This year’s Varsity 7s Rugby tournament is mere weeks away, on 4-5 October, and set to be bigger and better than before at Pirates Rugby Club in Johannesburg.
Fans can look forward to two days of rugby festivity that promises high-performance sevens rugby, competitions, prizes, entertainment and much more.
Here are just seven reasons you should attend the biggest university 7s event, watch it live on SuperSport or follow tournament updates on social media using the #Varsity7sFest hashtag.
1. It’s a first for the Varsity Women’s 7 tournament
This year, Varsity Sports has introduced a Varsity Women’s 7s tournament. Four teams will participate using a similar format as the men’s and look to be crowned inaugural Varsity Women’s 7s champions on Saturday, 5 October.
ALSO READ: Varsity Sports welcomes Varsity Women’s 7s
The teams competing are; UP-Tuks (University of Pretoria), UJ (University of Johannesburg), UKZN (University of KwaZulu-Natal) and UFH (University of Fort Hare).
The inclusion of a Varsity Women’s 7s tournament is a natural progression for Varsity Sports as it paves the way for gender equality in sports.
2. Get behind the Boks
The first day of Varsity 7s, Friday, 4 October, will be #BokFriday. When you come through to Pirates Rugby Club you can watch the Springboks take on Italy at 11:45 on the big screen. What could be better than supporting our boys in Japan amongst fellow rugby fanatics?!
ALSO READ: Varsity rugby stars heading to Rugby World Cup with Boks
Speaking of the Springboks, imagine telling the Boks exactly how much you support them, and they listen? At Varsity 7s this year, FNB will be making that happen with the FNB Words of Greatness. Fans are encouraged to record their good luck messages for the Springboks, live from Pirates, and these messages will be delivered to the Boks in Japan. Messages can be audio, video or text. A camera crew will also record fans at the activation area at Varsity 7s.
3. Chill by the Grill with Steers
Between the fantastic rugby fixtures, fans will be treated to some fun activations at the Steers Chill-Zone.
Get your burger, your beverage and take part in the Steers Giant Jenga and the Steers Build-A-Burger. Fantastic prizes will be up for grabs!
4. MTN Pulse
Brand-new Varsity Sports sponsors, MTN, will keep all fans entertained throughout the weekend with some awesome prizes, give-aways and activations.
5. Meet you favourite 5FM DJs
5FM will be broadcasting live on both days from Pirates Rugby Club. Be sure to come down and say hi to your favourite 5FM presenter – from Thando Thabethe to Kyle Cassim to Msizi James to Nicole da Silva.
They’ll be sure to keep you entertained at the Varsity 7s. Who knows? You might even get your 5 minutes of fame on air.
6. Flavourfontein – the most flavoursome spot to kick back and enjoy a Flying Fish while enjoying Varsity 7s
You’ve heard of Bloemfontein, you’ve heard of Bitterfontein, you’ve possibly even heard of Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein, but Flying Fish brings you most flavoursome Fontein of them all, Flavourfontein!
This year Flavourfontein will be at Varsity 7s transporting spectators to an island beach vaaaibe. Flavourfontein’s first priority is giving people the opportunity to break from their routine and play a bit with Giant Jenga, Flavour Fashion, Bus Stop Barber and Flavoursome Mixology along the way!Come through to Varsity 7s and be part of the coolest vibe in the city!
7. Meet the future Blitzboks!
In 2018, UP-Tuks 7s walked away with top honours after a thrilling Varsity 7s final. The defending champions UJ started the final in the best way possible, though, as Ronald Brown dived over the line to score a converted try before Lourens Pretorius broke through to level the scores.
Brown then outstripped the UP-Tuks defence to score a 50m try. Although it wasn’t enough to help UJ defend their title, Brown had showed exactly why he joined the SA Rugby Sevens programme in the aftermath of the tournament.
Many of the players who participate at Varsity 7s go further and the chance to run out for the Blitzboks is always there since Varsity 7s is part of the SA 7s breeding ground.
*The Varsity 7s tournament teams will be announced on 23 September after the USSA qualifications.
Varsity 7s will be broadcast live on SuperSport 211 on Friday, 4 October and SuperSport 210 on Saturday, 5 October 2019. Tickets are already on sale and can be purchased via the Varsity Sports App (iOS and Andoid) or here: https://varsitysportsa.plankton.mobi
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