The FNB CUT Ixias will themselves determine who their opponents will be in the Varsity Shield Final, when the meet the FNB UKZN Impi’s on 24 March 2014.

If the Ixias can beat the strong Impi’s in Pietermaritzburg next Monday,  and prevent the home side scoring a bonus point, FNB UFH Blues might still end up in second place on the log – thus qualifying for the Final in Bloemfontein on 31 March. 

The Blues may slip in through the back door, provided they beat visiting FNB TUT Vikings in Alice next Monday. Judging by the Blues’ performances this season, there is no reason why the shouldn’t beat the Vikings. The Ixias are already certain of a home final, sitting pretty at the top of the log, currently 11 points clear of the Impi’s.  The only question remains who their opponents will be. The last league match in Pietermaritzburg will not be easy. In their first encounter this season, the Ixias scraped home by 26-25 in Bloemfontein against the very capable Impi side, coached by former All Black and Lions Super Rugby coach, John Mitchell. Ixias coach, Mr Skillie Bester, believes the week rest did his team well. “We will need to be at our very best in this last league match. The Impi’s will be a hard nut to crack, and a win against us will ensure them of a place in the Final as well as give them a tremendous confidence boost for the Final”, Bester said. The last two league fixtures for Monday 24^th March are:

24	FNB UFH	v	FNB TUT	Davidson Rugby Stadium, Alice	19:00
24	FNB UKZN	v	FNB CUT	Peter Booysen Sports Park, Pmbg	19:00

The log standings after the penultimate round is:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	BPts	Pts
1	FNB CUT	7	6	0	1	234	132	102	32	16	7	31
2	FNB UKZN	7	3	1	3	207	150	57	26	18	6	20
3	FNB UFH	7	3	1	3	177	184	-7	22	24	3	17
4	FNB UWC	8	3	0	5	199	240	-41	24	29	4	16
5	FNB TUT	7	2	0	5	151	262	-111	19	36	3	11

By Carel Korff

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