It’s time for the 2019 Varsity 7’s tournament and the North West University will look to gain the acendancy in group B.

With Madibaz, NWU, UCT and UJ all drawn together in group B picking out likely group winners is anyone’s guess. What will be easier to predict, considering the quality within it, is that one of the two best third-place finishers (who will make the last two Cup quarterfinal slots) will emerge from it. That, also, means that only one team will be left disappointed.

In NWU’s case, the best they can show is consecutive semi-final losses between 2015-17 – with the first two ending in recoveries to claim third place. Last year, though, the boys in purple finished a lowly seventh.

UCT, on the other hand, are an even greater anomaly as their best finish came in 2015, and that was only a fifth place at Villagers (a venue familiar to them in Cape Town). If their Varsity 7s 2019 form is going to follow previous years’ routine it looks far likelier that their coastal rivals, Madibaz sneak out of Group B.

Group B Games on Friday, 4 October

UJ vs UCT (09:44)
Madibaz vs NWU (10:06)
UJ vs NWU (11:56)
Madibaz vs UCT (12:18)
UJ vs Madibaz (14:52)
NWU vs UCT (15:14)