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) Guy Alexander
League(s) Varsity Cup
2014 Champions
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

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:

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

The squad for the 2015 Varsity Cup was named as follows:[14]

Props

  • Namibia Joel Carew
  • South Africa David Maasch
  • South Africa Kiernan Allan Rabie
  • South Africa Samuel Theron
  • South Africa Digby Webb
  • South Africa Kyle Whyte
  • South Africa Msizi Zondi

Hookers

  • South Africa Matthew Jones
  • South Africa Mike Kennedy
  • South Africa Robin Murray
  • South Africa Chad Solomon
  • South Africa Keagan Timm

Locks

  • South Africa Sebastien Ferreira
  • South Africa Olwethu Hans
  • South Africa James Kilroe
  • South Africa Jade Kriel
  • South Africa Aiden Monk
  • South Africa Duncan John Saffy
  • Zimbabwe Joshua John Smallbones
  

Loose Forwards

  • South Africa Guy Alexander (c)
  • South Africa Brad Bosman
  • South Africa Mike Botha
  • South Africa Gareth Ehret
  • South Africa Jason Klaasen
  • South Africa Mark Prior
  • South Africa Aphiwe Qaba
  • South Africa Rushdie Salie
  • Zimbabwe Alva Junior Senderayi
  • Australia Devon Stone
  • South Africa Stuart William Stopforth
  • South Africa Luke Stringer
  • Zimbabwe Nyasha David Tarusenga
  • Zimbabwe Tino Zakeyo

Scrum-halves

  • South Africa James Alexander
  • South Africa Daniel Ben Keys Anderson
  • South Africa Stefano de Gouveia
  • South Africa Ryan Dugmore
  • South Africa Bradley Janse van Rensburg
  • South Africa Dylan-Lee Tidbury
  • South Africa Steve Wallace

Fly-halves

  • South Africa Robert Duncan George Anderson
  • South Africa Tom Bednall
  • New Zealand Guy Schwikkard
  • South Africa Warren Seals
  

Centres

  • South Africa Steven Cullingworth
  • South Africa Dean Gericke
  • South Africa Paul Hendry
  • South Africa Nick Holton
  • England Huw Jones
  • South Africa Brendan Rodgers
  • South Africa Sebastian Rudolph Adran Roodt
  • South Africa Jarryd Sage
  • South Africa Justin Scott
  • South Africa Joel Clive Smith

Wingers

  • England Suwi Chibale
  • Namibia Nate Nel
  • England Gianluca Salvador Rizzo
  • South Africa Dylan Sage
  • South Africa Richard Stewart
  • South Africa Lihleli Xoli
  • South Africa Storm Michael Winter

Fullbacks

  • South Africa Greg Alexander
  • South Africa Paul Cohen
  • South Africa Karl Brian Martin
  • Netherlands Khanyo Ngcukana

(c) denotes team captain.

Season Standings

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

Individual Records

Player Awards

Notable Players and Coaches

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.uct.ac.za/downloads/uct.ac.za/currentstud/societies/sports_clubs/Varsitycup_fixtures.pdf
  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. Imagining the City: Memories and Cultures in Cape Town (PDF). Cape Town: HSRC Press. p. 210. ISBN 0-7969-2179-2. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  3. ↑ http://www.uct.ac.za/mondaypaper/?id=8492
  4. ↑ "Match Breakdown: UCT vs Maties". South African Rugby Union. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Match Breakdown: UCT vs Maties". South African Rugby Union. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Match Breakdown: UCT vs Maties". South African Rugby Union. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Maties vs UCT". South African Rugby Union. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Maties vs UCT". South African Rugby Union. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Match Breakdown: UCT vs Maties". South African Rugby Union. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Maties vs UCT". South African Rugby Union. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Match Breakdown: FNB UCT vs FNB Maties". South African Rugby Union. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Match Breakdown: FNB UCT vs FNB Maties". South African Rugby Union. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "Match Breakdown: FNB UCT vs FNB Maties". South African Rugby Union. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "2015 UCT Ikey Tigers Varsity Cup season". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 2 February 2015.

External links