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After winning five of their eight matches, the University of the Free State (UFS) Shimlas missed a spot in the semi-finals by a single log point. The Shimla rugby team contested the annual student championship with a team proving its potential in the Varsity Cup.

In total, 12 players from the 26-team squad that participated in the University Sports South Africa (USSA) tournament in Johannesburg on Sunday, represented the Shimlas in the Varsity Cup earlier this year. Loose forward Benji Janse van Vuuren skippered the team.

The Shimlas, who won the City Cup earlier in June, harboured ambitions of lifting the USSA trophy after 11 years. On Wednesday, the team will face either the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) or the North-West University (NWU). The Shimlas previously suffered a loss to NWU, but subsequently won against TUT during the Varsity Cup.
 
The Shimla squad for this year’s USSA tournament is: Wentzel Vorster, Hanno Snyman, Daniël Wessels, Nardus Erasmus, Raymond Woest, Benji Jansen van Vuuren (captain), George Rossouw, Arno Moolman, Louis-Martin Cloete, JC van Vuuren, Steph Brits, Bulelani Sali, Rholane Ncubuka, Janco Cloete, Ricardo Woest, Zinedine Booysen, Nakkie Naudé, Francois Agenbag, Tiaan Schutte, Kurt Eybers, Marnus Boshof, Wilhelm Barnard, Armand Pretorius, Henco Posthumus, Charl Pretorius, and William Eybers.