2018 Varsity Rugby

2018 Varsity Rugby was the 2018 edition of four rugby union competitions annually played between several university teams in South Africa. It was contested from 29 January to 16 April 2018 and was the eleventh edition of these competitions.

Varsity Cup
The following teams competed in the 2018 Varsity Cup:, , , , , , , and. All these teams also played in the competition in 2017. The competition was won by, who beat 40–7 in the final. finished bottom of the log and were relegated to the 2019 Varsity Shield. remained in the Varsity Cup for 2019 after beating the in a relegation play-off.

Varsity Shield
The following teams competed in the 2018 Varsity Shield:, , , , , and. All these teams also played in the competition in 2017. The competition was won by, who beat 55–10 in the final. were promoted to the 2019 Varsity Cup for the first time, while the remained in the Varsity Shield for 2019 after losing to  in a promotion play-off.

2019 Varsity Cup play-off
There was a promotion/relegation match between, who finished eighth in the 2018 Varsity Cup and the , who finished runners-up in the 2018 Varsity Shield. CUT Ixias won 37–31 to retain their place in the Varsity Cup for 2019, while the WSU All Blacks remained in the Varsity Shield competition.

2019 Varsity Shield play-off
There was a promotion/relegation match between, who finished seventh in the 2018 Varsity Shield and the University of Zululand, as the best-performing non-Varsity Rugby team at the USSA tournament. Rhodes won 44–5 to retain their place in the Varsity Shield for 2019.

Competition rules
There were nine participating universities in the 2018 Young Guns competition, the Under-20 sides of each of the nine Varsity Cup teams. These teams were divided into three regionalised sections and each team played every team in their section 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 eight points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).

The three section winners qualified for the semi-finals, along with the runner-up with the best record.

Log
The final standings for the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns North were:


 * qualified for the semifinals as section winners.

Matches
The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns North:

Log
The final standings for the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns Central were:


 * qualified for the semifinals as section winners and qualified for the semifinals as the runner-up with the best record across the three sections.

Matches
The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns Central:

Log
The final standings for the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns South were:


 * qualified for the semifinals as section winners.

Matches
The following matches were played in the 2018 Varsity Cup Young Guns South:

Competition rules
There were nine participating teams in the 2018 Res Rugby competition — the new name for the competition formerly known as the Koshuis Rugby Championship — the winners of the internal leagues of each of the nine Varsity Cup teams. These teams were divided into two divisions (a Championship division with five teams and a Premiership division with four teams) and each team played every team in their division once over the course of the season, either at home or 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 eight points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).

The top two teams in the Championship qualified for the final.

Log
The final standings for the 2018 Res Rugby Championship were:


 * Patria (Pukke) and Vishuis (Shimlas) qualified for the final.

Matches
The following matches were played in the 2018 Res Rugby Championship:

Log
The final standings for the 2018 Res Rugby Premiership were:

Matches
The following matches were played in the 2018 Res Rugby Championship: