Bright future ahead for first-time women’s Varsity Cup rugby champions
“[This victory] means a lot, not only to us, but for all the women out there,” said Johann Zeier, FNB Maties women’s rugby head coach, after the team’s 63-9 win over the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in the first-ever FNB Varsity Cup Women’s final.
“It is great to see this happening and the exposure female rugby got during Varsity Cup,” said Zeier.
The FNB Maties Women’s final took place at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on 13 April, according to Bianca Augustyn, captain of Maties Women.
“It feels unreal and I think it still needs to sink in,” said Augustyn on their win.
Maties Women’s Rugby team at their first-ever Varsity Cup match. “This victory will help us get more girls playing rugby, not just in Stellenbosch but everywhere else,” said Ropah Madyah, outside center for Maties ,and selected ‘Player that Rocks’ of the Varsity Cup Women’s final. PHOTO: Liza-May Pieters
Making history
“This victory is just a step towards the future [of women’s rugby],” said Ropafadoza Madyah, outside center for the women’s team, and ‘Player that Rocks’ recipient, regarding the team’s triumph at UWC’s Sports Stadium.
The team’s victory has sparked a curiosity into women’s sports on Stellenbosch University’s (SU) campus, explained Madyah. “Walking around campus and in class, people are asking about women’s rugby,” she explained.
“Our social media is overflowing at the moment with girls wanting to join the sport,” stated Mandisa Maphisa, manager of Maties Women’s Rugby.
Maties were sitting comfortably on a score of 53-0 at half-time, said Bianca Augustyn, captain of Maties Women’s Rugby. “We reset the scoreboard to 0-0 and focused on the things we could do better in the remaining 40 minutes of the game,” explained Augustyn. PHOTO: Emma Solomon
The road to victory
“Thinking about where we started as Maties Women’s Rugby and where we are now is quite emotional and brings so much joy,” stated Zeier.
Maties entered the competition as “the underdogs”, and were “the last team to be selected” to compete, according to Madyah. But despite this, Maties won all of their games throughout the competition, according to the Varsity Cup website. “This [victory] just shows how hard work pays off,” said Madyah.
“We wanted to showcase good women’s rugby, [and set] a good starting standard for this competition for the years to come,” said Augustyn. “We still have a long year ahead with loads of rugby and hopefully more trophies to come.”
Looking forward
“We missed most of our supporters and home ground but that’s out of our control,” said Johann Zeier, head coach for Maties Women’s Rugby, after Maties won the first-ever FNB Varsity Cup Women’s final. PHOTO: Emma Solomon
The Varsity Cup team intends to continue with the tone set in the competition for the rest of the rugby season, said Augustyn.
The club season is about to begin, so any woman looking to play rugby can still sign up, said Maphisa.