The Ikey Tigers are a South African

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

who compete in the FNB Varsity Cup.

History

The "Ikey" nickname originated in the 1910s as an anti-semitic epithet applied to UCT students by the students of

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

, 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 Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

. 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 The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary se ...

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 Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

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 Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

to play Maties and in 2011 when they had to travel to

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

. 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:

Current squad

The squad for the 2016 Varsity Cup was named as follows:

Season standings

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); Marcello Sampson (14); Mathew Turner (9) * Most Points (Season): Demetri Catrakilis (136 in 2011) * Most Points (Career): Matthew Rosslee

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

Notable players and coaches

Jake White Jake White (born 13 December 1963 as ''Jacob Westerduin'') is a professional rugby union coach and former coach of the South African national team – the ''Springboks'' – whom he coached to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tr ...

- 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 Marcel Girard Brache (born 15 October 1987) is an American rugby union player. Brache was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised primarily in South Africa. He currently plays for the Austin Gilgronis of Major League Rugby (MLR), generall ...

- Wing 2010-2011 * Nic Groom - Scrumhalf 2010-2011 * Demetri Catrakilis - Fly Half 2011 *

Nizaam Carr Nizaam Carr (born 4 April 1991) is a South African rugby union footballer who plays either as a flanker, loose forward or number 8 and back rower. He is renowned for his athleticism and linking play. Personal life Carr grew up in Mitchell's ...

- Flank 2011 *

Eben Etzebeth Eben Etzebeth (born 29 October 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Sharks in the United Rugby Championship. His regular playing position is as a number 4 lock. Cl ...

- Lock 2011 * Don Armand - Lock, flank 2008-2011 *

Damian de Allende Damian de Allende (born 25 November 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Japanese club Saitama Wild Knights. His usual position is either centre or wing. He was a ...

- Centre 2012 * Oli Kebble - Prop 2013 * Huw Jones - Centre 2014

References

External links

*http://www.uctrfc.co.za *http://www.uct.ac.za *http://www.varsitycup.co.za {{Cape Town South African rugby union teams University of Cape Town University and college rugby union clubs in South Africa