The fixtures for the fourth-ever FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International have been announced; with the 2011 tournament kicking-off in Bloemfontein in February when Shimlas play host to UCT in a repeat of one of last season’s semifinals.

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Shimlas will entertain the Ikeys at Shimla Park at 5pm on Monday, February 7, with three matches then taking place at 7pm – one of which sees a repeat of the other semifinal from last season, between the defending champion Maties and NWU-Pukke in Stellenbosch. (Both of these matches will be televised, live.)

The remaining opening-day matches will take place between NMMU and Tuks (in Port Elizabeth) and between TUT and UJ (in Tshwane), as the tournament moves away from its opening day double headers of years gone by.

However, SuperSport will once again be on board as official broadcasters, with 19 of the 31 Varsity Cup matches televised live – along with the finals of the all-new Varsity Shield and the Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships.

Another difference this year will see a one-week break between the semifinals and final of the Varsity Cup – the 2011 Varsity Cup Final will take place on Monday, April 11 – to allow the first-ever Varsity Shield Final to take place on April 4. (See the full fixture lists below.)

We will once again see 23-man playing squads in 2011, along with the very popular Pink Shorts Campaign – this year all proceeds will go towards combating violence against women, not to mention the usual fervent support from all eight universities; seven of whom will be even more determined to knock the Maties from their lofty perch as undisputed Varsity Cup kings.

“It’s always an exciting time for us – contemplating the start of yet another successful Varsity Cup tournament,” commented Varsity Cup MD Duitser Bosman.

“There was no need for us to tinker too much for what has worked so well for us, but we are very excited about the advent of the Varsity Shield, which will no doubt add a different dimension to the development of rugby at this level.

“I know the universities have already been hard at work in preparation and I have no doubt that this tournament will take yet another step up in terms of the quality of rugby and the production of new rugby stars.”

* A promotion/relegation match will take place after the 2011 Varsity Cup – between the bottom team in the ‘A-Section’ and the top Varsity Shield side – to decide the line-up for the 2012 season.

This promotion/relegation fixture will be played as the first curtain-raiser to the Varsity Cup Final, followed by the Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships Final and, then, the 2011 VC Final.

2011 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International fixtures:
(Home teams first, TV games in brackets)

Monday, February 7 – Round One:
17.00: Shimlas v UCT, Xerox Shimla Park, Bloemfontein (TV)
19.00: Maties v NWU-Pukke, Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch (TV)
19.00: NMMU v Tuks, Xerox NMMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth
19.00: TUT v UJ, TUT Stadium, Tshwane

Monday, February 14 – Round Two:
17.00: NMMU v UJ, Xerox NMMU Stadium (TV)
19.00: NWU Pukke v UCT, Fanie du Toit Stadium, Potchefstroom (TV)
19.00: Tuks v TUT, Tuks Rugby Stadium, Pretoria
19.00: Shimlas v Maties, Xerox Shimla Park

Monday, February 21 – Round Three:
17.00: TUT v Maties, TUT Rugby Stadium (TV)
19.00: UJ v Shimlas, UJ Stadium, Johannesburg (TV)
19.00: NWU-Pukke v Tuks, Fanie du Toit Stadium
19.00: UCT v NMMU, UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town

Monday, February 28 – Round Four:
17.00: UCT v TUT, UCT Rugby Grounds (TV)
19.00: Shimlas v Tuks, Xerox Shimla Stadium (TV)
19.00: UJ v NWU-Pukke, UJ Stadium
19.00: Maties v NMMU, Craven Stadium

Monday, March 7 – Round Five:
17.00: UCT v Maties, UCT Rugby Grounds (TV)
19.00: Shimlas v NWU-Pukke, Xerox Shimla Stadium (TV)
19.00: UJ v Tuks, UJ Stadium
19.00: NMMU v TUT, Xerox NMMU Stadium

Monday, March 14 – Round Six:
17.00: NWU-Pukke v NMMU, Fanie du Toit Stadium (TV)
19.00: Tuks v Maties, Tuks Rugby Stadium (TV)
19.00: TUT v Shimlas, TUT Rugby Stadium
19.00: UCT v UJ, UCT Rugby Fields

Monday, March 21 – Round Seven:
17.00: Tuks v UCT, Tuks Rugby Stadium (TV)
19.00: Maties v UJ, Craven Stadium (TV)
19.00: NMMU v Shimlas, Xerox NMMU Stadium
19.00: TUT v NWU-Pukke, TUT Stadium

Monday, March 28 – Semifinals:
16.45: Semifinal One – Log position 2 v Log position 3, venue TBC (TV)
19.00: Semifinal Two – Log position 1 v Log position 4, venue TBC (TV)

Monday, April 11 – Final:
19.00: Final – Winner 1 v 4 v Winner 2 v 3, venue TBC (TV)

2011 Varsity Shield fixtures:
(Home teams first, TV games in brackets)

Monday, January 31 – Round One:
17.00: University of Fort Hare (UFH) v University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Davidson Rugby Field (TV – live)
17.00: University of the Western Cape (UWC) v University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), UWC Sport Stadium (TV – delayed)

Thursday, February 3 – Round Two:
19.00: Wits v UWC, Wits Rugby Stadium
19.00: Central University of Technology (CUT) v UFH, CUT Stadium

Monday, February 7 – Round Three:
19.00: UWC v CUT, UWC Sport Stadium
19.00: UKZN v Wits, Peter Booysen Sports Park

Monday, February 14 – Round Four:
19.00: Wits v CUT, Wits Rugby Stadium
19.00: UZKN v UFH, Peter Booysen Sports Park

Monday, February 21 – Round Five:
19.00: UFH v UWC, Davidson Rugby Field
19.00: CUT v UKZN, CUT Stadium

Monday, February 28 – Round Six:
19.00: Wits v UFH, Wits Rugby Stadium
19.00: UKZN v UWC, Peter Booysen Sports Park

Monday, March 7 – Round Seven:
19.00: UWC v Wits, UWC Sport Stadium
19.00: UFH v CUT, Davidson Rugby Field

Monday, March 14 – Round Eight:
19.00: CUT v UWC, CUT Stadium
19.00: Wits v UKZN, Wits Rugby Stadium

Monday, March 21 – Round Nine:
19.00: CUT v Wits, CUT Stadium
19.00: UFH v UKZN, Davidson Rugby Field

Monday, March 28 – Round Ten:
19.00: UWC v UFH, UWC Sport Stadium
19.00: UKZN v CUT, Peter Booysen Sports Park

Monday, April 4 – Final:
16.45: Team One v Team Two, venue TBC (TV)

* Visit www.varsitycup.co.za to find out more about the Varsity Shield – and other brand-new initiatives in store for 2011!