2015 Varsity Cup

2015 Varsity Cup
Countries	South Africa
Date	9 February – 13 April 2015
Champions	UFS Shimlas (1st title)
Runners-up	NWU Pukke
Relegated	None
Matches played	31
Tries scored	231 (average 7.452 per match)
Top point scorer	Rhyno Smith (101)
Top try scorer	Daniel Maartens / Gerhard Olivier (8)
← 2014 2016 →

The 2015 Varsity Cup was contested from 9 February to 13 April 2015. The tournament (also known as the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring eight South African universities.

The tournament was won by UFS Shimlas, who beat NWU Pukke 63–33 in the final played on 13 April 2015. No team was relegated to the second-tier Varsity Shield competition for 2016.

There were eight participating universities in the 2015 Varsity Cup. These teams played each other once over the course of the season, either home or 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 (points scored less points conceded).

The top four teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.

There was no relegation to the Varsity Shield at the end of the season.

The 2015 Varsity Cup used a different scoring system than the common scoring system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points instead of two, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points instead of three.

All Varsity Cup games also had two referees officiating each game,props' jerseys featured a special gripping patch to ensure better binding, intended to reduce collapsing scrums and the mark was extended to the entire field.

The Varsity Cup also reintroduced the White Card system from 2015. Under this system, either team's coach or captain could refer incidents for further review, similar to the Umpire Decision Review System used in cricket. They could have incidents reviewed that they believed were either given incorrectly or went unnoticed by the on-field referees. Each team was entitled to one review in each half of the match; if a review proved successful, the team retained their white card review for that half, but if it was unsuccessful, they lost the right to further reviews for the remainder of the half.

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