The unbeaten FNB UFS-Shimlas will host FNB NWU-Pukke in their 1st-ever FNB Varsity Cup final in Bloemfontein.
The Free State side saw off defending champions FNB UCT in their home semi-final, and NWU-Pukke edged table-topping FNB UP-Tuks in Pretoria to book a place in their 2nd consecutive final.
A late try from flyhalf Jonny Welthagen saw NWU-Pukke snatch a dramatic 29 / 28 victory over UP-Tuks to send the 2-time champions crashing out of the competition.
Welthagen had been the villain of NWU-Pukke’s defeat to UCT in last year’s final in Potchefstroom, but he turned to hero in Pretoria as a superb individual effort saw his side through.
NWU-Pukke were the only team to beat UP-Tuks in the round robin phase of the competition, and they made it a season double to set up a final clash against their old rivals in Bloemfontein on Monday 13 April.
UFS-Shimlas proved too strong for the Ikeys in the first semi-final, outscoring the Cape side by 3 tries to 2 to secure a spot in their 1st final which they will play in front of their home crowd thanks to NWU-Pukke’s win against UP-Tuks.
FNB Wits will hosts FNB UKZN in the Varsity Shield final in Johannesburg next week, after the Kwa-Zulu Natal outfit picked up a comfortable 42 / 0 victory over FNB Fort Hare in Durban.
Wits had already secured a home final ahead of their clash with FNB UWC, and the teams ended tied for the 2nd time this season as UWC fell short of a place in the final, ending the season in 3rd place.
The Varsity Young Guns final next week will see a replay of last years’ final only at a different venue, as defending champions UFS host UP-Tuks in Bloemfontein.
The Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championship final will see UP-Tuks’ Steinhoff Mopanie go up against UFS-Shimlas’ Steinhoff Vishuis after they cruised to a 71 / 13 victory over Steinhoff Bastion.
NWU-Pukke’s FNB Patria cruised to an 84 / 0 win over UCT’s Steinhoff Cobras, but it was not enough and they finished the season in 3rd place.
FNB UFS-Shimlas (16) 21 / 10 (1) FNB UCT:
FNB UFS-Shimlas will play in their 1st-ever FNB Varsity Cup final after beating defending champions FNB UCT 21 / 10 in their semi-final in Bloemfontein.
It was UFS-Shimlas’ 1st-ever home semi-final, and they proved too strong for the Cape side to continue their unbeaten run in this year’s competition.
The home side made a determined start to the game, forcing UCT to defend from the outset, and the pressure eventually told when big No 8 Niell Jordaan forced his way over for the 1st try from close range.
The Ikeys responded by charging into opposition territory, and openside flank Jason Klaasen crashed over from a driving maul to score a try, which was confirmed by the TMO, after UFS-Shimlas used their WHITE CARD challenge.
The Free State side hit back with a driving maul of their own, and flank Daniel Maartens peeled off the back for a try which put them 16 / 5 up once converted by flyhalf Niel Marais.
The defending champions kept themselves within range as hooker Chad Solomon showed good strength to brush off a few defenders for their 2nd try, which cut the deficit to 16 / 10 at halftime with just 2 conversions separating the teams.
The visitors came out hard after the break and had a try in the corner disallowed due to a forward pass, and despite further opportunities for both teams neither could find a way through and UFS-Shimlas took their 6-point lead into the 2nd strategy break.
The home side struck a major blow when left wing Maphutha Dolo took a well-timed pass from scrumhalf Renier Botha to go over for their 3rd try, which put them in the driving seat with a 21 / 10 lead.
Things got even tougher for UCT when outside centre Lihleli Xoli was shown a Yellow Card, and although a late try from UFS-Shimlas wing Vuyani Maqina was disallowed the home side cruised to victory in the end.
FNB Player that Rocks: Daniel Maartens
Scorers:
FNB UFS-Shimlas:
- Tries: Neill Jordaan (1), Daniel Maartens (1), Maphutha Dolo (1)
- Conversions: Niel Marais (2)
FNB UCT:
- Tries: Jason Klaasen (1), Chad Solomon (1)
Teams:
FNB UFS-Shimlas: 15 AJ Coertzen (Captain), 14 Vuyani Maqina, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Maphutha Dolo, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Renier Botha, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Gerhard Olivier, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Boela Venter, 4 Johan van der Hoogt, 3 Conraad Van Vuuren, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Elandre Hugget, 17 Theunis Nieuwoudt, 18 De Wet Kruger, 19 Henco Venter, 20 Nhlanhla Hlongwane, 21 JP Coetzee, 22 Refuoe Rampete, 23 Dolph Botha.
FNB UCT: 15 Khanyo Ngcukana, 14 Richard Stewart, 13 Lihleli Xoli, 12 Guy Schwikkard, 11 Dylan Sage, 10 Warren Seals, 9 Ryan Dugmore, 8 Guy Alexander (Captain), 7 Luke Stringer, 6 Jason Klaasen, 5 James Kilroe, 4 Mark Prior, 3 Kyle Whyte, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 Joel Carew
Replacements: 16 Msizi Zondi, 17 Robin Murray, 18 Jade Kriel, 19 Tinotenda Zakeyo, 20 Stephen Wallace, 21 Nicholas Holton, 22 Nathan Nel, 23 David Maasch.
Referees: Lesego Legoete, Jaco Pretorius
Assistant Referees: Local
TMO: JJ Wagner
FNB UP-Tuks (10) 28 / 29 (19) FNB NWU-Pukke:
FNB NWU-Pukke broke FNB UP-Tuks hearts when they defeated the home side 29 / 28 in a tense battle to secure their spot in the FNB Varsity Cup final.
Tuks outscored their opponents 5 tries to 4 but Johnny Welthagen, who made headlines for all the wrong reasons in the 2014 final, scored a great individual try with 2 minutes remaining to hand Pukke their spot in their 2nd consecutive final.
However, it was the boot of Rhyno Smith which proved to be the difference between the sides and which secured Pukke their 2nd consecutive final.
The match got off to a frantic start as both teams went in search of early points but it would be Tuks who would have much of the possession and territory advantage. Pukke’s task was made harder when their captain Jeandre Rudolph was sent to the bin in the 8th minute.
The home side took full advantage of the extra man when they set up a rolling maul, which allowed captain Wiaan Liebenberg to dot the ball down… but their joy was short lived, as Marno Redelinghuys ran a superb line from a set-play to score under the uprights. Rhyno Smith made no mistake with the conversion to hand Pukke the lead after 16 minutes.
Pukke would extend their lead on the stroke of the 1st Strategy Break, when Smith popped over a penalty from in front of the poles. Tuks emerged stronger after the break and got their reward when John Jackson crashed over the line from close range. Stander failed to add the extra points again as the scores remained level at 10 / 10.
Rhyno Smith added another 2 points to Pukke’s total when he slotted another penalty in the 26th minute. A dominant Pukke scrum found reward in the 28th minute when Rudolph redeemed himself for his earlier Yellow Card to extend the visitors’ lead to 7 points. The lead became 9 just before halftime when Smith slotted his 3rd penalty of the night, and Pukke closed out the half in the ascendency.
The visitors picked up where they left off at the start of the 2nd half and were putting Tuks under all sorts of pressure. However, Daniel Kriel intercepted a pass and ran all of 80 metres to reduce Pukke’s lead. Stander finally slotted a conversion to reduce the deficit to a solitary point after 46 minutes.
Pukke once again piled the pressure onto their hosts and spent the majority of the half inside Tuks’ 22. Their pressure would bare fruit in the 57th minute when Dillon Smit cantered over unopposed, after excellent work from the forwards, to extend the lead to 6 points at the 2nd Strategy Break.
Pukke continued to pile on the pressure but completely against the run-of-play, Jermaine Kleinsmith showed a clean pair of heels to race down the left touchline and from the Tuks’ 22 to within centimetres of Pukke’s try-line. The ball was quickly recycled and found the hands of Clyde Davids who displayed a nifty side step, before stretching over the line to reduce the deficit to just 1 point again, with 15 minutes left in the match.
That try sparked Tuks into life as they threw the ball around with confidence. The ball found Davids again, who broke through a tackle before releasing a pop-pass to Riaan Britz who sprinted down the right touchline to dive over in the corner, as Tuks took the lead for the 1st time since early in the 1st half.
The drama would continue to the bitter end, when Johnny Welthagen scored an absolutely majestic individual try, by running around and through the Tuks defence to hand Pukke a slender 1-point lead, with 2 minutes remaining in the match. They managed to hold onto that lead to claim a thrilling victory.
FNB Player that Rocks: Marno Redelinghuys
Scorers:
FNB UP-Tuks:
- Tries: Wiaan Liebenberg (1), John Jackson (1), Dan Kriel (1), Clyde Davids (1), Riaan Britz (1)
- Conversions: Joshua Stander (1)
FNB NWU-Pukke:
- Tries: Marno Redelinghuys (1), Jeandre Rudolph (1), Dillon Smit (1), Johnny Welthagen (1)
- Conversions: Rhyno Smith (1)
- Penalties: Rhyno Smith (3)
Yellow Card: Jeandre Rudolph (NWU-Pukke, 8th minute – repeated infringements, hands in the ruck)
Teams:
FNB UP-Tuks: 15 Riaan Britz, 14 Damian van Wyk, 13 Daniel Kriel, 12 John Jackson, 11 Jermaine Kleinsmith, 10 Joshua Stander, 9 André Warner, 8 Clyde Davids, 7 Rudolph Smith, 6 Wiaan Liebenberg (captain), 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Andrew Beerwinkel, 2 Jan Enslin, 1 Justin Forwood
Replacements: 16 Jan Van der Merwe, 17 Nqobisizwe Mxoli, 18 Dennis Visser, 19 Hein Viljoen, 20 Emile Temperman, 21 Dewald Human, 22 Adrian Maebane, 23 Dayan van der Westhuizen.
FNB NWU-Pukke: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Dalen Goliath, 13 Rowayne Beukman, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Dillon Smit, 10 Johnny Welthagen, 9 Malherbe Swart, 8 Jeandre Rudolph (captain), 7 Marno Redelinghuys, 6 Armandt 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 Johannes Briers, 21 Marnus Tack, 22 Kurshwill Williams, 23 Cayle Denner.
Referees: Rodney Boneparte, Francois Pretorius
Assistant Referees: Local
TMO: Willie Vos