The 2015 Varsity Cup was contested from 9 February to 13 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring eight South African universities.
The tournament was won by , who beat 63âÂÂ33 in the final played on 13 April 2015. No team was relegated to the second-tier Varsity Shield competition for 2016.
There were eight participating universities in the 2015 Varsity Cup. These teams played each other once over the course of the season, either 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 seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top four teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.
There was no relegation to the Varsity Shield at the end of the season.
The 2015 Varsity Cup used a different scoring system than the common scoring system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points instead of two, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points instead of three.
All Varsity Cup games also had two referees officiating each game, props' jerseys featured a special gripping patch to ensure better binding, intended to reduce collapsing scrums and the mark was extended to the entire field.
The Varsity Cup also reintroduced the White Card system from 2015. Under this system, either team's coach or captain could refer incidents for further review, similar to the Umpire Decision Review System used in cricket. They could have incidents reviewed that they believed were either given incorrectly or went unnoticed by the on-field referees. Each team was entitled to one review in each half of the match; if a review proved successful, the team retained their white card review for that half, but if it was unsuccessful, they lost the right to further reviews for the remainder of the half.
The following teams took part in the 2015 Varsity Cup competition:
The final league standings for the 2015 Varsity Cup were:
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:
The 2015 Varsity Cup fixtures were released as follows:
The honour roll for the 2015 Varsity Cup was as follows:
The following table contain points which have been scored in games in the 2015 Varsity Cup season:
The teams released the following squad lists:
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The following table contains all the cards handed out during the tournament:
After the 2015 Varsity Cup, a Varsity Cup Dream Team was announced. This team would play against the South Africa Under-20s in Stellenbosch on 21 April 2015. The head coach of the champions , Franco Smith, was appointed as the coach of the side and lock Reniel Hugo was appointed as captain. Inny Radebe, who played for the 2015 Varsity Shield champions was also named in the squad.
Dan Kriel and Jaco Visagie were originally selected in the 2015 Varsity Cup Dream Team, but subsequently replaced by Johan Deysel and Elandré Huggett respectively.
The Dream Team made the early running in the match, with two first-half tries â a penalty try and a try by full-back Rhyno Smith â giving them a 12âÂÂ10 half-time lead over the South African Under-20s. Second-half tries by Dillon Smit and Elandré Huggett proved to not be enough, with the South African Under-20s running out 31âÂÂ24 winners.
The following referees officiated matches in the 2015 Varsity Cup: