TREU WANTS STAYING POWER - UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE RUGBY TEAM

BY JOHN GOLIATH

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE (UWC) RUGBY TEAM are back among the big dogs in the Varsity Cup and they’re doing everything in their power to be a regular fixture in the competition. Over the better part of a decade, UWC teams have yo-yoed between the Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield, shining in one but not cutting the mustard in the premier competition.

UWC AGAIN OUTPLAYED ALLCOMERS in the Varsity Shield last season before finishing their campaign with a 24-18 win in the final over the Cape Peninsula University of Technology to achieve promotion. Now they want to replicate that form in the Varsity Cup and not just make up the numbers before suffering another relegation. They’re keen to become one of the competition’s legacy sides.

UWC COACH PAUL TREU is already laying the foundation for a successful season. The former Springboks Sevens coach and one of his staff members have spent time at United Rugby Championship side Benetton in Treviso, Italy, to upskill themselves before a tough Varsity Cup campaign. “We’re on a mission in Treviso to see what we can implement and align with our planning. The year before, I visited Munster (Ireland) and La Rochelle (France) and it was very educational,” says Treu.

“THIS IS WHAT UWC OFFERS US. They invest in our development as professionals and as people. If you want to improve the players and the structures at the university, you have to invest in your staff.

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for us between the two competitions. This is why we are doing these visits, to get new ideas and information about how to make our performances more sustainable and give ourselves a chance to stay in the Varsity Cup. And from there the next step – in the long term – is to win it.

“We don’t necessarily have the same resources as the other big rugby universities, but we can do things a bit more creatively to try to bridge that gap.”

TREU KNOWS RECRUITMENT WILL BE KEY before the new competition. UWC has to compete for the cream of the crop with other universities, and this demands creative approaches. For now, Treu and his staff are looking for players who have been in and around professional rugby academy set-ups and are ready-made for the Varsity Cup. “We’re always going to be under pressure to perform, so we’re not necessarily going to recruit players who come to us straight out of school, players who still need to go through that development phase,” says the coach.

“MOST OF OUR RECRUITING will come from players who maybe finished school and decided to have a gap year while joining one of the rugby academies around the country. The top guys will always want to go to the top rugby universities, but the only way to change that is to align performance – winning games and staying in the Varsity Cup – with recruitment."

“YOUNG PLAYERS straight out of school can also develop through our Young Guns team.”