2014 Varsity Shield


The 2014 Varsity Shield was contested from 27 January to 31 March 2014. The tournament was the fourth season of the Varsity Shield, an annual second-tier inter-university rugby union competition featuring five South African universities.
The tournament was won by for the second consecutive time and third time overall; they beat 35–26 in the final played on 31 March 2015. were automatically promoted to the top-tier Varsity Cup competition for 2015, but lost their promotion play-off match against to remain in the Varsity Shield for 2015. Bottom side won their relegation play-off match against challengers to also remain in the Varsity Shield for 2015.

Rules

The Varsity Shield used a different scoring system to the regular system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points.

Competition

There were five participating universities in the 2014 Varsity Shield. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference.
The top two teams qualified for the title play-offs. These teams played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.
The Varsity Shield winner was promoted to the 2015 Varsity Cup competition, while the bottom team in the Varsity Cup was relegated to the 2015 Varsity Shield. There was also a promotion/relegation match between the 7th-placed team in the Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield runner-up at the end of the 2014 season.

Teams

Standings

The final league standings for the 2014 Varsity Shield were:

Round-by-round

Fixtures

The 2014 Varsity Shield fixtures were as follows:

Round Two

Round Three

Round Four

Round Five

Round Six

Round Seven

Round Eight

Round Nine

Round Ten

Final

Players

Player statistics

The following table contains points which have been scored in the 2014 Varsity Shield.

Squad lists

The teams released the following squad lists:

Honours

2014 FNB Varsity Shield Champions:
Player That Rocks:Onke Dubase,
Forward That Rocks:Lwazi Nqcungama,
Back That Rocks:Shayne Makombe,
Top Try Scorers:Shayne Makombe,
Top Points Scorer:Duan Pretorius,

Referees

The following referees officiated matches in the 2014 Varsity Shield: