40	Template:Rut UKZN Impi	Template:Rus CPUT Sports Stadium
	18:30

Bye/s: Template:Rut Rhodes

Play-offs

Semifinals

	4 April 2019	FNB CPUT	40–8	FNB WSU	CPUT Sports Stadium, Cape Town

	4 April 2019	FNB Madibaz	46–0	FNB UKZN

Final

	11 April 2019	FNB Madibaz	–	FNB CPUT	Madibaz Stadium
	18:15