Four Varsity Cup matches were played on Monday 3 February in Round 1 of the 2014 season.

We were entertained by some good and interesting rugby, some surprise results and of course we had a chance to see some new innovations in action, the double referee-system, grip patches on prop jerseys and the Free Catch Rule.

The biggest upset of the day was the big loss by 2013 finalists, Maties… or should I say the big win by a spirited Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU Madibaz), by 45 / 29.

Defending champions, Tuks (University of Pretoria), were also lucky to escape with a 18 / 18 draw against UJ (University of Johannesburg).

In the 2 non-televised matches, Pukke (North-West University), comfortably dealt with UCT (University of Cape Town), beating them by 47 / 24, whilst in Bloemfontein Shimlas (University of the Free State) cruised past Wits and beating them 31 / 15.

 

NMMU Madibaz 45 / 29 Maties:

The FNB NMMU Madibaz made a big statement in the opening round of the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International by storming to a 45 / 29 victory over FNB Maties in Port Elizabeth.

The NMMU Madibaz avenged their semi-final defeat to Maties last year!.

It was the perfect start to the tournament for the Eastern Cape side, as they ran in six tries to claim a comprehensive bonus point victory and leave the visitors stunned.

Openside flank Chris Cloete got over for an incredible five tries – with four coming from driving mauls – and although they conceded four tries themselves it was a dominant performance that will serve as a ominous warning for the rest of the teams in the competition.

The home side made a strong start, surging into the Maties 22 with purpose, and captain Roy Godfrey was rewarded for his decision to kick for the corner when Cloete crashed over for the opening try from a driving maul.

That gave NMMU an early 5 / 0 lead as the visitors battled to get their hands on the ball, and it was not long before Cloete had made it a double from another driving maul.

The touchline conversion from flyhalf Gavin Hauptfleisch split the uprights to give the Madibaz a healthy 13 / 0 lead, leaving the Maties firmly on the back foot from the outset.

The team from Stellenbosch managed to string some attacking phases together as they moved into the opposition 22, but NMMU’s defence held up well to keep them scoreless at the first strategy break.

Maties continued their onslaught in Madibaz territory after the break, which resulted in one of the two referees having a chat with Godfrey about his team’s discipline, but there was still no way through for Maties who could not find the finishing touch.

Instead it was NMMU that scored next, with big No 8 Tim Agaba showing some impressive footwork to step through the Maties defence and cruise over for a great try that inflated his side’s lead to 21 / 0.

They took that lead into the half-time break, leaving Maties with it all to do in the second half after being thoroughly outplayed in the opening 40 minutes.

Maties started the second half with purpose as they looked for a way back into the match, but they lacked the penetration to make the home side pay and the Madibaz showed them how it is done when Cloete crashed over for his hat-trick try from another driving maul.

The touchline conversion from Hauptfleisch made it 29  0, leaving Maties staring down the barrel of a heavy defeat in the opening round.

The visitors finally responded with a try of their own through centre Mark Hodgskiss who dotted down under the poles after a period of sustained pressure to get his team on the board.

However, NMMU struck back immediately through the prolific Cloete who crashed over for his fourth try to give them a formidable 37 / 8 advantage in the second strategy break.

Maties suffered a further setback shortly afterwards when replacement flank Lungelo Chonco was shown a yellow card for collapsing a maul, and Cloete was on hand to crash over for his fifth try which extended the lead to 45 / 8.

The visitors responded with three late tries from wing Clearance Khumalo, replacement lock Renier Ehlers and Hodgkiss who dived over in the last minute to salvage a bonus point for his side.

Scorers:
For NMMU:
Tries: Cloete (5), Agaba (1)
Conversions: Hauptfleisch (5)

For Maties:
Tries: Hodgskiss (2), Khumalo (1), Ehlers (1)
Conversions: Smith (1), Du Preez (2)

Yellow card: Lungelo Chonco (62 mins, professional foul) Ivan Ludick (77 mins, deliberate infringement)

NMMU: 15 Jarryd Buys, 14 Ayabula Dlepu, 13 Michael Bernardt, 12 Andile Jho, 11 Tythan Adams, 10 Gavin Hauptfleisch, 9 Daniel Acker, 8 Timothy Agaba, 7 Marcel Groenewald, 6 Christopher Cloete, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Stefan Willemse, 3 Dexter Fahey, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Roy Godfrey (Captain)
Replacements: 16 Greg Bauer, 17 Nicolas Roebech, 18 Louis Fourie, 19 Wade Elliot, 20 Ivan Ludick, 21 Stefanus Booysen, 22 Donovan Marais, 23 Enoch Mnyaka.

FNB Maties: 15 Craig Barry, 14 Clearance Khumalo, 13 Mark Hodgskiss, 12 Louis Jordaan, 11 Caleb Smith, 10 Chris Smith,  9 Jean Nel, 8 Tertius Daniller (Captain), 7 Jurg Streicher, 6 Beyers de Villiers, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Brendon Pitzer, 2 Freddie Kirsten, 1 Wesley Adonis
Replacements: 16 Charl de Villiers, 17 Boeta Kleinhans, 18 Renier Ehlers, 19 Lungelo Chonco, 20 Gerhard Jordaan, 21 Robert du Preez, 22 Johnny Kôtze, 23 Liam Hendricks.

Referees: Christie du Preez, Rodney Boneparte
TMO: Deon van Blommestein

 

Tuks 18 / 18 UJ:

Defending champions FNB UP-Tuks were held to an 18 / 18 draw in their FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International opener by a spirited FNB UJ side in Pretoria on Monday.

The exciting first half produced five tries – UP-Tuks outscoring UJ by three tries to two – and all 36 points as both teams came out firing.

The second half proved to be a tense and physical war of attrition, with neither side able to deliver the knockout blow and both failing to capitalise of several points-scoring opportunities.

UJ showed no signs of rust early on as they strung together numerous phases and got their reward in the fifth minute as lock David Antonites stretched over to score the opening try, with fullback Marais Schmidt adding the conversion.

Schmidt was yellow carded moments later for a deliberate knock down but 14-man UJ thwarted the immediate danger through a much-needed turnover.

Some naïve play by UJ put them in a precarious position when flyhalf Jaco van der Walt, attempting to run out of his own 22, threw a forward pass.

However, UP-Tuks were blown up in the ensuing scrum and Van der Walt made amends with a booming kick that found touch in the UP-Tuks 22.

Concerted pressure by UP-Tuks finally took its toll and flank Rudolph Smith burrowed over from close quarters to put the hosts on the board. Exciting fullback Warrick Gelant’s conversion was wide, which saw UJ lead 8 / 5 after the first quarter.

Good backline play almost resulted in a quick second try for UP-Tuks, but the UJ cover defence was able to force left wing Kefentse Mahlo into touch.

UJ made a meal of the line-out and got pushed off the ball at a scrum deep inside their 22, and UP-Tuks capitalised as quick hands led to Gelant crashing over. The No 15 couldn’t convert his own try, but UP-Tuks were 10 / 8 up.

UJ looked poised to hit back when hard-running centre Harold Vorster – one of the standout players on the night – made a powerful break and flung a long pass out to JR Esterhuizen but the flyer couldn’t hold on to the ball and the opportunity went begging.

In an exciting end to the first half, the lead changed hands twice before the teams finished deadlocked at 18 / 18 at the break. First, UJ captain Jacques Pretorius nearly scored from a quick tap when he stretched for the line in contact.

The scrumhalf was short of the line but the ball was adjudged to have gone backwards and outside centre Robert de Bruyn was on hand to scoop up the ball and dot down for an eight-pointer.

A great chase by Jade Stighling put UJ under pressure from the restart and UP-Tuks struck with centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg running a sublime line and Gelant adding the conversion.

Schmidt had the final say of the half, though, as he slotted a penalty on the stroke of half-time to square the ledger.

Both teams were eager to gain the momentum and take the game by the scruff of the neck by scoring first after the interval. Good runs by Gelant and Vorster thrilled but both proved fruitless.

UJ came within centimetres of scoring through their powerful forwards, only to be held up over the line by some committed UP-Tuks defence.

A knock-on by Van der Walt, a skew line-out throw and another handling error by No 8 Kobus Porter – all inside the attacking 22 – added to UJ’s frustration.

The men in orange continued to dominate territory and possession, setting up camp in the home 22, and after being held up a second time, loosehead Wiseman Kamanga knocked on as he looked to power over the line from a metre out.

It was resolute tackling that saw UP-Tuks finally escape the relentless onslaught and they would no doubt have savoured the timely second strategy break.

Having regrouped, UP-Tuks went on the attack and much like their opponents, squandered a number of opportunities after having done the hard yards.

The tension was palpable as the match entered the final five minutes with the teams still all square.

Van der Walt looked to snatch victory as he lined up an ambitious shot at goal from 61 metres out in the last play of the game and struck it beautifully. However, his kick fell just underneath the crossbar and the game ended in a draw.

The scorers:
For FNB UP-Tuks:
Tries: R Smith (1), Gelant (1), Rohan Janse van Rensburg (1)
Con: Gelant (1)

For FNB UJ:
Tries: Antonites (1), De Bruyn (1)
Cons: Schmidt (2)
Pen: Schmidt (1)

Yellow card: Marais Schmidt (FNB UJ, 10 mins)

FNB UP-Tuks: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Jade Stighling, 13  Dries Swanepoel, 12 Rohan Janse Van Rensburg, 11 Kefentse Mahlo, 10 Francois Tredoux, 9 Carlo Engelbrecht, 8 Jono Janse van Rensburg, 7 Rudolph Smith, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Reniel Hugo (Captain), 4 Dennis Visser, 3 Basil Short, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Sidney Tobias, 17 Brummer Badenhorst, 18 Jannes Kirsten, 19 Leneve Damens, 20 Emile Temperman, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Jacques Rossouw, 23 Andrew Beerwinkel.

FNB UJ: 15 Marais Schmidt, 14 JR Esterhuizen, 13 Robert de Bruyn, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Jacques Nel, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Jacques Pretorius (Captain), 8 Kobus Porter, 7 Victor Seketekete, 6 Tiaan MacDonald, 5 David Antonites, 4 Shane Kirkwood, 3 Van Zyl Botha, 2 Francois du Toit, 1 Wiseman Kamanga
Replacements: 16 Jannes Snyman, 17 Devon Martinus, 18 Jeremy Jordaan, 19 Dylan Peterson, 20 Lukas van Zyl, 21 Juan Kotze, 22 PJ Walters, 23 Ryan Plasket.

Referees: Jaco van Heerden, Ben Crouse
TMO: Johan Greeff

 

Shimlas 31 / 15 Wits:

UFS-Shimlas overcame some slippery conditions in Bloemfontein and a spirited Wits side, scoring two tries in each half to secure a comfortable victory.

To their credit Wits refused to throw in the towel and will be disappointed at having no log points to show for their efforts after scoring three tries in the end.

FNB UFS-Shimlas won with a comfortable score of 31 / 15,  bonus-point victory over the determined FNB Wits side.

The visitors scored three tries of their own, but fell short of scoring a bonus-point try, although they showed plenty of heart in playing hard right up to the final whistle.

The home side made a fast start to the match, scoring two tries in the first ten minutes to stamp their authority on Wits who were not able to get their hands on the ball.

Shimlas lock Neill Jordaan was first to cross the whitewash when he crashed over in the corner from a driving maul, with former Sharks and Griquas stalwart Gouws Prinsloo adding the conversion.

The home crowd did not have to wait long for the second try as the ball was shifted wide from another maul, and flying wing Divandre Strydom was on hand to finish things off and put his side firmly in the driving seat with a 16 / 0 lead.

After those early blows Wits regrouped well and tightened the game up considerably in the wet conditions. The visitors started to enjoy more territory and possession as Shimlas were forced to make plenty of tackles in their own half.

Wits were eventually rewarded for their hard work when blindside flank JJ Breet got over for a try from an attacking line-out, but those were to be their first and last points of the first half.

Both teams were finding the slippery conditions tough to negotiate, and it was the home side that had the final say before half-time as Prinsloo slotted a penalty to give them an 18 / 5 advantage at the break.

Shimlas made a determined start to the second half and it was not long before they had extended their advantage through a try from replacement lock Fanie van der Walt from a driving maul.

This was followed soon afterwards by the bonus point try as lock Niell Claasen crossed the whitewash to give his team a formidable 31 / 5 lead.

However, to their credit Wits refused to let their heads drop and they were rewarded with two late tries as they kept the home side on their toes right to the final whistle.

Flyhalf Ashlon Davids danced his way over for a superb individual try before loosehead prop Hannes Ludick crashed over to cap a period of forward dominance from the Johannesburg team in the last five minutes.

Despite that late rally, it was not enough to overhaul the Shimlas who took a full house of five log points from their opening encounter this season.

The scorers:
For FNB UFS-Shimlas:
Tries: Jordaan (1), Strydom (1), Van der Walt (1), Claasen (1)
Cons: Prinsloo (3)
Pen: Prinsloo (1)

For FNB Wits:
Tries: Breet (1), Davids (1), Ludick (1)

FNB UFS-Shimlas: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Divandre Strydom, 13 Robbie van Schalkwyk, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht, 11 Sethu Tom, 10 Gouws Prinsloo, 9 Andre van der Walt, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Tienie Burger, 5 Neill Claasen, 4 Oupa Mohoje, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Elandre Huggett (Captain), 1 Dolph Botha
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Gideon Bruwer, 18 Fanie van der Walt, 19 Sihle Ngxabi, 20 Kevin Luiters, 21 Franna du Toit, 22 Maphutha Dolo, 23 Justin Pappin.

FNB Wits: 15 Ruhan Nel, 14 Joshua Jarvis, 13 Mandla Dube, 12 Brent Crossley, 11 Divan Ferguson, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Matt Torrance, 8 Jason Fraser, 7 JJ Breet, 6 JP Jonck, 5 Rendani Ramova, 4 Devin Montgomery (Captain), 3 Gideon Muller, 2 Ashley Kohler, 1 Hannes Ludick
Replacements: 16 James Marx, 17 Kyle Wood, 18 Senna Esterhuizen, 19 Thato Mavundla, 20 Nkuli Gamede, 21 Wilton Pietersen, 22 Pieter van Biljoen, 23 Ferdinand Kelly.

Referees: Lourens van der Merwe, Jaco Kotze

 

Pukke 47 / 24 UCT:

The FNB NWU-Pukke opened their 2014 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International campaign in clinical fashion as they beat the FNB Ikey Tigers by 47 / 24 at the Green Mile on Monday.

The Men from Potchefstroom made a mockery of the notoriously windy conditions in Cape Town, as they built on their 21 / 16 half-time lead to run in four second-half tries as they played into the wind.
It was FNB UCT who made all the early running as the hosts, and 2011 champions, powered into an early 16 / 0 lead – using their opportunities well into the breeze.

The wind on the Green Mile is always a factor but the hosts launched two brilliant counter-attacks against the wind in the lead-up to their tries; the first counter by right-wing Richard Stewart and later by wing partner Liheli Xoli.

UCT’s opening tries were scored by fullback Ross Jones-Davies and powerful flanker Shaun McDonald – both expertly converted by new flyhalf Dean Grant – as the hosts showed they meant business by going 16 / 0 up.

However, the visitors absorbed all the early pressure and launched a fightback as the game reached the half-hour mark. Pukke’s kicking game kept them in the opposition’s half, as the Ikeys were guilty of trying to play too much rugby against the wind and forcing a few passes.

First NWU-Pukke No 8 Juan Language crashed over from a rolling maul and then fullback Sylvian Mahuza finished well from a clinical Pukke counter attack – and some poor first-time tackling by UCT – to put his team within touching distance at just 13 / 16 down.

That deficit soon became an advantage when the impressive Mahuza finished brilliantly from close-range, leaving a would-be defender in his wake with some nifty footwork.

Scrumhalf and captain Tiaan Dorfling converted from wide out and Pukke neared half-time with a 21 / 16 advantage – knowing, however, that they would have to play the second half into the wind.

UCT made the advantage – of having the wind at their backs – count early on when Jones-Davies collected his own chip ahead from close-range to dive over for his second try. Grant converted and the Ikeys ran back to halfway – ahead by 24 / 21.

However, that is where it ended for the hosts as Pukke showed great resolve to hit back less then five minutes later when their SA Under 20 flyer Luther Obi ran in strongly on the right-hand side.

Dorfling could not convert their fourth try – as Pukke grabbed a try bonus point – but at 26 / 24 up the match was still in the balance, although from that point onwards (as the game neared the 50-minute mark) Pukke kept hold of the ball and denied UCT possession and, with it, the advantage of having the wind behind them.

The Ikeys then suffered a double blow just before the start of the final quarter when the visitors scored a try under the posts through replacement forward Philip de Wet – which Dorfling converted for a 34 / 24 lead – but worse was to follow right afterwards when Ikeys reserve Jason Klaasen was sin-binned.

Klaasen’s absence was not felt on the scoreboard, but it meant more work for his teammates and, as a result, tired the Ikeys out ahead of the final ten minutes – as the visitors continued to boss the possession stakes.

Pukke were then able to rub further salt into their wounds by scoring two more tries – through lock Francois Robbertse and replacement forward Daniel Jordaan. Dorfling converted Robbertse’s try as they neared the 50-point mark, the visitors finishing with seven tries to UCT’s three – a statistic which is tough to argue against.

The scorers:
For FNB UCT:
Tries: Jones-Davies (2), McDonald (1)
Cons: Grant (3)

For FNB NWU-Pukke:
Tries: Language (1), Mahuza (2), Obi (1), De Wet (1), Robbertse (1), Jordaan (1)
Cons: Dorfling (4)

FNB UCT: 15 Ross Jones-Davies, 14 Richard Stewart, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Guy Schwikkard, 11 Lihleli Xoli, 10 Dean Grant, 9 Liam Slatem (Captain), 8 Guy Alexander, 7 Vince Jobo, 6 Shaun McDonald, 5 Jan Uys, 4 James Kilroe, 3 Digby Webb, 2 Neil Rautenbach, 1 Joel Carew
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 David Maasch, 18 Kyle Kriel, 19 Jason Klaasen, 20 James Alexander, 21 Suwilanji Chibale, 22 Martin Sauls, 23 Robin Murray.

FNB NWU-Pukke: 15 Sylvian Mahuza, 14 Edmar Marais, 13 Jaap Pienaar, 12 Adriaan Engelbrecht, 11 Luther Obi, 10 Johnny Welthagen, 9 Tiaan Dorfling (Captain), 8 Juan Language, 7 Henro-Pierre Swart, 6 Rhyk Welgemoed, 5 Francois Robbertse, 4 Peet van Der Walt, 3 Elardus Venter, 2 Armand van Der Merwe, 1 Mashudu Mafela
Replacements: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Johan Smith, 18 Daniel Jordaan, 19 Philip de Wet, 20 Dillon Smit, 21 Rhyno Smith, 22 Lucian Cupido, 23 Lhlanhla Ngoama.

Referees: Daniel Fortuin, Quinton Immelman

 

Varsity Shield Results:

In the Varsity Shield there were two away wins which leaves the competition wide open after the second round, with John Mitchell’s FNB UKZN Impi the only side yet to win a game.

The FNB Fort Hare Blues handed the Impi their second consecutive defeat, with flying wing Garth van Rayner scoring a late try to seal a vital 17 / 12 victory in Durban.

The FNB TUT Vikings got their campaign off to an encouraging start by securing a morale-boosting 34 / 31 victory over Peter de Villiers’ UWC outfit in Bellville.