2018 Varsity Rugby was the 2018 edition of four rugby union competitions annually played between several university teams in South Africa. It was contested from 29 January to 16 April 2018 and was the eleventh edition of these competitions.
See main article: 2018 Varsity Cup.
The following teams competed in the 2018 Varsity Cup:,,,,,,, and . All these teams also played in the competition in 2017. The competition was won by, who beat 40–7 in the final. finished bottom of the log and were relegated to the 2019 Varsity Shield. remained in the Varsity Cup for 2019 after beating the in a relegation play-off.
See main article: 2018 Varsity Shield.
The following teams competed in the 2018 Varsity Shield:,,,,, and . All these teams also played in the competition in 2017. The competition was won by, who beat 55–10 in the final. were promoted to the 2019 Varsity Cup for the first time, while the remained in the Varsity Shield for 2019 after losing to in a promotion play-off.
There was a promotion/relegation match between, who finished eighth in the 2018 Varsity Cup and the, who finished runners-up in the 2018 Varsity Shield. CUT Ixias won 37–31 to retain their place in the Varsity Cup for 2019, while the WSU All Blacks remained in the Varsity Shield competition.
There was a promotion/relegation match between, who finished seventh in the 2018 Varsity Shield and the University of Zululand, as the best-performing non-Varsity Rugby team at the USSA tournament.[1] Rhodes won 44–5 to retain their place in the Varsity Shield for 2019.
There were nine participating universities in the 2018 Young Guns competition, the Under-20 sides of each of the nine Varsity Cup teams. These teams were divided into three regionalised sections and each team played every team in their section twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by eight points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The three section winners qualified for the semi-finals, along with the runner-up with the best record.
| 2018 Young Guns North teams | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | University | Stadium | |
| University of Johannesburg | |||
| University of Pretoria | |||
| 2018 Young Guns Central teams | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | University | Stadium | |
| North-West University | |||
| University of the Free State |
| 2018 Young Guns South teams | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | University | Stadium | |
| Stellenbosch University | |||
| University of Cape Town |
The final standings for the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns North were:
| 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns North log | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts< | -- | Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts--> |
| 1 | align=left | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 318 | 49 | +269 | 4 | 17 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | align=left | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 193 | −123 | 1 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | align=left | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 57 | 203 | −146 | 3 | 5 |
The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns North:
The final standings for the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns Central were:
| 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns Central log | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts< | -- | Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts--> |
| 1 | align=left | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 262 | 126 | +136 | 4 | 20 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | align=left | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 227 | 162 | +65 | 4 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | align=left | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 109 | 310 | −201 | 2 | 2 |
The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns Central:
The final standings for the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns South were:
| 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns South log | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts< | -- | Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts--> |
| 1 | align=left | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 207 | 66 | +141 | 4 | 20 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | align=left | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 73 | 113 | −40 | 1 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | align=left | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 73 | 174 | −101 | 2 | 2 |
The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns South:
There were nine participating teams in the 2018 Res Rugby competition — the new name for the competition formerly known as the Koshuis Rugby Championship[2] — the winners of the internal leagues of each of the nine Varsity Cup teams. These teams were divided into two divisions (a Championship division with five teams and a Premiership division with four teams) and each team played every team in their division once over the course of the season, either at home or away.
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by eight points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top two teams in the Championship qualified for the final.
| 2018 Res Rugby Championship teams | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | University | Stadium | |
| Huis Marais (Maties) | |||
| Lions (CUT) | |||
| Maroela (Tuks) | |||
| Patria (Pukke) | North-West University | ||
| Vishuis (Shimlas) |
| 2018 Res Rugby Premiership teams | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | University | Stadium | |
| Cobras (UCT) | University of Cape Town | ||
| Harlequins (Madibaz) | |||
| Junction (Wits) | |||
| Oppierif (UJ) | University of Johannesburg |
The final standings for the 2018 Res Rugby Championship were:
| 2018 Res Rugby Championship log | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts< | -- | Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts--> |
| 1 | align=left | Patria (Pukke) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 131 | 73 | +58 | 3 | 19 | |||||||||||
| 2 | align=left | Vishuis (Shimlas) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 143 | 45 | +98 | 3 | 15 | |||||||||||
| 3 | align=left | Maroela (Tuks) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 84 | 104 | −20 | 3 | 11 | |||||||||||
| 4 | align=left | Huis Marais (Maties) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 86 | 110 | −24 | 3 | 7 | |||||||||||
| 5 | align=left | Lions (CUT) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 59 | 171 | −112 | 1 | 1 |
The following matches were played in the 2018 Res Rugby Championship:
The final standings for the 2018 Res Rugby Premiership were:
| 2018 Res Rugby Premiership log | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts< | -- | Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts--> |
| 1 | align=left | Oppierif (UJ) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 141 | 24 | +117 | 3 | 15 | |||||||||||
| 2 | align=left | Cobras (UCT) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 74 | 59 | +15 | 2 | 10 | |||||||||||
| 3 | align=left | Harlequins (Madibaz) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 71 | −35 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | align=left | Junction (Wits) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 117 | −97 | 0 | 0 |
The following matches were played in the 2018 Res Rugby Championship: