The UCT Ikeys were gloriously crowned three-times Varsity Cup champions in a wild, chaotic final victory over arch-rivals Maties at the Danie Craven Stadium on Monday night.
The decider was littered with mistakes and wracked with nerves, but it was not short of excitement as the Ikeys ran out deserved 44-21 victors, scoring four tries to two. Ikeys star Ntokozo Makhaza was superb on the night with a brilliant 32-point haul.
The pre-match talk in Ikeys dressingroom would have focused on shutting out the cacophony of noise that would emanate from the sold-out maroon-clad Danie Craven Stadium.
And the best way to achieve that would be to strike first, and that’s exactly what Makhaza did in a pulsating opening period.
After some slick handling from the Ikeys backs, Makhaza crossed the whitewash to open the scoring and silence a stunned Danie Craven Stadium. Makhaza added the extras and the Ikeys led 7-0 in the first minute.
The early try certainly caused the Maties to quickly put all the emotion of the occasion behind them and immediately struck back through a penalty from flyhalf Christiaan van Heerden before the pivot was instrumental in setting up Ryan Manuel with an inside pass that allowed the centre to cross the Ikeys line untouched as the home side took the lead 8-7.
A brace for Ntokozo Makhaza! The @ikeytigers retake the lead and all their points thus far have come from that man Makhaza. What a player. #NxtLevel #RugbyThatRocks pic.twitter.com/cipmEpVyWA
— Varsity Cup (@varsitycup) April 14, 2025
It was to be the last time the Maties held the advantage.
The Ikeys’ strength was their impressive lineout jumpers Edio Ndio and Danio Botha with the visitors causing Maties all sorts of problems by stealing three throw-ins in succession.
With a surfeit of possession gained from the lineout, Ikeys utilised it through a hackthrough in midfield, followed up by outside centre Thomas Nel before that man Makhaza was there again at the opportune time to dive over for his second try.
The Maties would rue a gamechanging moment on the stroke of halftime when Manuel pounced on a loose ball and ran in for a try, but only for TV referee Egon Seconds to uphold the Ikeys white-card challenge after noticing a knock-on in the build-up causing the five-pointer to be disallowed.
The second period began with the Maties maroon machine starting to find their rhythm as another Van Heerden penalty reduced the deficit to just five points at 14-19 after 50 minutes.
The momentum was certainly shifting towards the Maties, and with the crowd support starting to tell, it seemed that the pressure was once again going to tell on the Ikeys after two previous final defeats.
FULL TIME and the night belongs to the @ikeytigers! The boys in blue & white have broken the curse and beaten the Maroon Machine in emphatic fashion to be crowned FNB Varsity Cup 2025 champions🏆.
FNB Maties 21-44 FNB UCT#RugbyThatRocks brought to you by FNB, Steers & Suzuki. pic.twitter.com/r4qV3LDIFU
— Varsity Cup (@varsitycup) April 14, 2025
But Maties were the own worst enemies on the night as some sloppy passing in their own 22-metre area saw the Ikeys pounce on a loose ball for UCT fullback Duran Koevert to dive for the visitors’ third try on the evening to stretch the lead once again.
And although Maties hit back shortly afterwards with right-winger Joel Leotlela hit back with a try to revive the home crowds’ hopes again, playing catch up rugby throughout the night would eventually take its toll.
Makhaza’s accurate boot kept keeping the distance between the teams with another three pointer for Ikeys, but the heavy blows were still to come.
Scrumhalf Morne Daars dived over the posts to send the small section of UCT fans begins the poles into a state of delirium that sealed the game with six minutes to go before Makhaza’s added further a penalty to rub salt in the wounds of the Maties on a special night the Ikeys faithful will remember for a long time yet.
VARSITY CUP FINAL
Stellenbosch Maties: 22
Tries: Ryan Manuel, Joel Leotlela
Conversion: MC van Heerden Smith
Penalties: Van Heerden Smith (3)
UCT 44 (19)
Tries: Ntokozo Makhaza (2), Duran Koevort, Monray Daars
Conversions: Makhaza (4)
Penalties: Makhaza (4)
*Note: UCT scored two seven-point tries that originated in their own half
