Despite being defeated during their first two matches of the 2026 FNB Varsity Shield, the Sol Plaatje University’s (SPU) Gemmies are still focused on growth and a solid team performance for their second season of participation.
Gemmies, who made their debut in this premier second-tier university rugby competition in 2025, officially launched their second season of participation early in February, confirming their aim for a semifinal spot or better.
Featuring top student-athletes from universities outside the main Varsity Cup, the Varsity Shield serves as a crucial development league with the top team earning promotion to the Varsity Cup, promoting fast-paced “rugby that rocks”.
In their first appearance on the national university rugby stage in 2025, the SPU finished in the top five and secured qualification for the 2026 campaign.
The SPU’s Jayden Faviers was crowned the 2025 Suzuki Rookie of the Year; the first-ever SPU player to receive this national honour.
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The award was based on nominations by coaches and a public voting process.
Faviers scored five tries (25 points) during the 2025 season.
He previously played for the Strand Liga Rugby Football Club before joining SPU in early 2024.
Away encounters for next two matches
In this year’s opening match on 13 February, the SPU lost 15 – 46 against the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN), and on 20 February during a home fixture, they suffered a 22 – 48 loss to the Walter Sisulu University.
After these two matches, the SPU sits seventh out of eight on the Varsity Shield log, with one point.
At the launch and handing over of jerseys, vice-chancellor and principal, Prof. Debra Meyer, reflected on the significance of a young university competing on a platform of this scale.
She noted the SPU’s participation in the Varsity Shield at this stage of its institutional development reflects steady growth and confidence, and forms part of the university’s broader trajectory of building excellence across academic, student and sporting life.
- The SPU’s next matches will be away encounters – against the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) on 27 February, and the University of the Western Cape (UCT) on 6 March.
- This is followed by a home fixture against the University of Fort Hare on 13 March, an away encounter with the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) on 20 March, and a home fixture on the Suzuki Stadium against the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) on 27 March.
