The UKZN Impi began their Varsity Shield 2021 campaign with a resounding 62-15 victory against Rhodes.UKZN Impi Win Big at 2021 Varsity Shield Rugby Tournament!
The UKZN Impi enjoyed a runaway 62-15 victory against Rhodes University in their opening game of the Varsity Shield rugby tournament at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria this week.
UKZN honours student, Azakhiwe Afrika won the FNB Player That Rocks award in the game which saw our Impi team score 10 tries, 2 penalties and 2 conversions.
The excitement was evident in these @varsityshield tweets: ‘The @UKZN_Rugby Impi start their FNB Varsity Shield campaign in emphatic fashion. Llawdden Roux collects a great offload and storms his way over for the opener.
'Skills for Afrika! Beautiful work from the @UKZN_Rugby backline as they string together the passes and Azakhiwe Afrika puts on the finishing touch.’
UKZN won the FNB Varsity Shield Championship in 2015 after beating WITS 29-24 at the Wits Rugby Stadium in Johannesburg.
Visit the Varsity Cup website to meet this year’s Impi team.
Manager: Student Health and Sport at UKZN, Mr Mark Bashe congratulated the team on their win: ‘They played extremely well and gave it their all for the entire match. Our sincere thanks goes to the Campus Return Task Team (CRTT) for allowing our students to return to campus and prepare for the tournament. Our UKZN team will do us proud this year and I have no doubt they will be top contenders for the championship trophy,’ said Bashe.
This year’s Varsity Cup and Varsity Shield tournaments, sponsored by FNB and Steers, are taking place in a secure bio-bubble at the FNB Varsity Cup Village hosted by the University of Pretoria to ensure the safety of teams and their coaching staff.
For more information on the stringent COVID-19 precautions in place, visit the Varsity Cup website.
To back our boys, follow the Impi on Twitter: @UKZN_Rugby and tune into the games live on SuperSport (DSTV channel 211).
Words: Raylene Captain-Hasthibeer
Image: Supplied