FNB UP-Tuks and FNB UFS-Shimlas both secured home semifinals with big wins in Round 6 of the FNB Varsity Cup on Monday.
Shimlas beat defending champions FNB UCT 44 / 24 in Bloemfontein to remain the only unbeaten side in the competition, and Tuks handed Gauteng rivals FNB UJ a 34 / 0 defeat in Johannesburg to maintain their place at the Top of the standings.
Despite the top 2 sides having wrapped up home advantage in the play-offs already, with the 4 teams below them fighting for the 2 remaining places next week.
3-Time champions FNB Maties came from behind to secure a 26 / 16 bonus-point home win against FNB NMMU to keep their play-off hopes very much alive with a clash against the winless FNB CUT Ixias in Bloemfontein next week.
The vital 5 log points saw the Stellenbosch outfit move up to 5th place, 1 point ahead of UJ who will need a few results to go their way next week if they are to sneak into the knock-out phase of the competition.
UJ were humbled in front of their home crowd by a powerful Tuks outfit who shut them out to show how tough they will be to stop at the business-end of the competition.
Another team that will be riding high is Shimlas whose convincing 7-try win against the Ikeys means that they are still only 2nd to Tuks on points difference, ahead of their mouth-watering clash with NWU-Pukke next week.
The Potchefstroom outfit handed newcomers CUT a 53 / 16 defeat in Bloemfontein to move up to 3rd place, just 1 log point ahead of 4th-placed UCT who will slug it out with UJ on the Green Mile in Cape Town next week.
In the Varsity Shield FNB Wits secured a home final with a 40 / 26 victory over FNB UKZN in Johannesburg, while FNB UWC kept their slim hopes alive with a big 66 / 10 win against FNB TUT in Bellville.
Varsity Young Guns champions UFS handed UP-Tuks their 1st-ever defeat in the history of the competition in what was a replay of last years’ final, while NMMU kept their winning run going by beating the Junior Maties in Stellenbosch and UJ cruised to a comfortable win against their counterparts from CUT who remain winless.
3-Time Steinhoff Koshuisrugby champions Steinhoff Vishuis secured their place in another final with a win against Steinhoff Bastion who must beat Steinhoff Mopanie convincingly in the final Round to sneak into the final while there was also a big win for Steinhoff Medies who overpowered NMMU’s Steinhoff Stallions in Stellenbosch.
FNB UFS-Shimlas (34) 44 / 24 (8) FNB UCT:
FNB UFS-Shimlas remained the only unbeaten side in the FNB Varsity Cup following a bonus-point 44 / 24 victory over defending champions FNB UCT in Bloemfontein.
A handful of 1st half tries handed the home side a comfortable 34 / 8 lead at the break, and despite a mini-comeback by Ikeys, the home side held on to all but guarantee themselves their 1st ever home semi-final.
Shimlas struck as early as the 2nd minute when Gerhard Olivier cantered his way over the line, following great continuity and interplay between the forwards. The home side continued to pile on the pressure throughout the opening exchanges and pinned Ikeys in their half of the field.
The visitors managed to get their hands on the ball and made their way up the field with their 1st attack of the match. Lihleli Xoli thought he had levelled matters for the visitors in the 13th minute but was adjudged to have played the ball on the ground, on his way to placing the ball over the try line.
That error by Xoli would prove costly as Shimlas skilfully made their way up the field. AJ Coertzen pierced Ikeys’ defence with a devastating run, before the ball was quickly recycled and passed to a charging Johan van der Hoogt who busted through a tackle. 2 Ttries would be soon be 3 when Daniel Maartens added his name to the scorers list to hand Shimlas a 21 / 0 lead at the 1st Strategy Break.
It took Ikeys 26 minutes to get some points on the board, when they eventually benefited from an unsuccessful Shimlas line-out throw. The counter-attack was swift and a chip kick was put through that Xoli chased down and ran in unopposed. Guy Schwikkard comfortably added the extra points. Their joy would be short-lived though as Shimlas grabbed a further 2 tries – and the bonus point – through Olivier and Maartens, off the back of 2 rolling mauls to hand the home side a comfortable 34 / 8 lead at the halftime break.
There was no stopping the home side after the break as they continued to take the game to UCT but the Ikeys’ “never-say-die” spirit came to the fore as they grabbed the 1st points of the half in the 56th minute through a Guy Schwikkard try, which Nicholas Holton converted, to reduce the deficit to 18 points.
Shimlas’ Olivier capped off a great performance by grabbing a hat-trick on the stroke of the 2nd Strategy Break but Ikeys would strike back from the mini-break when Holton did all the hard work and put Xoli through to grab a brace. The former would convert the try and they narrowed the gap to 39 / 24 after 65 minutes.
The try sparked the Cape students into life as they went all-out to launch yet another comeback but Shimlas knocked the stuffing out of them thanks to a late Boela Venter try.
Scorers:
FNB UFS-Shimlas:
- Tries: Gerhard Olivier (3), Johan van der Hoogt (1), Daniel Maartens (2), Boela Venter (1)
- Conversions: Niel Marais (3)
FNB UCT:
- Tries: Lihleli Xoli (2), Guy Schwikkard (1)
- Conversions: Guy Schwikkard (1), Nicholas Holton (2)
Teams:
FNB UFS-Shimlas: 15 AJ Coertzen (Captain), 14 Vuyani Maqina, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Maphutha Dolo, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Mthokozisi Mkhabela, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Gerhard Olivier, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Niel Claassen, 4 Johan van der Hoogt, 3 Chase Morison, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Theunis Neuwoudt
Replacements: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Boela Venter, 19 De Wet Kruger, 20 Renier Botha, 21 JP Coetzee, 22 Refuoe Rampete, 23 Conraad van Vuuren.
FNB UCT: 15 Khanyo Ngcukana, 14 Richard Stewart, 13 Lihleli Xoli, 12 Nicholas Holton, 11 Dylan Sage, 10 Warren Seals, 9 James Alexander, 8 Guy Alexander (Captain), 7 Mark Prior, 6 Jason Klaasen, 5 James Kilroe, 4 Jade Kriel, 3 Digby Webb, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 Joel Carew
Replacements: 16 Michael Kennedy, 17 Robin Murray, 18 Luke Stringer, 19 Tinotenda Zakeyo, 20 Ryand Dugmore, 21 Guy Schwikkard, 22 Nathan Nel, 23 Kyle Whyte.
Referees: Rodney Bonaparte, Francois Pretorius
Assistant Referees: Local
TMO: JJ Wagner
FNB Maties (5) 26 / 16 (8) FNB NMMU:
FNB Maties claimed a vital 26 / 16 bonus-point win against FNB NMMU in Stellenbosch to keep their FNB Varsity Cup play-off hopes alive.
The home side were forced to come from behind at the Danie Craven Stadium, and a convincing 2nd-half performance was enough to move them up to move up to 5th place on the standings with just 1 Round remaining before the play-offs.
The hosts struck 1st as all-action flank Beyers de Villiers opened their account, after the ball was worked wide following some good phase play.
However, the visitors struck back as the ball was shifted out to inside centre Devon Lailvaux who was able to force his way over, and the conversion from flyhalf Steven Hansel gave them an 8 / 5 lead at the 1st strategy break.
There was little to choose between the sides in a highly physical encounter which saw committed defence from both teams, and as a result the Madibaz took their slender 3-point lead into the halftime break.
Maties had the wind at their backs in the 2nd half, and made a determined start as they sought to make the most of the advantage, but the visitors would be next to score as No 8 Andisa Ntsila forced his way over, to take their lead out to 16 / 5.
However, Ntsila would soon turn from hero to villain when he was shown a Yellow Card for repeated infringements from his side.
Maties took advantage straight away as their No 8 Kobus van Dyk scored an unconverted try, which put them back within striking distance at 16 / 10.
The home side took the lead when the referee awarded a Penalty Try after NMMU had been penalised repeatedly at scrum-time.
The home side had their tails up and they secured the vital bonus point with a superb individual effort from fullback Mike Muller, who collected his own chip-kick to score.
That gave them a 26 / 16 lead, and they managed to hold out until the final whistle, to take a full 5 Log Points and keep their play-off hopes alive.
Scorers:
FNB Maties:
- Tries: Beyers de Villiers (1), Kobus van Dyk (1), Penalty Try (1), Mike Muller (1)
- Conversions: Brandon Thomson (2)
FNB NMMU:
- Tries: Devon Lailvaux (1), Andisa Ntsila (1)
- Conversions: Steven Hansel (2)
Teams:
FNB Maties: 15 Mike Muller, 14 Craig Barry, 13 Christoff van Tonder, 12 Koos Loubser, 11 JP Lewis, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Bjorn Bernardo, 8 Kobus van Dyk, 7 Justin Benn, 6 Beyers de Villiers, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys (Captain), 4 Lourens Fick, 3 Abel de Klerk, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Niel Oelofse
Replacements: 16 Craig Corbett, 17 John Hubert Meyer, 18 Janko Venter, 19 Lungelo Chonco, 20 Remu Malan, 21 Ernest Stapelberg, 22 Jamie Joseph, 23 Jacobus van der Merwe.
FNB NMMU: 15 Jarryd Buys (Captain), 14 Tythan Adams, 13 Micheal Barnardt, 12 Devon Lailvaux, 11 Brian Skosana, 10 Steven Hansel, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Andisa Ntsila, 7 Philip Odendaal, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 Robert Louw, 4 Stephan Zaayman, 3 Steven Robbeson, 2 Jody Reyneke, 1 Marzuk Maarman
Replacements: 16 Dane van der Westhuyzen, 17 Laurence Christie, 18 Elandre van der Merwe, 19 Ivan-John du Preez, 20 Ivan ludick, 21 Andile Jho, 22 Khaya Malotana, 23 Arno Ebersohn.
Referees: Quinton Immelman, Cwengile Jadezweni
Assistant Referees: Local
FNB CUT (8) 16 / 53 (29) FNB NWU-Pukke:
FNB NWU-Pukke secured a convincing 53 / 16 victory over Varsity Cup newcomers FNB CUT Ixias in Bloemfontein on Monday.
The Potchefstroom outfit outscored their hosts by 7 tries to 2, to give their play-off hopes a major boost and consign CUT to another big defeat in what has been a disappointing debut season.
The visitors drew 1st blood when scrumhalf Dillon Smit got over for the opening try, but the home side hit back soon afterwards through hooker Len Noort to level the scores at 8 / 8.
NWU-Pukke managed to regroup quickly and 2 quick tries from fullback Rhyno Smith and outside centre Rowayne Beukman saw them take a 21 / 8 lead into the 1st strategy break.
The visitors had the bonus point wrapped up shortly afterwards as left wing Dean Stokes burst over for their 4th try, and the conversion from Smith gave them a commanding 29 / 8 advantage at halftime.
The one-way traffic continued in the 2nd half as Beukman got over for his 2nd try, leaving CUT staring down another heavy defeat.
The tries kept coming for the visitors, and although CUT were able to respond through flyhalf Duan Pretorius, who converted his own try, they were too far off the pace to really threaten Pukke.
The visitors brought up their half-century at the death, to put a stamp on a dominant performance, which saw them move up to 3rd place on the standings.
Scorers:
FNB CUT:
- Tries: Len Noort (1), Duan Pretorius (1)
- Conversions: Duan Pretorius (2)
FNB NWU-Pukke:
- Tries: Dillon Smit (1), Rhuno Smith (1), Rowayne Beukman (2), Dean Stokes (1), Juandre Williams (1), Jaco Buys (1)
- Conversions: Rhyno Smith (6)
Teams:
FNB CUT: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Dean Kouprihanoff, 13 Jacques Nel, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Lethole Makoena, 10 Duan Pretorius, 9 Christiaan Erasmus, 8 Jean Pretorius, 7 Jean-Claude Fourie, 6 Frans Sisita (Captain), 5 Fanie Coetzee, 4 JJ Nel, 3 Niel Schoombee, 2 Len Noort, 1 Gerard Baard
Replacements: 16 Juandre Roux, 17 Ian Smith, 18 Rayno Nel, 19 Victor Maruping, 20 Dean Jacobs, 21 Dean Rossouw, 22 Naude van Biljon, 23 Boetie Makethlo.
FNB NWU-Pukke: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Juandre Williams, 13 Rowayne Beukman, 12 Johan Deysel (Captain), 11 Dean Stokes, 10 Johnny Welthagen, 9 Dillon Smit, 8 Jaco Buys, 7 Marno Redelinghuys, 6 Armand Liebenberg, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Loftus Morrison, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 2 Wian Fourie, 1 Johan Smith
Replacements: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Mogau Mabokela, 18 Daniel Jordaan, 19 Moletsi Bouwer, 20 Malherbe Swart, 21 Dalen Goliath, 22 Bouke Tack, 23 Cayle Denner.
Referees: Francois Pretorius, Rodney Boneparte
Assistant Referees: Local
FNB UJ (0) 0 / 34 (5) FNB UP-Tuks:
A strong 2nd half showing saw FNB UP-Tuks claim a hard-fought 34 / 0 victory over a stubborn FNB UJ side in the FNB Varsity Cup in Johannesburg.
The bonus point victory cemented Tuks’ spot on Top of table – albeit by points difference – as well as securing a home semi-final, after failing to reach the knock-out phase in 2014.
UJ started the sharper of the sides and, spurred on by a boisterous crowd, took the game to their more fancied opponents in the opening exchanges. However, Tuks would be the 1st to get over the try line when Dewald Human rounded off a free-flowing counter-attack, but the try was denied by the TMO as a forward pass was ruled in the build-up.
The too-and-fro nature of the match continued all the way to the 1st Strategy Break but, following numerous attacks from both sides, it would be Tuks to break the deadlock in the 23rd minute when Daniel Kriel rounded off an attack, after Joshua Stander collected his own cheeky chip-kick, before the ball was shovelled wide into Kriel’s hands.
UJ began to pile the pressure on their opponents and camped in their territory for the majority of the half, but some stellar Tuks defence kept the home side at bay. Tuks managed to hold onto their slender 5 / 0 lead as the teams went into the halftime break.
Tuks emerged rejuvenated from the break and went in search of extending their lead, but UJ were up to the challenge initially and kept them at bay. The constant barrage of attacks would pay off for Tuks as Dayan van der Westhuizen crashed over in the 52nd minute to double Tuks’ lead. 2 Became 3 on the stroke of the Strategy Break when UJ were at sixes and sevens in defence, which allowed John Jackson to eventually crash over. Joshua Stander managed to land his 1st kick of the match to extend the lead to 18 / 0.
Tuks secured the bonus point in the 68th minute, when Joshua Stander produced a moment of brilliance at 1st receiver, off the back of a scrum. He threw a dummy before splitting the UJ defence before scoring the vital try. Tuks would distance themselves further away from their opponents, as Andrew Beerwinkel added his name to the try scorers list and with Joshua Stander adding the extra points.
The match fizzled out from there as the Gauteng bragging rights will be held by the men from Pretoria.
FNB Player that Rocks: André Warner
Scorers:
FNB UJ:
- None
FNB UP-Tuks:
- Tries: Daniel Kriel (1), Dayan van der Westhuizen (1), John Jackson (1), Joshua Stander (1), Andrew Beerwinkel (1)
- Conversions: Joshua Stander (3)
Teams:
FNB UJ: 15 Aphiwe Dyanti, 14 Bradley Moolman, 13 Robert De Bruyn, 12 Adriaan Vermeulen, 11 Andries Osthuizen, 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 Raeez Salie, 18 Griffith van Wyk, 19 Wiaan Conradie, 20 Hilton Mudarika, 21 James Campbell, 22 Dominic Kroezen, 23 Brandon Landsberg.
FNB UP-Tuks: 15 Dewald Human, 14 Damian van Wyk, 13 Daniel Kriel, 12 John Jackson, 11 Jermaine Kleinsmith, 10 Joshua Stander, 9 André Warner, 8 Clyde Davids, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Wiaan Liebenberg (Captain), 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Andrew Beerwinkel
Replacements: 16 Jan van der Merwe, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Dennis Visser, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 20 Emile Temperman, 21 Jacques Rossouw, 22 Adrian Maebane, 23 Nqobisizwe Mxoli.
Referees: Stephan Geldenhuys, Tahla Ntshakaza
Assistant Referees: Local
TMO: Johan Greeff