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Ikey Tigers
Full nameUniversity of Cape Town Rugby Football Club
LocationCape Town, South Africa
RegionCape Town
Ground(s)Groote Schuur Rugby Field[1] (Capacity: 7000)
Coach(es)Christiaan Esterhuizen
Captain(s)Kuyenzeka Xaba
League(s)Varsity Cup
20232nd
Team kit
Official website
www.uctrfc.co.za

The Ikey Tigers are a South African rugby union team from the University of Cape Town in the Western Cape who compete in the FNB Varsity Cup.

History

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The "Ikey" nickname originated in the 1910s as an antisemitic epithet applied to UCT students by the students of Stellenbosch University, because of the supposed large number of Jewish students at UCT.[2]

Since the inception of the FNB Varsity Cup, the Ikey Tigers have been one of the strongest competitors, finishing runners up in 2008 and 2010. Both final loses fell at the hands of the Ikeys arch rival, the Maties. In 2008 UCT went down to Maties by 16–10 in the inaugural Varsity Cup final after topping the log at the end of the round robin stage of the competition. In 2009, UCT were once again prominent in the round robin stage, finishing second and qualifying for a second home semi-final. They lost the game to the NWU Pukke by 17–19.

The 2010 Varsity Cup saw another strong showing from UCT as they once again finished second on the log. They qualified for their second final by beating the Shimlas of Free State at home by 27–21. They then went on to play Maties in the final with the game resulting in the closest winning margin in the history of the competition with Maties winning by 17–14.

In 2011 UCT finished second on the log for a third successive time and claimed an unprecedented 4th Semi-Final appearance. They once again faced Shimlas in their home semi-final, beating them by 57–20 to qualify for their third final. The 2011 final took place on 11 April in Pretoria featuring UCT against Tuks. UCT won by 26–16 to claim their first ever Varsity Cup title.

Stadium

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The rugby fields at UCT

The Ikey Tigers play their home fixtures on the Groote Schuur Rugby Field which is adjacent to the university campus. The fields are known commonly by UCT students as The Green Mile. Since the inception of the Varsity Cup, the field has not met the required standards for night fixtures which has resulted in UCT playing two "home" finals away, namely in 2008 when they had to travel to Stellenbosch to play Maties and in 2011 when they had to travel to Pretoria to play Tuks. On 7 March 2011 the UCT rugby club received a $1 million donation from Neville Isdell which allowed them to dust off their longtime plans to build a proper rugby stadium.[3]

Rivalries

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The Ikey Tigers main rivalry is with Stellenbosch University's Maties. The rivalry is fuelled by the relative geographical proximity of the two universities, and their status as the two top universities in the Western Cape. This rivalry is further intensified by the fact that they are the two most successful teams in the competition and have competed two finals against each other. Matches between these two teams draw large crowds and are normally televised on SuperSport.

Results:

Date Home Team Score Away Team Reference
20 March 2008 UCT 38–34 Maties [4]
7 April 2008 Maties 16–10 UCT [5]
2 February 2009 UCT 10–12 Maties [6]
8 March 2010 Maties 23–17 UCT [7]
29 March 2010 Maties 17–14 UCT [8]
7 March 2011 UCT 16–37 Maties [9]
12 March 2012 Maties 45–5 UCT [10]
4 March 2013 UCT 15–37 Maties [11]
10 February 2014 Maties 16–33 UCT [12]
24 March 2014 UCT 20–8 Maties [13]

Current squad

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The squad for the 2016 Varsity Cup was named as follows:[14]

UCT Ikey Tigers Varsity Cup squad

Hookers

  • South Africa Brenton Greaves
  • South Africa Keagan Timm

Props

  • Namibia Joel Carew
  • South Africa Alex Goldstein
  • South Africa Michael Kumbirai
  • South Africa David Maasch
  • South Africa Samuel Theron
  • South Africa Msizi Zondi

Locks

  • South Africa Olwethu Hans
  • South Africa Jade Kriel
  • South Africa Gary Porter
  • South Africa Duncan John Saffy

Loose forwards

  • South Africa Guy Alexander (c)
  • South Africa Brendan Ross Clements
  • South Africa Jason Klaasen
  • South Africa Sean Paterson
  • South Africa Mark Prior
  • South Africa Aphiwe Qaba
  • Zimbabwe Alva Junior Senderayi
  • South Africa Luke Stringer
  • Zimbabwe Nyasha Tarusenga
  • Zimbabwe Tino Zakeyo

Scrum-halves

  • South Africa Hilio de Abreu
  • South Africa Stefano de Gouveia
  • South Africa Dylan-Lee Tidbury
  • South Africa Steve Wallace

Fly-halves

  • South Africa Robert Anderson
  • South Africa Tom Bednall

Centres

  • South Africa Paul Hendry
  • South Africa Justin Heunis
  • South Africa Rico Lategan
  • South Africa Sebastian Rudolph Adran Roodt
  • South Africa Joel Clive Smith

Wingers

  • England Suwi Chibale
  • England Bradley Janse van Rensburg
  • England Rayno Mapoe
  • Namibia Nate Nel
  • South Africa Jesse Wilensky
  • South Africa Lihleli Xoli

Fullbacks

(c) Denotes team captain.

Season standings

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Ikey Tigers Varsity Cup Final Standings
Season Position P W D L PF PA PD BP Pts Play-off Result
2008 2nd 7 6 0 1 260 149 +111 7 31 Losing finalists
2009 1st 7 5 0 2 177 121 +56 5 25 Losing semi-finalists
2010 2nd 7 5 1 1 223 139 +84 3 25 Losing finalists
2011 2nd 7 5 0 2 213 134 +79 3 23 Champions
2012 7th 7 1 1 5 164 195 –31 3 9 Won relegation play-off
2013 7th 7 1 2 4 159 198 –39 3 11
2014 2nd 7 5 0 2 186 141 +45 4 24 Champions
2015 3rd 7 4 1 2 258 157 +101 4 22 Losing semi-finalists
2016 8th 7 0 0 7 103 324 –221 3 3 Won relegation play-off
2017 8th 8 2 0 6 140 248 −108 1 9
2018 6th 8 4 0 4 182 181 +1 5 21
2019 5th 8 3 1 4 227 262 −35 6 20
2021 2nd 9 8 1 0 174 7 41 Losing finalists
2022 3th 8 Losing semi-finalists
2023 2nd 9 Losing finalists[15]
2024 2nd 9 Losing finalists[16]

Individual records

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Player awards

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  • 2008 Top Try Scorer - Mathew Turner (9 tries)
  • 2009 Top Try Scorer - Therlow Pietersen (6 tries)
  • 2009 Back That Rocks - Therlow Pietersen
  • 2011 Top Try Scorer - Therlow Pietersen (7 tries)
  • 2011 Top Points Scorer - Demetri Catrakilis (136 points)
  • 2014 Forward That Rocks - Shaun McDonald

Notable players and coaches

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Varsity Cup Fixtures" (PDF). uct.ac.za. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  2. ^ Swanson, Felicity (2007). "'Die SACS kom terug': intervarsity rugby, masculinity and white identity at the University of Cape Town, 1960s-1970s". In Field, Sean; et al. (eds.). Imagining the City: Memories and Cultures in Cape Town (PDF). Cape Town: HSRC Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-7969-2179-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Million-dollar boost for UCT rugby stadium". www.news.uct.ac.za. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – UCT 38–34 Maties". South African Rugby Union. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – UCT 10–16 Maties". South African Rugby Union. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  6. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – UCT 10–12 Maties". South African Rugby Union. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  7. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Maties 23–17 UCT". South African Rugby Union. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Maties 17–14 UCT". South African Rugby Union. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – UCT 16–37 Maties". South African Rugby Union. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Maties 45–5 UCT". South African Rugby Union. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT 15–37 FNB Maties". South African Rugby Union. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB MATIES 16–33 FNB UCT 1ST XV". South African Rugby Union. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UCT 1ST XV 20–8 FNB MATIES". South African Rugby Union. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  14. ^ "SA Rugby Squad – FNB UCT IKEYS : 2016 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  15. ^ Bodlani, Lilitha (17 April 2023). "Eagles crowned 2023 FNB Varsity Cup champions". Varsity Cup. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  16. ^ Bodlani, Lilitha (22 April 2024). "Shimlas sink Ikeys in dramatic fashion to be crowned 2024 Varsity Cup champions". Varsity Cup. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
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