2013 Varsity Shield

The 2013 Varsity Shield was contested from 28 January to 1 April 2013. The tournament (also known as the FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the Varsity Shield, an annual second-tier inter-university rugby union competition featuring five South African universities.

The tournament was won by for the second time; they beat  29–19 in the final played on 1 April 2013. No team was promoted to the top-tier Varsity Cup competition for 2014.

Competition rules and information
There were five participating universities in the 2013 Varsity Shield. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.

Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).

The top two teams qualified for the title play-offs. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished second.

There was no promotion/relegation between the Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield at the end of 2013.

The 2013 Varsity Shield used a different scoring system than the common scoring system. Tries were worth five points as usual, but conversions were worth three points instead of two, while penalties and drop goals were only worth two points instead of three.

Teams
The following teams took part in the 2013 Varsity Shield competition:

Standings
The final league standings for the 2013 Varsity Shield were:

Fixtures
The 2013 Varsity Shield fixtures were as follows:


 * All times are South African (GMT+2).

Squad lists
The teams released the following squad lists: