Ikey Tigers

Ikey Tigers

Full name	University of Cape Town Rugby Football Club
Location	Cape Town, South Africa
Region	Cape Town
Ground(s)	Groote Schuur Rugby Field[1] (Capacity: 7000)
Coach(es)	Kevin Musikanth
Captain(s)	Liam Slatem
League(s)	Varsity Cup
2014	tbd
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

The "Ikey" nickname originated in the 1910s as an anti-semitic 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 the 11th of April in Pretoria featuring UCT against Tuks. UCT won by 26–16 to claim their first ever Varsity Cup title.

Stadium

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

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:

Current Squad

The squad for the 2014 Varsity Cup was named as follows:^[12]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-IRB nationality.

Player Position Union Mike Kennedy Hooker South Africa Neil Rautenbach Hooker South Africa Chad Solomon Hooker South Africa Joel Carew Prop South Africa Deacon Chowles Prop South Africa Keegan Ehret Prop South Africa Zolani Faku Prop South Africa David Maasch Prop South Africa Robin Murray Prop South Africa Digby Webb Prop South Africa Brad Bosman Lock South Africa James Kilroe Lock South Africa Jade Kriel Lock South Africa Shaun McDonald Lock South Africa Wade Schoor Lock South Africa Jan Uys Lock South Africa Mike Botha Flanker South Africa Vince Jobo Flanker South Africa Sean Johnstone Flanker South Africa Jason Klaasen Flanker South Africa Kyle Kriel Flanker South Africa Sihle Mtwa Flanker South Africa Tino Zakeyo Flanker South Africa Guy Alexander Number 8 South Africa

Player Position Union James Alexander Scrum-half South Africa Ryan Dugmore Scrum-half South Africa Liam Slatem Scrum-half South Africa Dean Grant Fly-half South Africa Nick Holton Fly-half South Africa Ross Jones-Davies Fly-half South Africa Guy Schwikkard Fly-half South Africa Suwi Chibale Centre South Africa Trent Jenkinson Centre South Africa Huw Jones Centre Scotland Brendan Rodgers Centre South Africa David Strachan Centre South Africa Lihleli Xoli Centre South Africa Paul Cohen Wing South Africa Paul Hendry Wing South Africa Nate Nel Wing South Africa Richard Stewart Wing South Africa Tom Bednall Fullback South Africa Martin Sauls Fullback South Africa

Season Standings

Individual Records

• Tries (Season): Mathew Turner (9 tries in 2008); Therlow Pietersen (7 tries in 2011); Therlow Pietersen (6 tries in 2009)
• Tries (Career): Therlow Pietersen (15); Marcello Sampson (14); Mathew Turner (9)
• Most Points (Season): Demetri Catrakilis (136 in 2011)
• Most Points (Career): Matthew Rosslee

Player Awards

• 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 Pts Scorer - Demetri Catrakilis (136 points)

Notable Players and Coaches

• Jake White - Assistant Coach 2008
• Bobby Skinstad - Assistant Coach 2008
• Robbie Fleck - Assistant Coach 2009
• Mathew Turner - Wing 2008
• Tim Whitehead - Center 2008
• Kyle Brown - Wing 2008
• JJ Gagiano - 8th Man 2008 - 2010
• Demetri Catrakilis - Fly Half 2011
• Eben Etzebeth - Lock 2011

See also

• FNB Varsity Cup
• 2011 Varsity Cup
• University of Cape Town
• FNB

References

External links

• http://www.uctrfc.co.za
• http://www.uct.ac.za
• http://www.varsitycup.co.za

v t e University of Cape Town People Chancellor: Graça Machel Vice-chancellor: Max Price Notable academics Notable alumni History South African College Demonstrations at UCT List of alumni Academic units Animal Demography Unit Baxter Theatre Centre Centre for Curating the Archive Graduate School of Business Michaelis School of Fine Art Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology South African College of Music Student life Green Campus Initiative Ikey Tigers SHAWCO Smuts Hall UCT Radio UNASA UCT Varsity Waaihoek Affiliated hospitals Groote Schuur Hospital Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital Valkenberg Hospital University People