Wits rugby team capped off a great campaign in the Varsity Shield when they were crowned champions and, as a result, they earned automatic qualification to play in the Varsity Cup next season.
Wits dominated this season’s Varsity Shield and were the deserved winner, having played eight games, winning six of them and finishing with a tally of 32 points.
Warren Gilbert, the captain of the side, was full of praise for his team and hopes that they can carry the momentum to next season.
“There is a lot of hard work that goes into a season like this, obviously, the management has been putting on the hard yards and for us as players, we worked hard to be able to perform the way that we did,” he said.
Gilbert also attributed the team’s success to the brotherhood that developed within the team.
The FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International is in its eighth year after a successful inaugural competition in 2008.
The FNB Varsity Shield is a second-tier competition for five more universities that started in 2011 and, since 2012, every second year is a promotion or relegation round.
The two varsity rugby competitions are already highlights on the rugby-mad South African sporting calendar.
The competition continues to produce great young talent and provides a stepping stone for them in their sporting careers.
Gilbert said their qualification for the Varsity Cup in the next campaign meant a lot, not only for them as players, but for the university at large. “The main goal for the season was to qualify for the Varsity Cup and the fact that we were so close to not achieving it makes it much sweeter,” said a delighted Gilbert.
