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Johannesburg - Driving the Varsity Cup project is more than merely seeing to a sound competition. The developmental aspect has not lagged, and Fort Hare and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) have both received cash injections to the tune of R450 000 which will strengthen their hand to challenge for a place in the FNB Varsity Cup competition in the not too distant future.
Both university's rugby clubs were handed the sponsorship in a joint, equal three-way effort by their local top university structures, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) and the Varsity Cup, with each of the three donating R150 000.
Varsity Cup managing director, Duitser Bosman, said the organising committee are committed to driving this project as much as possible. "Both UWC and Fort Hare have proud rugby histories and we'd love nothing more than both universities benefiting from this cash boost and, as a result, pushing hard for qualification in the not too distant future," Bosman said.
"It's great for us to see the excitement and determination amongst those universities to make it into the competition."
Fort Hare were involved in last year's Varsity Cup promotion/relegation match against Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), whilst UWC - according to Ilhaam Groenewald, the head of sports administration at UWC - will be looking to emulate fellow Cape-based teams, Stellenbosch and UCT, by making it into the Varsity Cup.
"It's always been our aim to push for inclusion in the 2010 Varsity Cup and a cash injection of this kind can only help us achieve that," added Groenewald.
