UP-Tuks players are looking forward to being between the white lines doing what they love: sidestep, tackle and score. Hopefully, they will be able to do so on 8 March 2021. It is the day, Varsity Cup tournament kicks off. Tuks will be playing Wits.

According to Nico Luus (TuksRugby head coach), by then it will be close to a year since the Tuks team took to the field to play a match. It is even longer for the players who will represent the Young Guns (under-20).

"I am starting to see the effects that not being able to play are having on the players. They need social interaction. The COVID-19 pandemic has not been bad at all from a Tuks rugby perspective. The lockdown allowed us to rethink how we go about doing things and exploring new ideas.

"For the first time, the players had ample time to recover from their injury niggles. We tested them recently. I was surprised by the results. They seem to be bettered conditioned than a year ago."

Luus can't help it also but be excited about his player's academic results.

"They all passed their exams with the necessary merits to enable them to play the Varsity Cup tournament."

Nothing is left to chance. Luus and his coaching team got an eight-week program in place in the buildup.

"This week, we have been self-isolating. The players are being tested in small groups. From next week we shall resume training, but the contact between players will still be limited. If any player should show any sign of being ill, they will be quarantined until they had recuperated. There will only be full-contact sessions over the last four weeks.

"I have cancelled all the friendly games. It would be foolish to risk the player's health. We might play warm-up matches against some of the Blue Bulls' teams as we know their players are also closely monitored during the current lockdown.”

"To summarise I think we at TuksRugby are blessed. Some of the other Varsity teams have not even started to train."

Luus said a decision has still to be taken as to what the format of the Varsity Cup tournament is going to be.

"Personally I think we will play in a 'bubble'. The teams might all get together at one venue for a week and play two to three games. One week it will the Varsity Cup tournament and the next the Young Guns and Shield Tournaments. It is rumoured the "bubbles" might be in the Western Cape, Free State and Northwest. Another option would be to have the whole tournament take place in three weeks at one venue, but it might not be viable from an academic perspective.

"The organisers might even consider postponing the tournament by a month or two in the hope that things will get back to normal. But at this stage, all is pure speculation."