Pukke have been found not guilty of fielding an ineligible player in this year's Varsity Cup.

Tighthead prop Bart le Roux played 614 minutes of this year's campaign as a first-year student, having represented the UKZN Impi in last year's Varsity Shield as a first-year student. The tournament rules state that a player is only allowed to play as a first-year student in one campaign.

The hearing into the alleged contravention of the Varsity Cup regulations took place in Cape Town earlier this week.

Advocate Stelzner SC, acting as the independent chairperson in the case, released his findings on Friday afternoon, ruling in favour of Pukke.

The Varsity Cup board will meet on Monday to discuss the ruling and issue an official statement.

The board has now been put in a difficult position as Varsity Shield side UKZN were docked 12 log points for fielding a player, hooker Kerron van Vuuren, who was previously a student at UJ. That cost the Impi a place in this year's promotion-relegation match against UCT.

The Impi could now appeal that decision.