FNB Maties 26 (5) FNB NWU Eagles 12 (6)
FNB Maties won a hard-fought battle against FNB NWU, while there were also round 5 Varsity Cup victories for FNB Wits and FNB UJ at Tuks Stadium on Tuesday.
In the process the Stellenbosch students moved up to third place on the log and are still in with a fair chance to defend their 2020 championship title. The are five points behind log leaders Ikeys and trail by 1 point behind archrivals Tukkies. All these teams have played 5 games with Ikeys being the only team yet to loose a match. Maties next face CUT in round 6, thern the Madibaz in round 7, UJ in round 8 and finally Shimlas in round 10.
Defending FNB Varsity Cup champions FNB Maties slugged it out against FNB NWU in a scrappy affair, running in four tries, writes Dan Lombard.
Proceedings were largely stop-start as unforced errors ruled the day while indecisiveness spoilt many opportunities for both teams.
The Eagles opened the scoring in the 12th minute via the boot of flyhalf Keagan Fortune before the Maroon Machine’s lock pairing linked up brilliantly to allow Albert Liebenberg to canter over the chalk.
The first-half contest, although brutal, did not offer much in terms of points and Maties flyhalf Christopher Schreuder missed several attempts at goal. Collectively, the men from Stellenbosch failed to profit when the Eagles were reduced to 14 men with scrumhalf Riaan Genis spending 10 minutes in the naughty chair.
Fortune slotted a second penalty just after the first strategy break to hand the men from Potch a one-point lead that they protected until half-time.
It didn’t take long for Maties to retaliate when the match resumed as outside centre and captain David Brits was on hand to receive a pop pass from wing Munier Hartzenberg and touch down for a point-of-origin try.
The Eagles were dealt a blow during the act of Brits’ try as wing Pienaar van Niekerk was handed a red card for taking Hartzenberg out in the air and spent 15 minutes with a one-man disadvantage.
The Maroon Machine continued pushing hard and received their just rewards a minute before the second strategy break as replacement utility back George Lourens sneakily scored a converted try off a lineout drive.
No 8 Ben-Jason Dixon then ran fast and hard at the defence to force himself over the line to score a scintillating point-of-origin try.
Player that Rocks: Ben-Jason Dixon (FNB Maties)
Maties – Tries: Albert Liebenberg, David Brits, George Lourens, Ben-Jason Dixon. Conversion: Christopher Schreuder.
NWU Eagles – Penalties: Keagan Fortune (4).
FNB Varsity Cup teams (Round 5)
- The Varsity Cup will continue on Friday with the following round 6 fixtures:
- CUT Ixias vs Maties (14:00, Tuks B-Field, DStv Now channel 245)
- UWC vs UJ (15:00, Loftus Versfeld, SuperSport Rugby channel 211)
- Madibaz vs UFS Shimlas (16:00, Tuks B-Field, DStv Now channel 245)
- UP-Tuks vs UCT Ikeys (17:00, Loftus Versfeld, SuperSport Rugby channel 211)
- NWU Eagles vs Wits (19:00, Loftus Versfeld, SuperSport Rugby channel 211)
David Brits (Maties)
A number of players have so far impressed with their performances in the h201=21 Varsity Cup competion. Leading the Maties pack and by example is David Brits.
The passionate captain of the Maroon Machine organised his team effectively and got the best out of them to keep the FNB NWU Eagles at an arms-length. He scored a crucial point-of-origin try early in the second half that gave his side a 12-6 lead, made seven tackles, and while he was yellow-carded for a foot trip in the last minute, the game was secure by then.
Stratus stats
Tries: 1
Ball carries: 5
Metres run: 66
Metres made: 19
Offloads: 1
Tackles made: 7/8
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  FNB UCT Ikeys | 5 | 24 |
| 2 |  FNB UP Tuks | 5 | 20 |
| 3 |  FNB Maties | 5 | 19 |
| 4 |  FNB CUT | 5 | 18 |
| 5 |  FNB NWU Eagles | 5 | 15 |
| 6 |  FNB UJ | 5 | 12 |
| 7 |  FNB UWC | 5 | 9 |
| 8 |  FNB Wits | 5 | 6 |
| 9 |  FNB UFS Shimlas | 5 | 6 |
| 10 |  FNB Madibaz | 5 | 4 |