UCT Ikey Tigers Rugby Club

“Running Rugby since 1882.”

What has become known as the Ikey Tigers played its first game in 1882, as the South African College, the year before the founding of the Western Province Rugby Union. In the 135 (and counting) years since then the Ikeys have played rugby according to the famous “Varsity Spirit” – adventure, joy, freedom, willingness to take risks but underlying it a fierce competitiveness.

The Ikey Tigers are amateur but professionally run and proudly represent the University of Cape Town – the finest university in Africa and among the best in the world. Our teams participate in the WPRU Super A league and our 1st XV and U20s in the Varsity Cup. We aim for our 1st XV to be among the finest student and amateur teams in South Africa and indeed the world. We have won the Varsity Cup in 2011 and 2014 and the World University Invitation Tournament in 2015 and 2019.

More than that, UCT puts out 5 men’s teams each week and has recently established a women’s division and the UCT Internal League caters for 12 residence-based and other internal teams on weeknights.

While we have produced over 60 Springboks and many other professional players, including over 20 current professionals, much more than this our aim is to help prepare our players for life after university and rugby and for them to take away in their experiences, memories and the friendships formed on and around the fields something of that “Varsity Spirit” for the rest of their lives.