Tigers Ready to Roar in Bloem
By Liam Gildenhuys
UCT’s Ikey Tigers will be looking to bring the Varsity Cup trophy back to Cape Town for the first time since 2014 when they face off against the University of the Free State’s Shimlas in this season’s final on Monday 22 April. Bloemfontein’s Shimla Park will provide the backdrop for the event. This venue saw the Shimlas secure their only previous competition title a year after the Ikeys last claimed it.
The Ikeys are in their second consecutive final, avenging their 2023 defeat by knocking North West University’s Pukke out in an entertaining semi-final. The Ikeys ended the round-robin phase of this season fourth in the standings, with a record of four wins, one draw, and two losses, qualifying comfortably for the play-offs. The second of those losses, away to the Pukke in round seven, set up an immediate rematch in the semi-finals. The result propelled NWU to the top of the table, while the Ikeys held on to the fourth spot that was already secured.
Round seven’s 30-18 result in favour of the home side was turned almost exactly on its head in the play-off as UCT put in a huge performance to emerge victorious with 32-18. Fullback Duran Koevort, scorer of two tries, felt that the team’s belief was strong going into the second match. “I think, after the round-robin game, we didn’t really execute our plan. I think we all felt that we could [do] it going into the semis—as long as we execute and stick to our game plan [and] don’t get stuck into the Pukke’s way of playing.” The Capetonians did just that, and the same will be required in a finale against a Shimlas side looking to get one back for a defeat of their own.
“Going into Shimlas, I think it’s going to be very much the same—just sticking to our game plan, not allowing Shimlas to dominate, and just really playing our game,” Koevort said ahead of the final. The team from Bloemfontein finished third after the round-robin stage, winning five matches and losing two—one of those defeats being a home loss to their final opponents. The Ikeys left Shimla Park with a 38-32 victory in the first week of the season, but like the UCT representatives, the UFS side had to overcome some adversity in reaching the final. The second of their round-robin losses was at home to Stellenbosch’s Maties, going down by 38 points to 29 in round six, before going south once again for their semi-final clash and departing the winelands with a 24-12 win and a shot at the trophy.
Both the Shimlas and the Ikeys have displayed the grit, mental fortitude, and quality needed to reach this stage throughout the season. Both teams came through semi-finals away from home, against opponents they had lost to earlier in the season—and who had been the top two-ranked sides after the round-robin phase. The Varsity Cup final of 2024 promises to be a passionate and hard-fought affair, and everything will surely be left out on the field. The game kicks off at 19:00 tonight, and will be broadcast live on DSTV Channel 207.