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Ikey Tigers
South African rugby union club, based in University of Cape Town
South African rugby union club, based in University of Cape Town
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| teamname | UCT Ikey Tigers |
| fullname | University of Cape Town Rugby Football Club |
| image | University of Cape Town logo.svg |
| imagesize | 150px |
| location | Cape Town, South Africa |
| countryflag | South Africa |
| region | Western Cape |
| ground | UCT Rugby Fields- The Green Mile |
| capacity | 4000+ |
| coach | Robert Fleck, Brendan Venter, Chean Roux, Joe Allardice |
| captain | Siphumezo Dyonase |
| league | FNB Varsity Cup |
| season | 2025 |
| position | 3rd |
| url | www.uctrfc.co.za |
| pattern_la1 | _white_hoops |
| pattern_b1 | _whitehoops |
| pattern_ra1 | _white_hoops |
| leftarm1 | 0000CC |
| body1 | 0000CC |
| rightarm1 | 0000CC |
| socks1 | 0700CC |
The Ikey Tigers are a South African rugby union team from the University of Cape Town in the Western Cape who compete in the FNB Varsity Cup.
History
The "Ikey" nickname originated in the 1910s as an antisemitic epithet applied to UCT students by the students of Stellenbosch University, because of the supposed large number of Jewish students at UCT.
Since the inception of the FNB Varsity Cup, the Ikey Tigers have been one of the strongest competitors, finishing runners up in 2008 and 2010. Both final loses fell at the hands of the Ikeys arch rival, the Maties. In 2008 UCT went down to Maties by 16–10 in the inaugural Varsity Cup final after topping the log at the end of the round robin stage of the competition. In 2009, UCT were once again prominent in the round robin stage, finishing second and qualifying for a second home semi-final. They lost the game to the NWU Pukke by 17–19.
The 2010 Varsity Cup saw another strong showing from UCT as they once again finished second on the log. They qualified for their second final by beating the Shimlas of Free State at home by 27–21. They then went on to play Maties in the final with the game resulting in the closest winning margin in the history of the competition with Maties winning by 17–14.
In 2011 UCT finished second on the log for a third successive time and claimed an unprecedented 4th Semi-Final appearance. They once again faced Shimlas in their home semi-final, beating them by 57–20 to qualify for their third final. The 2011 final took place on 11 April in Pretoria featuring UCT against Tuks. UCT won by 26–16 to claim their first ever Varsity Cup title.
Stadium
The Ikey Tigers play their home fixtures on the Groote Schuur Rugby Field which is adjacent to the university campus. The fields are known commonly by UCT students as The Green Mile. Since the inception of the Varsity Cup, the field has not met the required standards for night fixtures which has resulted in UCT playing two "home" finals away, namely in 2008 when they had to travel to Stellenbosch to play Maties and in 2011 when they had to travel to Pretoria to play Tuks. On 7 March 2011 the UCT rugby club received a $1 million donation from Neville Isdell which allowed them to dust off their longtime plans to build a proper rugby stadium.
Rivalries
The Ikey Tigers main rivalry is with Stellenbosch University's Maties. The rivalry is fuelled by the relative geographical proximity of the two universities, and their status as the two top universities in the Western Cape. This rivalry is further intensified by the fact that they are the two most successful teams in the competition and have competed two finals against each other. Matches between these two teams draw large crowds and are normally televised on SuperSport.
Results:
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Reference | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 March 2008 | UCT | 38–34 | Maties | id=15911 | homeid=6922 | awayid=6918 | leagueid=636 | hometeam=UCT | homescore=38 | awayscore=34 | awayteam=Maties | matchdate=20 March 2008 | date=13 July 2016}} | |
| 7 April 2008 | Maties | 16–10 | UCT | id=16128 | homeid=6922 | awayid=6918 | leagueid=636 | hometeam=UCT | homescore=10 | awayscore=16 | awayteam=Maties | matchdate=7 April 2008 | date=13 July 2016}} | |
| 2 February 2009 | UCT | 10–12 | Maties | id=17076 | homeid=7377 | awayid=7380 | leagueid=717 | hometeam=UCT | homescore=10 | awayscore=12 | awayteam=Maties | matchdate=2 February 2009 | date=13 July 2016}} | |
| 8 March 2010 | Maties | 23–17 | UCT | id=18563 | homeid=7946 | awayid=7952 | leagueid=763 | hometeam=Maties | homescore=23 | awayscore=17 | awayteam=UCT | matchdate=8 March 2010 | date=13 July 2016}} | |
| 29 March 2010 | Maties | 17–14 | UCT | id=18570 | homeid=7946 | awayid=7952 | leagueid=763 | hometeam=Maties | homescore=17 | awayscore=14 | awayteam=UCT | matchdate=29 March 2010 | date=13 July 2016}} | |
| 7 March 2011 | UCT | 16–37 | Maties | id=19986 | homeid=8494 | awayid=8495 | leagueid=804 | hometeam=UCT | homescore=16 | awayscore=37 | awayteam=Maties | matchdate=7 March 2011 | date=13 July 2016}} | |
| 12 March 2012 | Maties | 45–5 | UCT | id=102001 | homeid=10581 | awayid=10591 | leagueid=1071 | hometeam=Maties | homescore=45 | awayscore=5 | awayteam=UCT | matchdate=12 March 2012 | date=13 July 2016}} | |
| 4 March 2013 | UCT | 15–37 | Maties | id=100984 | homeid=10654 | awayid=10614 | leagueid=1084 | hometeam=FNB UCT | homescore=15 | awayscore=37 | awayteam=FNB Maties | matchdate=4 March 2013 | date=13 July 2016}} | |
| 10 February 2014 | Maties | 16–33 | UCT | id=117064 | homeid=17164 | awayid=17214 | leagueid=1694 | hometeam=FNB MATIES | homescore=16 | awayscore=33 | awayteam=FNB UCT 1ST XV | matchdate=10 February 2014 | date=13 July 2016}} | |
| 24 March 2014 | UCT | 20–8 | Maties | id=117304 | homeid=17214 | awayid=17164 | leagueid=1694 | hometeam=FNB UCT 1ST XV | homescore=20 | awayscore=8 | awayteam=FNB MATIES | matchdate=24 March 2014 | date=13 July 2016}} |
Current squad
The squad for the 2016 Varsity Cup was named as follows:
| UCT Ikey Tigers Varsity Cup squad |
|---|
| (c) Denotes team captain. |
Season standings
| Ikey Tigers Varsity Cup Final Standings | Season | Position | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts | Play-off Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2nd | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 260 | 149 | +111 | 7 | 31 | Losing finalists | |
| 2009 | 1st | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 177 | 121 | +56 | 5 | 25 | Losing semi-finalists | |
| 2010 | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 223 | 139 | +84 | 3 | 25 | Losing finalists | |
| 2011 | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 213 | 134 | +79 | 3 | 23 | Champions | |
| 2012 | 7th | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 164 | 195 | –31 | 3 | 9 | Won relegation play-off | |
| 2013 | 7th | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 159 | 198 | –39 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 2014 | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 186 | 141 | +45 | 4 | 24 | Champions | |
| 2015 | 3rd | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 258 | 157 | +101 | 4 | 22 | Losing semi-finalists | |
| 2016 | 8th | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 103 | 324 | –221 | 3 | 3 | Won relegation play-off | |
| 2017 | 8th | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 140 | 248 | −108 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 2018 | 6th | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 182 | 181 | +1 | 5 | 21 | ||
| 2019 | 5th | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 227 | 262 | −35 | 6 | 20 | ||
| 2021 | 2nd | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 174 | 7 | 41 | Losing finalists | |||
| 2022 | 3th | 8 | Losing semi-finalists | |||||||||
| 2023 | 2nd | 9 | Losing finalists | |||||||||
| 2024 | 2nd | 9 | Losing finalists | |||||||||
| 2025 | 3th | 9 | Champions |
Individual records
- Tries (Season): Mathew Turner (9 tries in 2008); Therlow Pietersen (7 tries in 2011); Therlow Pietersen (6 tries in 2009)
- Tries (Career): Therlow Pietersen (15 in 2009–11); Marcello Sampson (14 in 2008–10); Nyasha Tarusenga (14 in 2015–19); Ntokozo Makhaza (14 in 2022–2024)
- Most Points (Season): Demetri Catrakilis (136 in 2011)
- Most Points (Career): Ntokozo Makhaza (267 in 2024–2025)
Player awards
- 2008 Top Try Scorer – Mathew Turner (9 tries)
- 2009 Top Try Scorer – Therlow Pietersen (6 tries)
- 2009 Back That Rocks – Therlow Pietersen
- 2011 Top Try Scorer – Therlow Pietersen (7 tries)
- 2011 Top Points Scorer – Demetri Catrakilis (136 points)
- 2014 Forward That Rocks – Shaun McDonald
- 2024 Overall Player That Rocks – Ntokozo Makhaza
Notable players and coaches
- Jake White - Assistant Coach 2008
- Bobby Skinstad - Assistant Coach 2008
- Robbie Fleck - Assistant Coach 2009
- Mathew Turner - Wing 2008
- Tim Whitehead - Center 2008
- Kyle Brown - Wing 2008
- JJ Gagiano - 8th Man 2008–2010
- Siya Kolisi - Flank 2010
- Marcel Brache - Wing 2010–2011
- Nic Groom - Scrumhalf 2010–2011
- Demetri Catrakilis - Fly Half 2011
- Nizaam Carr - Flank 2011
- Eben Etzebeth - Lock 2011
- Don Armand - Lock, flank 2008–2011
- Damian de Allende - Centre 2012
- Oli Kebble - Prop 2013
- Huw Jones - Centre 2014
References
References
- "Varsity Cup Fixtures".
- Swanson, Felicity. (2007). "Imagining the City: Memories and Cultures in Cape Town". HSRC Press.
- "Million-dollar boost for UCT rugby stadium".
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Match Centre. (13 July 2016)
- {{SA Rugby Squad
- Bodlani, Lilitha. (2023-04-17). "Eagles crowned 2023 FNB Varsity Cup champions".
- Bodlani, Lilitha. (2024-04-22). "Shimlas sink Ikeys in dramatic fashion to be crowned 2024 Varsity Cup champions".
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