Table-topping FNB UP-Tuks made a big statement with a comprehensive 53 / 8 victory over 3-time FNB Varsity Cup champions FNB Maties in Pretoria on Monday.
The 2-time champions scored 7 tries in front of their home crowd to retain their place at the top of the standings, 1 Log Point ahead of FNB UFS-Shimlas who are the only other unbeaten side left in the competition after Round 3.
UFS-Shimlas ran riot in the 1st-ever Varsity Cup Bloemfontein derby, handing local rivals FNB CUT a big 57 / 0 defeat in terrible conditions at the CUT Rugby Stadium.
FNB UJ moved past FNB NWU-Pukke into 3rd place after earning a hard-fought 10 / 8 win against them in Johannesburg, while defending champions FNB UCT retained the Monte Taljaard trophy with a comfortable 40 / 13 victory over FNB NMMU on a windy Green Mile.
It was the 1st defeat of the season for NWU-Pukke, who fought back well but had to be content with a bonus point against UJ, who showed plenty of heart to hang on for the win under pressure and bounce back from defeat to UFS-Shimlas at home last week.
In Bloemfontein the only thing standing in UFS-Shimlas’ way was the inclement weather, with play briefly suspended at the start of the 2nd half due to a thunderstorm, but even that could not stop them from running in 9 tries against their cross-town rivals CUT.
Conditions also played a big role in Cape Town, with the notorious wind on the Green Mile making things tricky in the coastal clash between UCT and NMMU, but the Ikeys were in a different class on the night – outscoring the Madibaz by 5 tries to 2 in the end.
That leaves the defending champions UCT in 5th position, just 1 Log Point behind NWU-Pukke whose bonus point in Johannesburg was enough to see them stay in the Top 4, with both teams picking up a win, a draw and a loss from their first 3 games.
In the final match of the night UP-Tuks handed Maties their first defeat of the season following consecutive draws against UCT and NWU-Pukke, leaving the Stellenbosch side down in 7th place behind NMMU on points difference. FNB UP Tuks absolutely smashed Maties in the process.
In the Varsity Shield FNB UWC fought back bravely to salvage a thrilling 37 / 37 draw with the unbeaten FNB Wits, and FNB UKZN proved too strong for FNB Fort Hare, picking up a 21 / 13 win in Alice.
The 1st Round of the FNB Varsity Young Guns competition saw UFS notch a big 44 / 8 win against CUT, while in Pretoria 2-time champions UP-Tuks beat the UCT Trojans 45 / 20 and in Johannesburg NWU-Pukke registered a 37 / 29 win against UJ.
The Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championship also got underway on Monday, with Steinhoff Vishuis from UFS beating Bleomfontein rivals Steinhoff Tigers 36 / 12, Steinhoff Bastion from UJ earning a 12 / 7 win against Steinhoff Cobras on the Green Mile and Steinhoff Mopanie picking up a valuable 44 / 34 win against Steinhoff Medies in Pretoria.
Shimlas put the hurt on Ixiax in strange weather – FNB UFS-Shimlas (39) 57 / 0 (0) FNB CUT:
FNB UFS-Shimlas ran in 9 unanswered tries to shut-out FNB CUT-Ixias 57 / 0 and claim the Bloemfontein bragging right in the FNB Varsity Cup on Monday.
A thunderstorm battered the players towards the end of the 1st half but that could not stop the Ixias being taught a harsh lesson, in their debut Varsity Cup season, at the hands of their City of Roses neighbours.
Shimlas got onto the scoreboard as early as the 2nd minute when Arthur Williams picked up a loose ball and sliced through the CUT defence to get the 1st try of the match. Marais converted the try to hand Shimlas an early 8 / 0 lead. It was 16 / 0 after 6 minutes when Gerhard Olivier collected the throw-in at the back of a lineout to get the 2nd try of the match. Marais comfortably added the extra points.
CUT had no answer to the onslaught as Olivier got his 2nd try of the match in 9th minute, after he emerged with the ball following a successful rolling maul from a 5m lineout. Marais failed to add the conversion as Shimlas led 21 / 0 after 10 minutes.
Marco Klopper extended Shimlas’ lead after the Strategy Break when he bulldozed his way over the try line to hand his side the bonus point in the 26th minute. Marais converted the try to make it 29 / 0. Vuyani Maqina made it 5 tries for the Shimlas in the 29th minute when he showed a clean pair of heels and a nifty side-step to get the score in the corner to extend the lead to 34 / 0.
As a thunderstorm brewed overhead, and the rain fell from the skies, Maqina grabbed a brace in the 33rd minute to make it 39 / 0 as the storm intensified. Marais failed to add the extra points.
Daniel Maartens got the Shimlas off to a perfect start in the 2nd half when he burrowed his way over the line in the 46th minute to bag Shimlas’ 7th try of the match. Marais popped the ball over to extend the lead to 47 / 0.
The match began to lose its spark as handling errors and ill-discipline became the order of the day. CUT were reduced to 14-men for the 2nd time in the match when Boetie Makethlo was sent to the sin bin in the 75th minute for an infringement at the breakdown, inches away from his try line.
Maartens grabbed a brace in the 78th minute when he got over the try line for Shimlas’ 8th try in the match and take the score beyond the 50-point mark. Shimlas bagged the 9th try a minute later when Niell Jordaan got over the try line in the 79th minute to round-off a dominant display.
FNB Player that Rocks: Niell Jordaan
Scorers:
CUT:
- None
Shimlas:
- Tries: Arthur Williams (1), Gerhard Olivier (2), Marco Klopper (1), Vuyani Maqina (2), Daniel Maartens (2), Niell Jordaan (1)
- Conversions: Niel Marais (4)
Yellow Card: Gerard Baard (CUT, 40 – repeated infringements), Boetie Makethlo (CUT, 75 – breakdown infringement)
Teams:
FNB CUT-Ixias: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Jessie du Toit, 13 Ali Mgijima, 12 Duan Pretorius, 11 Mosego Toolo, 10 Luke Cyster, 9 Christiaan Erasmus, 8 Jean Pretorius, 7 Jean-Claude Fourie, 6 Frans Sisita, 5 Rayno Nel, 4 Fanie Coetzer, 3 Ian Smith, 2 Len Noort, 1 Gerard Baard
Replacements: 16 Jozua de Jager, 17 Niel Schoombee, 18 Daneel Botes, 19 Victor Maruping, 20 Arrie Vosloo, 21 Dean Kouprihanoff, 22 Naude van Biljon, 23 Boetie Makethlo.
FNB UFS-Shimlas: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Vuyani Maqina, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Arthur Williams, 11 Maphutha Dolo, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Mthokozisi Mkhabela, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 Niel Claassen, 4 Nicolaas Immelman, 3 Chase Morison, 2 Marco Klopper, 1 Theuns Neuwoudt
Replacements: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Boela Venter, 19 Daniel Maartens, 20 Nhlanhla Hlongwane, 21 Stefan Janse van Rensburg, 22 JP Coetzee, 23 Conraad Van Vuuren.
Referees: Quinton Immelman, Cwengile Jadezweni
Assistant Referees: Local
TMO: JJ Wagner
UJ sneaks past Pukke – FNB UJ (10) 10 / 8 (0) FNB NWU-Pukke:
FNB UJ got back to winning ways with a gutsy 10 / 8 victory over FNB NWU-Pukke in Johannesburg on Monday.
The Potchefstroom team fought back well to claim a losing bonus point, but fell short in the end as UJ hung on to hand the visitors their 1st defeat of the season.
The win sees UJ move past NWU-Pukke into 3rd place on the standings on points difference, as they bounced back from their home defeat to FNB UFS-Shimlas last week.
The home side made a determined start to the game and forced NWU-Pukke onto the back foot in their own half early on.
Their dominance was eventually rewarded when No 8 Dylan Petersen opened the scoring after getting a good offload from inside centre Adrian Vermeuelen, and flyhalf Jaco Fourie’s conversion put them 8 / 0 up at the 1st strategy break.
UJ were struck a blow when lock Werner Lourens was shown a Yellow Card for collapsing a maul, and things got even tougher when prop Gareth Milasinovich joined him in the sin bin shortly afterwards for repeated breakdown infringements.
Despite those setbacks the home side was able to add to their lead, with a Fourie penalty giving them a 10 / 0 advantage at halftime.
Having held out under pressure UJ were back to a full 15 players at the start of the 2nd half, and there was little to choose between the teams in a fairly even battle as the home side clung on to their 10 / 0 lead.
NWU-Pukke finally got on the scoreboard when fullback Rhyno Smith got on the end of an overlap and converted his own try to cut the deficit to just 2 points with 10 minutes left.
The visitors threw everything at UJ in the final stages as they looked to snatch a dramatic victory, but it was not to be as the home side claimed a vital win in front of their home crowd.
FNB Player that Rocks: Chuma Faas
Scorers:
FNB UJ:
- Tries: Dylan Petersen (1)
- Conversions: Jaco Fourie (1)
- Penalties: Jaco Fourie (1)
FNB NWU-Pukke:
- Tries: Rhyno Smith (1)
- Conversions: Rhyno Smith (1)
Teams:
FNB UJ: 15 Ronald Brown, 14 Bradley Moolman, 13 Robert De Bruyn, 12 Adriaan Vermeulen, 11 Aphiwe Dyanti, 10 Jaco Fourie, 9 Chuma Faas, 8 Dylan Peterson, 7 Kyle Van Dalen, 6 Kobus Porter (Captain), 5 David Antonites, 4 Werner Lourens, 3 Nico Du Plessis, 2 Siphatho Qinisile, 1 Gareth Milasinovich
Replacements: 16 Jannes Snyman, 17 Brandon Landsberg, 18 Ettienne Oosthuizen, 19 Wiaan Conradie, 20 Hilton Mudarika, 21 James Campbell, 22 Dominic Kroezen, 23 Raeez Salie.
FNB NWU-Pukke: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Dalen Goliath, 13 Rowayne Beukman, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Dean Stokes, 10 Johnny Welthagen, 9 Dillon Smit, 8 Jeandre Rudolph (Captain), 7 Marno Redelinguys, 6 Molotsi Bouwer, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Loftus Morrison, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 2 Jacques Vermaak, 1 Johan Smith
Replacements: 16 Wian Fourie, 17 Mogau Mabokela, 18 Daniel Jordaan, 19 Jaco Buys, 20 Kurshwill Williams, 21 Marnus Tack, 22 Heinrich Smith, 23 Cayle Denner.
Referees: Francois Pretorius, Rodney Boneparte
Assistant Referees: Local
Ikeys blow Madibaz away – FNB UCT (16) 40 / 13 (8) NMMU:
FNB UCT scored 5 tries on a windy Green Mile to notch a comfortable 40 / 13 victory over FNB NMMU and retain the Monte Taljaard trophy.
The defending FNB Varsity Cup champions got back to winning ways in fine style, leaving the Madibaz empty-handed with no log points to show for their efforts.
The visitors had the wind at their backs in the 1st half, but UCT struck 1st when flyhalf Warren Seals scored under the poles and converted his own try to put them 8 / 0 up.
NMMU surged deep into UCT in response, but they could not find the finishing touch as their handling let them down to leave them scoreless at the 1st strategy break.
Although the Madibaz managed to camp in UCT’s half, their scrums and lineouts were under pressure, so they were unable to make their territorial advantage count.
However, the visitors continued to camp on the UCT tryline and were eventually rewarded when the referee lost patience and awarded a Penalty Try, which was converted by captain Jarryd Buys to level the scores at 8 / 8.
The Ikeys hit back just before halftime, when a quick tap from Seals saw scrumhalf James Alexander get over for a try which put them 16 / 8 ahead at the break.
UCT had the wind at their backs in the 2nd half and charged into NMMU territory with purpose. They had the bonus point wrapped up before long as No 8 Guy Alexander 1st forced his way over from short range before flank Jason Klaasen scored from a driving maul to give them a comfortable 32 / 8 lead.
The visitors hit back with a late try, but it was little more than a consolation and UCT would have the final say when replacement Luke Stringer got over for their 5th try to cap a dominant performance.
Scorers:
FNB UCT:
- Tries: Warren Seals (1), James Alexander (1), Guy Alexander (1), Jason Klaasen (1), Luke Stringer (1)
- Conversions: Warren Seals (5)
FNB NMMU:
- Tries: Penalty Try (1), Rob Louw (1)
- Conversions: Jarryd Buys (1)
Teams:
FNB UCT: 15 Paul Cohen, 14 Dylan Sage, 13 Lihleli Xoli, 12 Nicholas Holton, 11 Khanyo Ngcukana, 10 Warren Seals, 9 James Alexander, 8 Guy Alexander, 7 Michael Botha (Captain), 6 Jason Klaasen, 5 James Kilroe, 4 Mark Prior, 3 Digby Webb, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 Joel Carew
Replacements: 16 Msizi Zondi, 17 Kyle White, 18 Jade Kriel, 19 Luke Stringer, 20 Ryan Dugmore, 21 Guy Schwikkard, 22 Dean Gericke, 23 David Maasch.
FNB NMMU-Madibaz: 15 Jarryd Buys (Captain), 14 Tythan Adams, 13 Andile Jho, 12 Devon Lailvaux, 11 Brian Skosana, 10 Ruan Allerston, 9 Daniel Acker, 8 Ivan-John Du Preez, 7 Stephan Zaayman, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 Rob Louw, 4 Paul Tyler, 3 Steven Robesson, 2 Dane van der Westerhuizen, 1 Arno Ebersohn
Replacements: 16 Warrick Venter, 17 Brenden Olivier, 18 Wynand Grassman, 19 Jody Reyneke, 20 Ivan Ludick, 21 Creswin Josephs, 22 Khaya Malotana, 23 Marzuq Maarman.
Referees: Stephan Geldenhuys, Tahla Ntshakaza
Assistant Referees: Local
Tuks break Maties to pieces – FNB UP-Tuks (29) 53 / 8 (8) FNB Maties:
FNB UP-Tuks sent a clear message to the rest of the FNB Varsity Cup teams when they recorded a comprehensive 53 / 88 romp over FNB Maties in Pretoria.
Tuks were unstoppable in all facets of the game as they ran in 7 tries to remain unbeaten in the competition and establish themselves as the forerunners to lift the trophy this year.
The match got off to an expected fast start with Tuks asserting themselves early in the encounter by pegging Maties back inside their 22 for much of the opening 8 minutes. The Stellenbosch students settled nicely and gained the upperhand in the next 5 minutes but were unable to get any points on the board.
Tuks thought they scored in the 12th minute when Joshua Stander ran down a grubber and attempted to out-dive Craig Barry to the touchdown. However, Barry managed to get his hands wrapped around the ball to stop the try and conceded a 5m scrum in the process. The home side would be rewarded in the 14th minute when Jannes Kirsten brushed off a defender before taking 3 more with him to get the first try of the match. The try went unconverted as Joshua Stander pulled his attempt.
Maties were on the board 3 minutes later when JP Lewis displayed his finishing prowess to score in the corner. He was hit by a viscous tackle 2 metres from the try line but remained composed to finish off a well-executed team try. Brandon Thomson made no mistake with the conversion to hand Maties an 8 / 5 lead.
The home side regained the lead in the 2st minute after a dominant rolling maul which allowed Wiaan Liebenberg to grab the try. Stander slotted his first kick of the match as Tuks held a 13 / 8 lead at the 1st Strategy Break. Tuks started to assert their dominance on the match and were rewarded in the 24th minute, after a patient build-up, when Reniel Hugo crashed over the try line. Stander added the extra points to extend the home side’s lead to 21 / 8.
Tuks secured their bonus point in the 33rd minute when they set up an unstoppable rolling maul which travelled about 12 metres for Rudolph Smith to dot the ball down. Stander’s conversion extended the lead to 29 / 8. The home side continued to push for another try but were kept at-bay by stellar Maties defence as the teams went into the halftime interval.
The home side emerged from the break and immediately scored their 5th try of the match when Dewald Human showed exceptional stepping skills and blistering speed to tear the Maties defenders apart in the 42nd minute. Stander added another conversion to extend Tuks’ lead to 37 / 8.
Tuks were not done yet as they continued to put the visitors under all sorts of pressure. Maties defence were at sixes and sevens in the 50th minute when a well-executed backline move found Jermaine Kleinsmith on the left touchline and the wing made no mistake in adding the home side’s 6th try. Stander added his 5th conversion to extend the lead to 45 / 8.
Maties failed to hold onto the ball long enough to launch a meaningful attack and found themselves even further behind in the 71st minute when Nqobisiswe Mxoli crashed over the line to bring up 50 points for the home side. Stander added the conversion as Tuks led 53 / 8 with 8 minutes left in the match.
The remainder of the match was spent in Maties territory as Tuks pressed for an 8th try but it was not to be as they claimed a comfortable 45-point victory.
FNB Player that Rocks: Jannes Kirsten
Scorers:
FNB UP-Tuks:
- Tries: Jannes Kirsten (1), Wiaan Liebenberg (1), Reniel Hugo (1), Rudolph Smith (1), Dewald Human (1), Jermaine Kleinsmith (1), Nqobisiswe Mxoli (1)
- Conversions: Joshua Stander (6)
FNB Maties:
- Tries: JP Lewis (1)
- Conversions: Brandon Thomson (1)
Teams:
FNB UP-Tuks: 15 Duncan Matthews, 14 Riaan Britz, 13 Ryan Nell, 12 Daniel Kriel, 11 Jermaine Kleinsmith, 10 Joshua Stander, 9 André Warner, 8 Rudolph Smith, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Wiaan Liebenberg (Captain), 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Irné Herbst, 3 Andrew Beerwinkel, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Jan Enslin, 17 Nqobisiswe Mxoli, 18 Dennis Visser, 19 Clyde Davids, 20 Emile Temperman, 21 Dewald Human, 22 John Jackson, 23 Neethling Fouche.
FNB Maties: 15 Craig Barry, 14 Brandon Asher-Wood, 13 Christoff van Tonder, 12 Koos Loubser, 11 JP Lewis, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Jean Nel, 8 Kobus van Dyk, 7 Lungelo Chonco, 6 Beyers de Villiers, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys (Captain), 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 John-Hubert Meyer, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Niel Oelofse
Replacements: 16 Neethling Gericke, 17 Wesley Adonis, 18 Janco Venter, 19 Justin Benn, 20 Bjorn Bernardo, 21 Ernst Stapelberg, 22 Kyle Leibrandt, 23 Jacobus van der Merwe.
Referees: Lourens van der Merwe, Jaco Kotze
Assistant Referees: Local
TMO: Willie Vos