The 2018 Varsity Shield was the 8th season of the Varsity Shield, the second-tier competition in the annual Varsity Rugby series. It was played between 19 February and 9 April 2018 and featured seven university teams.
The competition was won by , who beat the 55–10 in the final played on 9 April 2018, also winning promotion to the 2019 Varsity Cup.
Competition rules and information
There were seven participating university teams in the 2019 Varsity Shield. They played each other once during the pool stage, 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 seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).
The top four teams after the pool stage qualified for the semifinals, which were followed by a final.
Teams
The teams that played in the 2018 Varsity Shield were:
2018 Varsity Shield teams Team name University Stadium Cape Peninsula University of Technology Rhodes University Tshwane University of Technology University of Fort Hare University of KwaZulu-Natal University of the Western Cape Walter Sisulu University
Pool stage
Standings
The final log for the 2018 Varsity Shield was:
2018 Varsity Shield log Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts 1 6 6 0 0 331 86 +245 46 13 6 0 30 2 6 5 0 1 137 111 +26 20 15 2 0 22 3 6 3 0 3 148 140 +8 20 18 3 2 17 4 6 4 0 2 118 155 −37 16 22 0 1 17 5 6 2 0 4 116 126 −10 16 17 1 3 12 6 6 1 0 5 149 179 −30 19 24 2 3 9 7 6 0 0 6 55 257 −202 9 35 0 0 0 Final standings.
Legend and competition rules Legend: Qualified for the semifinals. P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries for, TA = Tries against, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points Competition rules:
Round-by-round
The table below shows a team's progression throughout the season. For each round, each team's cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.
Team Progression – 2018 Varsity Shield Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 SF F 5 (1st) 10 (1st) 10 (2nd) 15 (1st) 20 (1st) 25 (1st) 30 (1st) Won Won 0 (7th) 5 (3rd) 10 (3rd) 14 (2nd) 18 (2nd) 22 (2nd) 22 (2nd) Won Lost 4 (3rd) 4 (4th) 6 (5th) 11 (4th) 12 (3rd) 12 (4th) 17 (3rd) Lost 4 (2nd) 8 (2nd) 12 (1st) 12 (3rd) 12 (4th) 13 (3rd) 17 (4th) Lost 1 (4th) 1 (6th) 6 (4th) 7 (5th) 11 (5th) 11 (5th) 12 (5th) 0 (5th) 1 (5th) 1 (6th) 1 (6th) 2 (6th) 7 (6th) 9 (6th) 0 (6th) 0 (7th) 0 (7th) 0 (7th) 0 (7th) 0 (7th) 0 (7th) Key: win draw loss bye
Matches
The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Shield:
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Round six
Round seven
Play-offs
Semifinals
Final
See also
2018 Varsity Cup 2018 Varsity Rugby
References