The Durban University of Technology (DUT) will field a rugby team, for the second consecutive year, in the FNB Varsity Shield 2022.
DUT sports officer, Tumie Mdugu, said the team is excited to be participating in South Africa’s second tier university rugby tournament.
“The tournament is set to commence on 4 March. The DUT rugby team will play their first game of the tournament against Round 1 and 2 hosts, FNB Rhodes in Makhanda, Eastern Cape. All of the games will be broadcast live on SuperSport (DStv channel 211) and will be simulcast on SuperSport, Channel 209.
“The DUT rugby team is working around the clock to prepare for this prestigious tournament and to improve on their performance from last year. In 2021, DUT Rugby competed for the first time in this tournament, which was challenging yet exciting and the team were happy to finally get the opportunity to play in the FNB Varsity Shield,” said Mgudu.
She said following the team’s inception, DUT Rugby Team has made tremendous progress in just five years since its establishment. “They are grateful to University Sports South Africa (USSA) for affording them yet another opportunity to compete in the FNB Varsity Shield. Using #DUTreadyforthefight, the team is ready to put up a decent fight in the 2022 tournament.
She urged the entire DUT community to rally behind the team, as they go out to fight for the badge and to represent the university with pride.
“The team is on the backfoot after losing all of their games in 2021, which places them on the verge of being relegated. To maintain their place in the competition, the team would have to win a minimum of two games and this places a lot of pressure on the coach and our players. The Department of Sports Administration at DUT has done its best to ensure that a qualified coaching team is appointed for the task. We are confident that their expertise will help carry our team to victory,” said Mgudu.
She extended her gratitude to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Rugby Union for their support and urged KZN as a whole to support the team. She expressed that they are happy with the preparations and are looking forward to every task ahead of them.
