USSA Rugby 7’s hosted at NMMU for sixth time as George prepares for “sevens fever”

“The exciting USSA sevens rugby tournament which will be hosted at the George Campus of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) for the sixth consecutive year forms the perfect prelude to and conduit for the Mayoral Sevens Cup, as we forge ahead to strengthen the position of the Southern Cape as the natural home for sevens rugby, now a new Olympic sport,” enthuses Prof Quinton Johnson, the NMMU George Campus Principal.

The USSA Championship, which is scheduled for 30 November and 1 December, promises to be a highlight on the SA Universities Sport Calendar. This is despite the fact that fewer teams will be participating this year due to the extended academic year that some universities were compelled to implement.

With the inclusion of Sevens Rugby as an Olympic sport, and with the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro scheduled for August 06 – 11 next year, the prominence and popularity of this form of sport just continues to grow. “The USSA tournament, as well as the upcoming, Mayoral Sevens Cup on 5 December, provide an excellent platform for developing sevens talent. We especially look forward to welcoming all players from universities across the country to our beautiful NMMU George campus again,” says Prof Johnson.

All matches will be played according to the rules of World Rugby. The fitness levels required by these players is evident if one considers that the matches will be played in two halves of 7 minutes each, with only a two-minute break in-between – fast-paced with much running! This will certainly ensure spectacular Sevens Rugby of a high quality!

More than a dozen teams representing universities from all over the country will be participating this year, with matches scheduled on Monday 30 November 2015 from 09h00 on a round-robin basis. The Knock-out fixtures will take place on Tuesday, 1 December 2015 from 09h00. With the winner of the last two tournaments, University of Pretoria, not participating this year, it seems that Maties could look to reclaim the trophy they held earlier. However, following Kovsies’ domination of the Varsity Cup tournament earlier this year, and with other strong contenders such as Pukke, UJ, Maties and NMMU eager to claim victory, the tournament promises to put all teams thoroughly to the test.

The organizing committee, headed by Hugo Loubser, Sport Manager at the NMMU George Campus, is looking forward to an exciting and challenging competition. Members of the public are invited to attend the matches and are most welcome on Campus!

For further enquiries contact Hugo Loubser at 044 801 5037 or Marnus de Klerk at 044 801 5141.

Some of the excitement of the 2015 USSA Rugby Men’s 7’s is captured in the accompanying images featuring Christiaan Willemse (IMG 0525) and Chreswin Joseph and Lenesteyo Nomdo (IMG 4341) of the Madibaz RugbyTeam.