Rhodes University are hosting the annual University Sports South Africa (USSA) Rugby Week festival, which is starting on 30 June and ending on 4 July. This festival has attracted the top university rugby sides in the country such as Maties, NWU-Pukke, NMMU, UP-Tuks, UJ, UCT and more Varsity Cup and Shield teams. In total 32 tertiary education institutions have sent teams to compete. The teams have been divided into four pools, each consisting of eight teams. All teams will play against each other in their respective pools in a round-robin fashion. They have all been placed into their pools based on their results during the 2013 USSA Rugby Week. Pool A consists of the eight Varsity Cup sides while Pool B is made up of Varsity Shield sides and the hosts, Rhodes University. Pools A and B are using this festival as a pre-season event prior to their preparations for the Varsity Cup and Shield tournaments. The teams in Pools C and D have the chance to qualify for Pools B and C respectively. The winner of Pool C will face Varsity Shield wooden spoonists TUT in a promotion/relegation match in Pretoria on July 19, with the winner going on to play Varsity Shield rugby next season. The festival will be a fantastic spectacle for rugby fans in Grahamstown, as the top university sides will bring some serious talent with them and will be gunning for pre-season bragging rights. By Brandon Yates

There will be three more FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International Springboks on Saturday with Handré Pollard, Marcel van der Merwe and Teboho 'Oupa' Mohoje' set to makes their debut's for the national side against Scotland. Former FNB UP-Tuks star Pollard, who was recently named the IRB World Junior Player of the Year after leading the Junior Springboks to the runners-up spot at the Junior World Championships in New Zealand, will start at flyhalf whilst Mohoje has been named on the bench. Pollard has been earmarked for greatness since he guided the Junior Boks to the JWC title on home soil when he was still in school in 2012, and has gone on to represent the Bulls and Blue Bulls since featuring for UP-Tuks in their victorious Varsity Cup campaign last year. Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said Pollard had always been part of his plans for the June Tests, but that his selection as SA Under-20 captain meant he could only join the squad this week. "Handré is a very talented player and has a big opportunity this week, but he'll have Fourie du Preez's experience next to him, while he's played a lot with Jan Serfontein before. It's great to have the current and a former World Junior Player of the Year in the same backline," he said. Former FNB UFS-Shimlas skipper Mohoje will become the first player to play Varsity Cup and Test rugby in the same year. The all-action blindside flank, who can also play lock, was captain of UFS-Shimlas in 2013 and continued to play for them as they narrowly missed out on a Varsity Cup play-off spot this year. Following the Varsity Cup, Mohoje was quickly drafted into the Cheetahs side and impressed with a few dynamic displays to be called up to the extended Springbok squad for the June internationals. "'Oupa' still played Varsity Cup and Vodacom Cup rugby earlier this season before he got an opportunity to play Super Rugby for the Cheetahs because of injuries. He took his chance and now he's on the cusp of making his Test debut," said Meyer. Tighthead prop van der Merwe also played for UFS-Shimlas back in 2010 and went on to play Currie Cup for the Cheetahs before being signed by the Bulls. He has enjoyed a break-out season with the Pretoria-based Super Rugby franchise this year and will also take his place on the bench this weekend as back-up for the experienced Jannie du Plessis. South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen. Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Stephan Lewies, 20 Teboho Mohoje, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Zane Kirchner.

The FNB Ikey Tigers will be out to add another title to their collection when they travel to Grahamstown to do battle at the USSA tournament next week. The reigning FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International champions are on a mid-season break from the WP Super League where they lie in first place on the log, and are sure to be eager to take the field once again. However, coach Kevin Musikanth pointed out that while they have enjoyed a 'well-earned break from the field' the team are keen to start up again with the upcoming USSA tournament. He also explained that the players in Cape Town 'have been on their mid season gym program at the High Performance Centre' as well, and are excited to put their hard work into practice. Singling out the tournament itself Musikanth said: "The USSA is more a development tour for us in that future talent is given a chance to compete against other Varsity Cup teams." He said that the tournament will reveal 'whether the guys are ready to make the step up.' As a result, the tournament will see a lot of new faces making their appearance, mixed in with a host of regular Varsity Cup campaigners to ensure that the Tigers boast a competitive side. He explained that it will be a good opportunity to gel ahead of the next phase of the league season. "The other factor is that the tournament gives us an opportunity to be able to get in some game time as two months off is a lot for a team," said Musikanth. The Ikeys coach is confident that his players will be going all-out to make an impression in Grahamstown. "Whenever UCT plays representative rugby it is important for us to put on an exciting, good show. "We now have to also realize that there is a responsibility that comes with being Varsity Cup champions that means that teams will not take Ikeys lightly so we need to be up and ready for those challenges," he finished off. By Megan Kinnaird

Two UKZN students, Matthew Mandioma and Shayne Makombe have been selected in the Zimbabwe national squad for the World Cup Qualifying Tournament to be played in the Stade Mahamasina in Antanararivo, Madagascar. The Stade Mahamasina is well known for its unique atmosphere; the stadium has only 23,000 seats, yet over 40,000 Malagasy regularly cram the standing terraces when their beloved Les Makis play international matches, and has been described by SARU CEO and FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International chairman, Jurie Roux as one of the most vibrant atmospheres in which he has watched international rugby. Both Mandioma and Makombe are on TRUDA SNACKS tuition bursaries at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Maritzburg campus. TRUDA company director is ex Varsity and Natal lock Colin van Heerden. Makombe enjoyed some recognition during the Varsity Shield tournament, where he won the Varsity Shield backline player that Rocks award. The Zimbabwe team go into camp next week and will also play a friendly against a Blue Bulls Vodacom Cup selection. The Four Nations qualifying tournament participants are Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya. The tournament winner will automatically qualify for RWC, while the runner up has a second chance in the repechage, where they will face the winner of the Germany v Russia play-off. Former UJ flyhalf Guy Cronje and his twin brother, Ross have also been called up, although their current employer, the Lions franchise has not yet agreed to release them. By Mark Schulze

Two UKZN students, Matthew Mandioma and Shayne Makombe have been selected in the Zimbabwe national squad for the World Cup Qualifying Tournament to be played in the Stade Mahamasina in Antanararivo, Madagascar. The Stade Mahamasina is well known for its unique atmosphere; the stadium has only 23,000 seats, yet over 40,000 Malagasy regularly cram the standing terraces when their beloved Les Makis play international matches, and has been described by SARU CEO and FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International chairman, Jurie Roux as one of the most vibrant atmospheres in which he has watched international rugby. Both Mandioma and Makombe are on TRUDA SNACKS tuition bursaries at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Maritzburg campus. TRUDA company director is ex Varsity and Natal lock Colin van Heerden. Makombe enjoyed some recognition during the Varsity Shield tournament, where he won the Varsity Shield backline player that Rocks award. The Zimbabwe team go into camp next week and will also play a friendly against a Blue Bulls Vodacom Cup selection. The Four Nations qualifying tournament participants are Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya. The tournament winner will automatically qualify for RWC, while the runner up has a second chance in the repechage, where they will face the winner of the Germany v Russia play-off. Former UJ flyhalf Guy Cronje and his twin brother, Ross have also been called up, although their current employer, the Lions franchise has not yet agreed to release them. By Mark Schulze

Die NWU-Pukke het Saterdagmiddag nie net die gevaarwaters van Greenside in Johannesburg trotseer nie, maar ook gesorg dat ’n gevaarlike Pirates-span 49-30 skipbreuk op hul eie rotse gely het. Sodoende het Hannes Esterhuizen se span Jong Turke weer hul skip op koers gekry ná Roodepoort die vorige naweek die wind uit hul seile gehaal het. Reg, genoeg met die oormaat beeldspraak. Die besoekende studente het altesaam ses drieë gedruk, wat ’n tweekuns vir sowel Eloff Scheepers as Rowayne Beukman ingesluit het. Pirates het van meet af die wind van voor gekry (jammer) en was aan die ontvangkant van ’n Puk-aanslag wat die studente ’n 22-3 voorsprong besorg het. Pirates se vlag het egter nie lank halfmas gehang nie (laaste, belowe) en teen lemoentyd was hul agterstand slegs 22-18. Hierna het die momentum wipplank gery voor Pukke in die laaste 15-minute met die wedstryd weggehardloop het. "Ons het met tye goeie rugby gespeel, maar dit bekommer my dat ons met tye in die wedstryd aan die slaap geraak het," sê hoofafrigter Hannes Esterhuizen. "Die spelers se besluitneming was wel stukke beter as teen Roodepoort en dit het gehelp dat ons ’n paar oumanne terug in die span gehad het, wat die druk op die minder ervare ouens ligter gemaak het. Dit was ook lekker om te sien hoe ons die bal vinnig deur die hande tot by ons vleuels gekry het, iets waarmee ons ook verlede week gesukkel het." Benewens die agterlyn se beter tydsberekening was daar ook weereens geen klagtes oor Pukke se lynstaan nie; dié het klopdisselboom gewerk. Vir die wenspan het agtsteman SJ Niemand ’n barshou gespeel, Hofmann Maritz was vlymskerp vir die tyd wat hy op die veld was, Justin Botha het op losskakel die wedstryd met gesag beheer en kaptein FG Fouché het met oorgawe die donkiewerk gedoen. Hoewel Pukke se wedstryd teen Impala uitgestel is weens laasgenoemde se reisverpligtinge, vind daar Donderdag ’n vriendskaplike wedstryd (met twee Pukspanne wat gaan uitdraf) teen die Luiperds se o.21-span plaas. Hierdie dien as voorbereiding vir die Puk se USSA-veldtog wat einde vandeesmaand afskop. Deur Bertie Jacobs

Bou ’n galg vir ander, en jy hang self daaraan. Dít was die duur les wat die NWU-Puk Vrydagaand in hul wegwedstryd teen Roodepoort geleer het toe die studente se aanvanklike aanslag op ‘Poorte se agttal lelik in hul gesigte opgeblaas het. Dit was ’n fout. Voorlangs is ‘Poorte so sterk soos Jan Wilkens en dit is daar waar hulle die skroewe aangedraai het om ’n welverdiende 30-14 sege uit Pukke te wurg. Ouch. "Ons het verkeerd gespeel," sê hoofafrigter Hannes Esterhuizen. "Inteendeel, ons het presies die teenoorgestelde gespeel as wat ons beplan het. Ons het geweet ons moet nie hul voorspelers in die eerste en tweede kanaal aanval nie, maar eerder die bal wyd vat en hul verdediging rek. Deur dit nie te doen nie kon Roodepoort hul pak bymekaar hou." Pukke het die eerste halfuur of wat die meerderheid besit geniet en was deurlopend, dog onsuksesvol, op die aanval. ‘Poorte se twee drieë net voor halftyd was ’n dwarsklap vir Pukke se gemoedere en hul daaropvolgende twee ná halftyd was genoeg om die besoekers se voete onder hulle uit te haal. Drieë deur Dawie de Koker en Wynand Olivier na die einde se kant toe was bloot troospryse. Waar ‘Poorte op hul pak staatmaak om teenstanders te kielhaal gaan die Puk Saterdag in Johannesburg met ’n meer gebalanseerde Pirates-span kragte meet. "Pirates kan sowel op hul voor en agterspelers se knoppies druk, hulle het takties baie vernuf en hulle gee nooit op nie. Hul skakelpaar het ook hope ervaring en is goeie besluitnemers," verduidelik Esterhuizen. As teenvoeter vir dié ewewig wat hulle in die gesig staar het Esterhuizen sy troepe vandeesweek tydens oefensessies getaak om op hul geduld sowel as besluitneming te fokus. "Ons gaan moet seker maak dat ons meer planmatig op die veld te werk gaan en ook die bal beter gebruik. Ons besluitneming moet definitief verbeter." Die les is geleer. Saterdag gaan dit die studente wees wat gaan poog om dosente teen Pirates te wees. Deur Bertie Jacobs

Former FNB NWU-Pukke lock Lood de Jager is set to become the latest FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International Springbok in the first Test against Wales at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday. The 21-year-old, colossus made a big name for himself at the Cheetahs over the past two seasons, in Super Rugby and is tipped by his franchise captain Adriaan Strauss to play much bigger rugby in the not too distant future. De Jager will get his first sniff of Test rugby, should he come off the bench and make his international debut against the Red Dragons this weekend. He has replaced Flip van der Merwe in the match-day squad, with the Bulls stalwart taking a break to attend his brothers' wedding. Speaking out of the Springboks camp in Durban, the 2,05m tall De Jager said he is looking forward to some game time against Wales. De Jager has recovered from a finger injury in time for the first test after missing out on the Cheetahs last few games and said that he can't describe how he felt getting the call-up to play at the highest level. "The first time I heard I was in the Durban training camp, I was delighted, I just can't describe the emotions I felt. It's a great honour for me," the skyscraper said. "I made the final squad, coach Heyneke Meyer told me earlier in the week that I would be in the match-23 for this weekend. I couldn't believe it, it's a great honour, and I just want to thank the coach for the opportunity. I'll do my best for my country, if I get playing time," the proud player added. Speaking of their opponents, De Jager said he expects a very physical game against the Welsh. "I think it’s going to be physical game. I watched them against the Kings they like to run the ball, so it's going to be a fast-paced game. "I want to bring physicality to the game, and I just want to do my part," he added. Speaking of his injury, De Jager conceded that his was devastated after breaking his finger during Super Rugby. "At first I was devastated, because I felt I had been playing good rugby. At least it was a finger, so I was able to maintain my fitness and carry on training. "The timing was perfect, it healed just in time for the training camp. The injury healed nicely and I'm feeling good," De Jager concluded. His Cheetahs teammate, Cornal Hendricks starts at wing for his debut, while Willie le Roux slots in at fullback, and France-bound Johan Goosen warms the bench. South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp. Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Lwazi Mvovo. By Morgan Piek

Four former Varsity Cup stars will make their first appearance in a Springbok training squad next week after cracking the nod from coach Heyneke Meyer. Meyer named a wider training squad ahead of the June international window which will see the Boks take on a World XV, Wales and Scotland, and four of the eight new faces have Varsity Cup experience. Cheetahs flank Teboho Mohoje, Stormers utility back Damian de Allende, Bulls loose forward Jacques du Plessis and Cheetahs lock Lodewyk de Jager will all attend a national training camp in Durban from May 25 to 28 May. Mohoje is a former UFS-Shimlas captain and even played for them this year before breaking into the Cheetahs squad, De Allende played for UCT in 2012 whilst De Jager played for NWU-Pukke and Du Plessis represented UP-Tuks when they won their second title last year. All four players have made a big impression in Super Rugby this year for their respective franchises and join fello former Varsity Rugby stars Eben Etzebeth, Trevor Nyakane, JJ Engelbrecht and Juan de Jongh in the training squad. This continues the steady stream of players who have used the Varsity Cup as a launching pad before going on to earn national colours. Springbok training squad: Tendai Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, Marcel van der Merwe, Jannie du Plessis, Frans Malherbe, Coenie Oosthuizen, Bismarck du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss, Eben Etzebeth, Lodewyk de Jager, Victor Matfield, Flip van der Merwe, Heinrich Brüssow, Marcell Coetzee, Siya Kolisi, Willem Alberts, Jacques du Plessis, Teboho Mohoje, Duane Vermeulen, Schalk Burger, Fourie du Preez, Francois Hougaard, Johan Goosen, Marnitz Boshoff, Jean de Villiers, Damian De Allende, Jan Serfontein, Juan de Jongh, JJ Engelbrecht, Sibusiso Sithole, Frans Steyn, Lwazi Mvovo, Bjorn Basson, JP Pietersen, Cornal Hendricks, Willie le Roux.

On Saturday the Ikey Tigers lost their Intervarsity clash against Maties 18-19, ending a ten-game winning streak they had engineered in the Varsity Cup and in the first few games of the WP Super League. The game was a fiercely fought battle, with the Ikeys leading 18-16, with only minutes to go. The Stellenbosch side snatched the win away from them within the final minutes at the hands of a penalty try. When coach Kevin Musikanth was asked about what he thinks went wrong he said “our game plan was to maul them and scrum them, which worked completely but unfortunately the overall reward wasn't there.” Referring to the break-down area he said “The yellow cards that the opposition are usually given when consistently pulling down mauls, and the penalty tries that are usually awarded when front rows repetitively stand-up didn’t happen. So there was a lot of frustration here.” The coach also cites frustration at the fact that the side threw an intercept pass at the beginning of the game. On the bright side, however, he said “our ‘plan’ worked as we completely dismantled the Maties pack - worse than we did in the Varsity Cup and we did pull ourselves back and 18-16 with a minute to go.” In terms of what areas of the game they team will be looking to improve on, he said, “we need to deal with making correct decisions on when to throw the 50/50 passes. The miracle offload, as much as it worked in the Varsity Cup final, doesn't always work and none of them came off in this match which was disappointing.” Speaking about which areas of the game he believes the Tigers were impressive in he commented “Stellenbosch were determined and had nothing to lose and were fully committed to the cause which was good, but fundamentally, despite us being off-form our set phases were way better than theirs, their scrum got completely dismantled and we let ourselves down by not capitalizing here. Unfortunately the luck wasn’t with us this time.” Tomorrow, the Ikeys return to the WP Super League, taking on SK Walmers in their fourth match of the tournament. The side will look to bounce back from Saturday’s loss with a win against the Walmers, who have given impressive performances thus far in the season and will be sure to prove challenging. “We will fight back and are determined to compete harder and are 100 percent committed to the WPSL. All teams lose so we mustn't cry over spilt milk and stand up and fight and make it right. We need to learn our lesson,” said the coach.

Defending championes UP-Tuks got off to a solid start in the opening round of the 2014 Carlton Cup competition on Saturday. UP-Tuks beat Harlequins 54-21, scoring 8 tries to 3. Home team Quins surprised UP-Tuks by taking a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes, but at the break the visitors already had the win in the bag with a 33-7 lead. “We are satisfied with the result as it was the solid start we were aiming for, but we all know this was not a true reflection of our potential - by far. We have some fine tuning to do in the days leading up to the match against Oostelike Eagles (24 May), but all in all I am very encouraged by the positives we can take from the win against Harlequins,” commented UP-Tuks 1 Head Coach, Pote Human. Outside centre Jacques Rossouw had an outstanding UP-Tuks 1 debut, not only scoring two of his team’s eight tries, but also adding another 14 points with seven conversions for a personal contribution of 24. Winger Enver Brandt, another UP-Tusk 1 debutant, scored three tries with fullback Riaan Britz, hooker Jan Enslin and replacement lock Graham Logan adding the other five pointers. ♦ Other results: 2: Tuks Fezelas 57, Harlequins 11. 3: Harlequins 15, Tuks Pumas 14. u.21: Tuks Jongspan 48, Harlequins 3. u.19: Tuks win by default.