University of Fort Hare Blues rugby team members have again raised allegations of ill treatment and lack of support by the institution’s sporting department, this time blaming it for their failure in the ongoing Varsity Shield.
The Blues have been whipping boys in their three matches against UWC, Wits and NMU in the second-tier varsity rugby competition, losing by 30-plus-point margins in all three.
With four games remaining, the axe hangs above the 2022 winners of the competition.
Accusations against the institution’s sports department include players being given one meal a day, failure of registration of recruited players on the institution’s books, non-provision of supplements on time and inconsistency in paying of match fees.
These are similar to the demands which led to the team starting a strike during the USSA Games in Pretoria in June 2025.
The majority of those players underwent disciplinary actions by the university for what was labelled an illegal strike.
They did not participate in the Border Super League.
By virtue of that, the varsity missed fixtures, which threatened the institution’s status at one point.
They eventually fielded a second-string team to make sure that the institution did not reach the three missing games threshold to automatically relegate a team.
They also couldn’t defend their 2024 Border Rugby Brutten Ten title in September, as they failed to qualify for it.
New coaching staff were roped in for the Varsity Shield after head coach Chase Morison left the job.
A member within the technical structure of the Blues said there were 35 players recruited for the Varsity Shield by the coaches but alleged some had left for other institutions, as Fort Hare had not registered them.
The quality recruited players have left the Blues team and are now playing for other universities and doing well.
“The quality recruited players have left the Blues team and are now playing for other universities and doing well. There were delays in getting them registered. Among the players who left is Praise Matsila, who is now at the University of Johannesburg. Some, including the captain from last year, don’t want to be part of the team anymore.
“The coaching staff had 35 players as their wide squad in January and are now left with less than 30, which makes it hard for them in training to have those inter-squad trainings.
“Even going to the Madibaz game on Friday, there were three props in the camp, and World Rugby requires teams to have four.
“The supplements came two days before the tournament started, and the coaches had requested for them to come earlier.”
A player alleged they only had one meal a day from the university, which has caused them dissatisfaction.
“We only get one meal from the institution, and we are expected to compete and dominate at a semi-professional competition. It’s impossible to compete properly in the Varsity Shield,“ the player said.
“As someone who wants to be professional, I’ll be honest; this place doesn’t prepare you to be one. You’ll have to make yourself a professional here.”
Another player said match fees were allocated depending on how the team performed, which they view as “unfair, especially for the self-funded students”.
“They can’t be taking money away from us. What if I break my shoulder on that field? R1,000 won’t do anything for me,” a player said.
“We can’t boycott this time around because that does nothing for us. That might get the team relegated,” he said.
The new Blues head coach, Sabelo Kolanisi, opted not to comment when contacted.
According to sources close to the mentor, Kolanisi said he was considering resigning this week.
University of Fort Hare spokesperson JP Roodt dismissed the allegations.
“The university provides supplementary meals to rugby players to support their training and match preparation.
“These meals are not intended to replace players’ normal daily meals but rather to complement the food arrangements that student-athletes make for themselves, as is common across many university sports programmes.”
He said at present, the university provides one daily meal through the staff centre to the men’s rugby team at an approximate cost of R90,000 per month.
“During the pre-season training camp, when the staff centre was closed, the university procured groceries valued at approximately R80,000, enabling players to prepare their own meals during that period,” he said.
In terms of the supplements, he said the university’s request for player supplements was initiated in November 2025.
At the time, however, the sports department was awaiting a top-up allocation to its account, which delayed the processing of certain procurement requests.
With the registration process, Roodt said: “Player recruitment follows an established process that includes annual trials, which in 2025 were held in October.
“Prospective players identified during these trials were supported with applications to study at the university.
“A training camp was subsequently held in December and resumed in early January.
”As part of the normal sporting process, coaching staff reduce the squad during training camps in order to finalise the team composition for the season.
“During the registration period, it became clear that several returning players did not meet the minimum academic credit requirements to register, while some first-year recruits did not meet the university’s admission requirements.
“In addition, a number of players had historical student debt, which affected their ability to register.
“The university made efforts to assist students with historical debt, and, in exceptional circumstances, the Management Executive Committee of the university financially supported players from its discretionary fund to help ensure that a team could be assembled for the competition.
“It should be noted that such financial assistance for student-athletes is discretionary and not a standard requirement.
He said in some cases, players also elected to leave the squad after receiving offers from other institutions or club teams that were able to provide greater incentives.
On match fee issues, Roodt said: “Match fees are used as an incentive mechanism to motivate players. For the current season, the structure was agreed with the players as follows: R750 for a loss, R1,000 for a win and R1,250 for a bonus-point win.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.