# 2013 Varsity Shield

The 2013 Varsity Shield was contested from 28 January to 1 April 2013. The tournament (also known as the FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the Varsity Shield, an annual second-tier inter-university rugby union competition featuring five South African universities.
The tournament was won by CUT Ixias for the second time; they beat UWC 29–19 in the final played on 1 April 2013. No team was promoted to the top-tier Varsity Cup competition for 2014.

## Competition rules and information

There were five participating universities in the 2013 Varsity Shield. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once 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 two teams qualified for the title play-offs. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished second.
There was no promotion/relegation between the Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield at the end of 2013.
The 2013 Varsity Shield 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.

## Teams

The following teams took part in the 2013 Varsity Shield competition:
2013 Varsity Shield teams :
| Team name | University | Stadium |
| CUT Ixias | Central University of Technology | CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein |
| TUT Vikings | Tshwane University of Technology | TUT Stadium, Pretoria |
| UFH Blues | University of Fort Hare | Davidson Rugby Field, Alice |
| UKZN Impi | University of KwaZulu-Natal | Peter Booysen Sports Park, Pietermaritzburg |
| UWC | University of the Western Cape | UWC Sport Stadium, Cape Town |

## Standings

The final league standings for the 2013 Varsity Shield were:
2013 Varsity Shield Log :
| Pos | Team | Pl | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | CUT Ixias | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 296 | 159 | +137 | 41 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 37 |
| 2 | UWC | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 225 | 160 | +65 | 28 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 21 |
| 3 | UKZN Impi | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 143 | 215 | −72 | 17 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 4 | UFH Blues | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 159 | 194 | −35 | 20 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 5 | TUT Vikings | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 122 | 217 | −95 | 12 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| * Legend: Pos = Position, Pl = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TF = Tries For, TA = Tries Against, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points CUT Ixias and UKZN Impi qualified to the final. Points breakdown: *4 points for a win *2 points for a draw *1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less *1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match ||||||||||||||

## Fixtures

The 2013 Varsity Shield fixtures were as follows:
* All times are South African (GMT+2).

### Round one

* Bye/s: CUT Ixias

### Round two

* Bye/s: UFH Blues

### Round three

* Bye/s: UWC

### Round four

* Bye/s: TUT Vikings

### Round five

* Bye/s: UKZN Impi

### Round six

* Bye/s: CUT Ixias

### Round seven

* Bye/s: UFH Blues

### Round eight

* Bye/s: UWC

### Round nine

* Bye/s: TUT Vikings

### Round ten

* Bye/s: UKZN Impi

### Final
## Players
### Squad lists

The teams released the following squad lists:

## Honours

| 2013 FNB Varsity Shield Champions: | CUT Ixias |
| Player That Rocks: | Inus Kritzinger, CUT Ixias |
| Forward That Rocks: | Billy Dutton, UFH Blues |
| Back That Rocks: | Freddie Muller, UWC |
| Top Try Scorers: | Inus Kritzinger, CUT Ixias (7) |
| Top Points Scorer: | Freddie Muller, UWC (70) |