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Cape Town - The 2011 Varsity Cup tournament kicks-off in Bloemfontein on Monday, February 7 as the seven contenders to Stellenbosch's throne get set - once again - to attempt to end the dominance of the all-conquering Men in Maroon.
GALLERY: Varsity Cup launch
The Maties have won three successive Varsity Cup titles, starting with their last-gasp win over FNB UCT in the inaugural final in Coetzenburg in 2008, right up until last year's win over the selfsame Ikey Tigers when they went through the tournament unbeaten.
And, ironically, the team that has come the closest on two occasions, UCT, will kick things off in 2011 when they travel to Bloemfontein to face the FNB Shimlas at Shimla Park for the first time ever in the history of the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.
The Shimlas will entertain the Ikeys at 17:00, in a repeat of one of last year's semifinals, with three first-round matches then taking place at 19:00 - one of which sees a repeat of the other semi-final from last season, between the three-time defending champion FNB Maties and 2009 finalists, FNB Pukke, at the Danie Craven Stadium. (Both of these matches will be televised, live.)
The remaining opening-day matches will take place between NMMU and Tuks (in Port Elizabeth) and between TUT and UJ (in Tshwane), as the tournament moves away from its opening-day double-headers of years gone by.
Another sight difference to this year's format will see a one-week break between the semi-finals and final of the Varsity Cup - the 2011 Varsity Cup final will take place on Monday, April 11 - to allow the first-ever Varsity Shield Final to take place on April 4.
"It's always an exciting time for us - contemplating the start of yet another successful Varsity Cup tournament," commented Varsity Cup MD Duitser Bosman.
"There was no need for us to tinker too much for what has worked so well for us, but we are very excited about the advent of the Varsity Shield, which will no doubt add a different dimension to the development of rugby at this level," he added.
SuperSport are, once again, on board as official broadcasters, with 19 of the 31 Varsity Cup matches televised live - along with the finals of the brand-new Varsity Shield and the Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships.
One of those 19 televised matches will be the Round Seven (Monday, March 7) all-Western Cape clash between UCT and the Maties at Groote Schuur in Cape Town; a rivalry which has been one of the highlights of the Varsity Cup since the tournament's inception in 2008.
A promotion/relegation match will take place after the 2011 Varsity Cup - between the bottom team in the 'A-Section' and the top Varsity Shield side - to decide the line-up for the 2012 season.
This promotion/relegation fixture will be played as the first curtain-raiser to the Varsity Cup final, followed by the Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships final and, then, the 2011 Varsity Cup final.
The final, as in years gone by, will be played at the venue of the team finishing the highest on the log (and then winning its semi-final match) after the completion of the seven-week league phase of the tournament.
GALLERY: Varsity Cup launch
The Maties have won three successive Varsity Cup titles, starting with their last-gasp win over FNB UCT in the inaugural final in Coetzenburg in 2008, right up until last year's win over the selfsame Ikey Tigers when they went through the tournament unbeaten.
And, ironically, the team that has come the closest on two occasions, UCT, will kick things off in 2011 when they travel to Bloemfontein to face the FNB Shimlas at Shimla Park for the first time ever in the history of the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.
The Shimlas will entertain the Ikeys at 17:00, in a repeat of one of last year's semifinals, with three first-round matches then taking place at 19:00 - one of which sees a repeat of the other semi-final from last season, between the three-time defending champion FNB Maties and 2009 finalists, FNB Pukke, at the Danie Craven Stadium. (Both of these matches will be televised, live.)
The remaining opening-day matches will take place between NMMU and Tuks (in Port Elizabeth) and between TUT and UJ (in Tshwane), as the tournament moves away from its opening-day double-headers of years gone by.
Another sight difference to this year's format will see a one-week break between the semi-finals and final of the Varsity Cup - the 2011 Varsity Cup final will take place on Monday, April 11 - to allow the first-ever Varsity Shield Final to take place on April 4.
"It's always an exciting time for us - contemplating the start of yet another successful Varsity Cup tournament," commented Varsity Cup MD Duitser Bosman.
"There was no need for us to tinker too much for what has worked so well for us, but we are very excited about the advent of the Varsity Shield, which will no doubt add a different dimension to the development of rugby at this level," he added.
SuperSport are, once again, on board as official broadcasters, with 19 of the 31 Varsity Cup matches televised live - along with the finals of the brand-new Varsity Shield and the Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships.
One of those 19 televised matches will be the Round Seven (Monday, March 7) all-Western Cape clash between UCT and the Maties at Groote Schuur in Cape Town; a rivalry which has been one of the highlights of the Varsity Cup since the tournament's inception in 2008.
A promotion/relegation match will take place after the 2011 Varsity Cup - between the bottom team in the 'A-Section' and the top Varsity Shield side - to decide the line-up for the 2012 season.
This promotion/relegation fixture will be played as the first curtain-raiser to the Varsity Cup final, followed by the Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships final and, then, the 2011 Varsity Cup final.
The final, as in years gone by, will be played at the venue of the team finishing the highest on the log (and then winning its semi-final match) after the completion of the seven-week league phase of the tournament.
