Maties back to winning ways
The long awaited Varsity Cup, one of the most popular rugby series in the country, has finally kicked-off with two rounds having been played in a bio bubble at the University of Pretoria (Tuks).
After the initial two rounds, three teams remain unbeaten. One of the biggest surprise so far was the defeat of defending champions Maties for the University of Stellenbosch (SU) suffered at the hands of arch-rivals Ikeys from the University of cape Town.
UCT, CUT and UP-Tuks all made it three wins from three in the 2021 Varsity Cup, while UWC and Maties also emerged victorious on Sunday.
UCT, CUT and UP-Tuks secured three wins from three in the 2021 FNB Varsity Cup, closing out the first batch of matches with hard-fought victories in Pretoria on Sunday. UWC and Maties also emerged victorious to go into the competition break with good momentum.
The Varsity Cup will take an 11-day break with Ixias top of the log while UJ, Madibaz and Wits will lament their winless streak over the last ten days. Maties is in fourth place on the log behind the three unbeaten teams, all boasting 14 points. Maties is on 10 points, together with the NWU Eagles.
A summary of the Round 3 matches in the FNB Varsity Cup follows:
UCT Ikeys 39 (21) UJ 34 (19)
Ikeys remained unbeaten after a strong start with two tries in the first 20 minutes, but had to fight hard for this victory against UJ, who refused to go away in sweltering conditions at the Tuks B-Field.
UJ coach Hugo van As clearly said the right things at the strategy break, as the Jozi side found their groove to score a point-of-origin try by Nkondlo Radebe, which flyhalf Jurich Claasens converted after missing a penalty attempt earlier on.
From there on in it was one for me and one for you as both sides managed to respond as soon as the opponents scored points.
UCT flyhalf James Tedder ensured that his team remained in the lead with two late penalty goals as they left the first bio-bubble unbeaten after three rounds.
Scorers: UCT Ikeys – Tries: Taariq Kruger (1×7), Athi Gazi, Josh van Vuuren, Le Roux Malan (1×7). Conversions: James Tedder (3). Penalty goals: Tedder (3).
UJ – Tries: Nkondlo Radebe (1×7), Boldwin Hansen, Franco Schutte (2). Conversions: Jurich Claasens (3). Penalty goals: Claasens (2).
UWC 47 (30) Madibaz 40 (19)
A lively encounter that yielded 12 tries handed UWC their first win of the tournament, but no one can fault the effort from the Eastern Cape side who rallied strongly in the last 20 minutes of the match.
It was the Madibaz who started strongest when hooker Thembekile Boltina went over from a maul, but UWC responded immediately, with flanker Tinotenda Masevere beating two defenders on his way to the tryline.
Boltina got over for his second from yet another drive, but his counterpart Jacques van Zyl dotted down almost immediately after the first strategy break to make it a two-point game.
Mavasere then scored two tries in quick succession, the latter a point-of-origin seven-pointer, to give FNB UWC a 30-19 half-time lead and the flanker a hat-trick and the FNB Player that Rocks gong.
Scorers: UWC – Tries: Tinotenda Masevere (2×5, 1×7), Jacques van Zyl (2), Tasriq Mynhardt (1×7). Conversions: Branden de Kock (5). Penalty Goal: De Kock.
Madibaz – Tries: Tembekile Boltina (2), Aya Oliphant, Arnouw Nel (2), Ruan Jonker (1×7). Conversions: Tian Schutte (4).
CUT Ixias 31 (21) UFS Shimlas 24 (7)
CUT claimed a third consecutive Bloemfontein derby win to finish the first FNB Varsity Cup bubble at the top of the log. There was much excitement about the match and the teams did not disappoint.
Shimlas took a 7-3 lead in the 14th minute when hooker William Moffat scored from a lineout drive before the Ixias responded on either side of the strategy break.
Flyhalf Charles Williams and flank Hans Terblanche scored on each side of the break and with Williams – the FNB Player that Rocks – converting his own try and adding two penalty goals, CUT held a comfortable 21-7 lead at the break.
The crucial blow was struck early in the second half, when outside centre Niell Stannard powered through several tackles to reach out and score.
From there on, Shimlas were playing catch-up rugby and although they lost, they deserve credit for never leaving the fight and getting some reward with a try by inside centre Johannes Klinck.
Ill-discipline cost them at the end though, as they received two yellow cards in quick succession which thwarted the complete comeback.
Scorers: CUT Ixias – Tries: Charles Williams, Hans Terblanche, Neill Stannard. Conversions: Williams (2). Penalty Goals: Williams (4).
UFS Shimlas – Tries: William Moffat (2), Johannes Klinck. Conversions: JP Duvenage, Ethan Wentzel (2). Penalty Goal: Wentzel.
Maties 19 (5) Wits 13 (8)
Maties overturned a half-time deficit to claim a narrow win against a committed Wits team at Tuks Stadium in the final match of the day, which was a special occasion for Wits captain Constant Beckerling, who donned the blue and yellow for the 50th time.
And Beckerling would have celebrated it with a special win had his team taken their scoring opportunities on the night, with Wits flyhalf Christian Humphries missing four shots at goal and that proved costly.
Humphries opened the scoring with an early penalty goal, before Maties replied with a try from hooker HJ Luus, which was cancelled out when centre Henco van Wyk got the breakthrough Wits needed with his first FNB Varsity Cup try. The conversion went wide but with the men from Joburg taking the lead 8-5 at the break.
Eight minutes into the second half, Maties captain David Brits put winger Munier Hartzenberg away for a try in the corner and Nevaldo Fleurs added the conversion. However, FNB Maties were unable to capitalise on other scoring opportunities, while FNB Wits also let promising chances go to waste.
Maties flank Mitchell Carstens was yellow-carded with eight minutes remaining but that didn’t prevent replacement hooker André-Hugo Venter – who scored four tries against UWC on Thursday – from powering over for the decisive score.
Maties were then reduced to 13 men when replacement prop Leon Lyons was sent to the sin bin, and Wits made their numerical advantage count when Van Wyk scored his second try. But the conversion was missed and there wasn’t time for the restart.
Scorers: Maties – tries: HJ Luus, Munier Hartzenberg, André-Hugo Venter (1×7). Conversion: Nevaldo Fleurs.
Wits – Tries: Henco van Wyk (2). Penalty goal: Christian Humphries.
David Britz scores for Maties against Ikeys -the opening match of the competition – lost by Mates.
