The two Bloemfontein university men’s rugby teams of the University of the Free State (UFS) and Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, are looking into rebuilding their teams to go beyond their limits in next year’s Varsity Cup tournament.
The CUT’s Ixias retain a place in the elite rank of the competition after demolishing the Madibaz of the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) 91 – 10 in their promotion-relegation tie played on 17 April.
The CUT side avoided demotion to playing in the Varsity Shield, which also features eight university teams.
They were compelled to play against Madibaz after finishing seventh in the elite stream, with 18 points after three wins. The team from Gqeberha ended up finishing in second place in the Varsity Shield, with 28 points.
The UFS’ Shimlas reached the semifinals of the cup competition, but fell short of glory this year.
The team, which won its first-ever cup in 2015, lost 30 – 65 to the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Ikeys in a must-win semifinal in Bloemfontein.
Nevertheless, the team’s players were still rewarded with accolades.
Lourens Oosthuizen received the overall Player that Rocks accolade and George Lourens received the Forward that Rocks award, while Zane Bester scooped the Back that Rocks award. The winners of awards were announced on 18 April.
The Shimlas became another team to achieve the remarkable feat of beating the Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Maties 43 – 12 in Stellenbosch this year.
Despite the difficulties experienced, the Ixias also had an impressive run in the tournament’s 2023 edition. This season was memorable for a 43 – 39 victory against the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Tuks, and a 23 – 19 win over Maties. The CUT side became the fifth team to achieve this remarkable feat against the imposing Maties.
Both Free State teams can only hope they improve in the forthcoming Varsity Cup championship, set to commence in February 2024.
