FNB NWU-Pukke will host FNB UCT in their first home FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International final after both teams secured semifinal victories on Monday night.
The Potchefstroom outfit, who topped the standings after losing just one game all season, left it late to edge a valiant FNB NMMU Madibaz side in a pulsating play-off that was in the balance until the final whistle.
They will face an impressive Ikey Tigers side that handed old rivals FNB Maties a 20-8 defeat in wet and windy conditions on the Green Mile in Cape Town.
The Cape derby was scoreless at half-time, but the supremacy of the Ikeys pack told in the second half as they did the season double over Maties to qualify for their first final since they took the title back in 2011.
The home side were playing with the wind at their backs after half-time and they made it count as they raced out to a 20-0 lead, with Maties’ late consolation try not enough to see the three-time champions through to a sixth final.
NWU-Pukke were almost denied by the valiant Madibaz who took the lead for the first time in the match with ten minutes left on the clock before NWU-Pukke replacement Rhyno Smith stepped up to slot a late penalty which sealed a tight 19-18 win and send the packed crowd into raptures.
It was NMMU’s second consecutive one-point semifinal defeat, with Maties denying them by the same margin in Stellenbosch last year, and they will be left to consider what might have been after missing out on what would have been their first final.
The hosts had taken control of the game early on with two tries in the first ten minutes, but the Madibaz fought back and eventually took the lead through a Jarryd Buys drop-goal, only to have their hearts broken at the death.
This means that the Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds in Potchefstroom will host its first-ever final on April 7 when the two form teams in the competition this season do battle.
In the Varsity Shield John Mitchell’s FNB UKZN Impi set up a replay with the FNB CUT Ixias in the final next week after they handed the two-time champions a 39-21 defeat in Pietermaritzburg.
The bonus-point victory sent the KwaZulu-Natal side through to their first-ever final which means that they have a chance of qualifying for promotion to the Varsity Cup.
That result ended FNB Fort Hare’s hopes of reaching the final, as although the Eastern Cape side beat the FNB TUT Vikings 38-36 in Alice, it was not enough to overhaul the Impi who will travel to Bloemfontein next week to face the Ixias.
Next week will also see the Varsity Young Guns final between two-time champions FNB UP-Tuks Young Guns and FNB UFS Young Guns who saw off the challenges of Steinhoff Junior Maties and FNB UJ Young Guns respectively.
UP-Tuks are yet to lose a single game in the three seasons that the competition has been running, so they will be favourites on home soil against a UFS side that handed UJ their first defeat of the season.
The Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships saw two home wins in the semifinals as well as UFS’ Steinhoff Heimat and Steinhoff Patria from NWU maintained their unbeaten records this season.
Heimat saw off the challenge of last year’s beaten finalists Steinhoff Medies in Bloemfontein whilst Patria proved too strong for the Steinhoff Purple Cobras from UCT to set up their final which will be played before the Varsity Cup final in a fortnight’s time.
FNB UCT 20 / 8 FNB Maties:
FNB UCT booked their place in the 2014 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International final with a dominant 20-8 victory over Maties on a wet Green Mile.
The wind and rain in Cape Town made it a tricky prospect for both teams, with UCT adapting best to conditions as they scored all of their points after half-time following a scoreless first half.
The visitors made a positive start to the game, pegging the Ikeys back in their own half in the slippery conditions, but they were unable to make it count on the scoreboard as the UCT defence held up well after conceding a string of penalties in their 22.
The battle up front was always going to be key given the persistent rain, and Ikeys struck a big blow when they shoved the Maties pack backwards in the first scrum of the game, which set the tone for the rest of the match.
They kept the pressure on and camped on the Maties tryline for a while, but the team from Stellenbosch showed just as much resolve on defence to keep the game scoreless after an intense opening 15 minutes.
Maties made their move once more, rejecting a few opportunities to kick at goal as they looked for the opening try, and although Ikeys wing Richard Stewart was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements the Stellenbosch side could not find a way through as they went into the first strategy break without bothering the scorers.
Maties looked certain to score after the ball was sent wide following a turnover in UCT territory, but left wing John Durr was forced into touch just short of the tryline as the Tigers hung tough.
Maties continued to hammer away, but Ikeys clearly had the upper hand in the set-pieces and they managed to keep them out as the teams went into the half-time break still deadlocked at 0-0.
The home side had the wind at their backs in the second half, and it paid off straight away as Lihleli Xoli followed up well on a chip kick to score the opening try, with Dean Grant’s conversion putting them 8-0 up.
Grant added two penalties which took Ikeys’ lead to 12-0, and it looked a long way back for Maties with the wind and rain blowing in their faces.
Some clever kicking from Grant kept Maties back in their own 22, where the Ikeys scrum put them under some considerable pressure, and it finally told as a massive shove saw UCT No.8 Michael Botha crash over for a pushover try which made it 20-0 once converted.
That left Maties with it all to do in the last ten minutes, and they were given a glimmer of hope when Ikeys captain Liam Slatem was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle.
His opposite number Jean Nel took advantage straight away when he slid over for a try in the corner, which was converted from the touchline by flyhalf Robert du Preez, but it was not enough to avoid defeat as Ikeys booked their place in the final.
The scorers:
For FNB UCT:
- Tries: Lihleli Xoli (1), Michael Botha (1)
- Cons: Dean Grant (2)
- Pens: Dean Grant (2)
For FNB Maties:
- Try: Jean Nel (1)
- Con: Robert du Preez
Yellow cards: Richard Stewart (UCT, 29 mins – repeated infringements), Liam Slatem (UCT, 71 mins – dangerous tackle)
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 Michael Botha, 7 Vince Jobo, 6 Jason Klaasen, 5 James Kilroe, 4 Shaun McDonald, 3 Digby Webb, 2 Neil Rautenbach, 1 Joel Carew
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Robin Murray, 18 Kyle Kriel, 19 Gareth Ehret, 20 James Alexander, 21 Martin Sauls, 22 Nathan Nel, 23 David Maasch.
FNB Maties: 15 Craig Barry, 14 Mark Hodgskiss, 13 Jacobus Loubser, 12 Louis Jordaan, 11 John Durr, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Jean Nel, 8 Tertius Daniller (Captain), 7 Helmut Lehmann, 6 Justin Benn, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Liam Hendricks, 2 Charl de Villiers, 1 Wesley Adonis
Replacements: 16 Neethling Gericke, 17 Niel Oelofse, 18 Ian Groenewald, 19 Lungelo Chonco, 20 Bjorn Bernardo, 21 Chris Smith, 22 Tebongo Letlape, 23 Nicol Heyns.
Referees: Stephan Geldenhuys, Rodney Bonaparte
Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman, Francois Pretorius
TMO: Deon van Blommestein
FNB NWU-Pukke 19 / 18 FNB NMMU Madibaz:
A late penalty from replacement Rhyno Smith saw FNB NWU-Pukke clinch a 19-18 victory over NMMU in Potchefstroom to set up their first-ever home FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International final.
NWU-Pukke will host the FNB UCT Ikey Tigers in the final on April 7 after edging the Madibaz in a dramatic finish as the Eastern Cape side went down by a single point in their second consecutive semifinal.
The home side made the early running as they surged into the NMMU 22 with purpose, and it was not long before flank Rhyk Welgemoed dived over for the opening try next to the posts.
There was no respite for the Madibaz as NWU-Pukke got right back on the front foot and some quick hands saw wing Luther Obi get over for their second try which gave them a healthy 13-0 lead inside the opening ten minutes.
NMMU had hardly got their hands on the ball, and they made their first foray into opposition territory as they looked for a response, but Andile Jho was denied a try after being put over the line by a forward pass.
The Madibaz had the upper hand at scrum-time, but they could not take advantage as a few basic errors cost them points, and NWU-Pukke took their 13-0 advantage into the first strategy break.
The visitors continued to pile on the pressure and things got even tougher for NWU-Pukke when hooker Armand van der Merwe was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements in the 22.
NMMU took advantage straight away as flank Chris Cloete peeled off a maul to charge over for their first try, with the conversion from flyhalf Gavin Hauptfleisch cutting NWU-Pukke’s lead to 13-8 at the half-time break
Two penalties from NWU-Pukke centre Adriaan Engelbrecht early in the second half saw them stretch their lead to 17-8, before some last-ditch defending saw them deny the Madibaz from scoring in the corner.
However, the visitors struck soon afterwards as they launched a breathtaking counter-attack from their own territory after absorbing plenty of pressure from the hosts.
Fullback Jarryd Buys picked the ball up off his bootlaces and threw a neat dummy before releasing wing Tythan Adams who finished well, with Hauptfleisch’s conversion reducing the gap to 17-16 at the second strategy break.
NMMU took the lead for the first time with just 12 minutes left to play when Buys slotted a drop-goal which set up a tense finish as both teams chased a first-ever home final.
However, Smith stepped up with just two minutes left on the clock and sent the ball sailing through the uprights to the delight of the crowd to break Madibaz hearts.
The scorers:
For FNB NWU-Pukke:
- Tries: Johnny Welgemoed (1), Luther Obi (1)
- Con: Adriaan Engelbrecht (1)
- Pens: Adriaan Engelbrecht (2), Rhyno Smith (1)
For FNB NMMU Madibaz:
- Tries: Chris Cloete (1), Tythan Adams (1)
- Cons: Gavin Hauptfleisch (2)
- Drop Goal: Jarryd Buys (1)
Yellow card: Armand van der Merwe (NWU-Pukke, 28 mins – repeated infringements)
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 Rhyk Welgemoed, 6 Philip de Wet, 5 Francois Robbertse, 4 Peet van der Walt, 3 Nhlanhla Ngcamu, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Mashudu Mafela
Replacements: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Johan Smith, 18 Daniel Jordaan, 19 Robey Labuschagne, 20 Dillon Smit, 21 Rhyno Smith, 22 Lucien Cupido, John-Roy Jenkinson.
FNB NMMU Madibaz: 15 Jarryd Buys, 14 Tythan Adams, 13 Michael Bernardt, 12 Andile Jho, 11 Yamkela Ngam, 10 Gavin Hauptfleisch, 9 Daniel Acker, 8 Marcel Groenewald, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Christopher Cloete, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Louis Fourie, 3 Dexter Fahey, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Roy Godfrey (Captain)
Replacements: 16 Jody Reynecke, 17 Abongile Mnyaka, 18 Timothy Agaba, 19 Wade Elliot, 20 Kayle van Zyl, 21 Devon Lailvaux, 22 Sinakho Mafu, 23 Simon Kerrod.
Referees: Jaco Kotze, Tahla Ntshakaza
Assistant referees: Archie Sehlako, James van Oudtshoorn
TMO: Johan Greeff