Game of Thrones Begin for USSA Rugby
Varsity College will host this year’s edition of the University Sports South
Africa Rugby tournament on the 7-12 July taking place at Durban. Universities
nationwide are engaged to participate and watch, especially the C-Division, as
the promotion playoffs spot is up for grabs. The C-Division comprises Varsity
College, Durban University of Technology, University of Mpumalanga, University
of Limpopo, Sol Plaatjie University and Vaal University of Technology.
Varsity College is one of the clear favourites due to its strong relationship
with the Sharks Academy and its excellent form in the local league. Head Coach
of Varsity College, Jeremy McLaren, indicates that his boys have put in the work
and they are ready for the USSA tournament a month from now, "The preparation
was to mix the under 20s, and the Opens groups in having the same game plan and
also look at our combination that will be suitable for the USSA week," said
McLaren. McLaren also indicated that he has many players representing the Sharks
Academy, "I do have a significant amount of players that are representing Sharks
Academy which puts us in a delicate situation of proper management of players,"
said McLaren. McLaren was weary of all the teams as he didn’t want to
underestimate them, "Each team will play for a win, and we have to play well to
win all our games; we are aware that there may be teams that are watching each
other, but our goal is to play Rhodes University in the Promotion/Relegation
playoffs, and we will be watching them closely," said Mclaren. Rhodes University
pulled an upset last year by defeating Varsity College, which did create a
significant change in the group then.Another favourite team is Sol Plaatjie University, as they have improved
their game massively over the last couple of years, Head Coach of Sol Plaatjie
Univerisity, Jacques Mew, describes his team as a team that is full of
determination and drive, "My boys didn’t have good foundation of rugby like
other universities, what I mean by that is that other universities have good
depth and quality players of about 140 or more players but we have about 40
players, and they only started playing rugby here at the university level, but
these boys learn quick and produce beautiful rugby" said Mews. Mews added that
it is going to be interesting to play the tournament using USSA rules and
regulations. Still, should they win the C-Division, they will play Rhodes
University using the Varsity Cup rules and regulations, "This becomes a slight
headache in what team do you choose to win the division but also thinking ahead
in terms of combinations and the best team that can face Rhodes using the
Varsity Cup regulations, said Mews. Varsity Cup/Shield rules and regulations
require a player to have a minimum of 60 credits, be a bonified student of the
respective university they are representing, and be under 25 years of age.
Last but not the least of the facourite teams that will have an eye on the prize
is Durban University Technology. Head Coach of Durban University of Technology,
Luvuyiso Lusaseni, indicates that his preparation is going well, "We have a
couple of new faces in the squad, and the boys are looking forward to it; the
training programme is working and there is progress" said Lusaseni. Lusaseni
said that he doesn’t want the boys to be over-excited when they get there but to
take each game accordingly and doesn’t regard his team as favourites but does
believe in his team. "I am looking forward to seeing how the boys truly get
tested as this is the first major tournament of the year for the team, but our
technical team is guiding and advising the boys on how to handle critical game
plan situations," explained Lusaseni.
The winner of the C-Division will play Rhodes University at Makhanda, Eastern
Cape, at a date that will be confirmed.
Who will rise to the occasion and win the Game of Thrones at this year’s
Rugby 15s USSA tournament at Varsity College? Stay tuned to all the action on
our USSA social media pages.
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