By Anica Hattingh
Stellenbosch University (SU) hosted the University Sports South Africa (USSA) Rugby 7s Championship on 6 and 7 September – for both the men’s and women’s teams.
The USSA Rugby 7s follows a two-day structure, starting with pool matches where men’s and women’s teams are grouped to compete in short, fast-paced games. Results from the pool stage determine rankings and seedings for the knockout rounds, which are divided into Cup (top), Plate (mid), and Bowl (low) brackets to ensure all sides continue playing. The tournament then progresses through quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals, with additional classification matches deciding overall placements.
On Saturday 6 September the USSA Rugby 7s kicked off with an energetic match between the SU and the University of Pretoria (UP) men. After a hard-fought battle, the men of UP left the field victorious with a five point lead on the scoreboard. The SU women, however, bagged an impressive 31-0 win against Vaal University of Technology (VUT).
Both the men and women of SU made it through to the quarter-finals – the women racking up two wins on day one and the men one win, one draw, and one loss.
The women, having lost (against the University of Fort Harare) in the quarter-finals, moved down to the Plate semi-finals; after falling short in the pool stage, the men were relegated to the Bowl semi-final – despite their incredible 38-5 win against Central University of Technology (CUT) in the quarters.
As the championship drew to a close, spectators were on the edge of their seats. Both the men and women, who played their final games against North-West University (NWU), walked away with wins in their respective tiers – causing a buzz of celebration through Stellenbosch!
