FNB NWU-Pukke handed defending champions FNB UP-Tuks their first defeat of the 2014 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International tournament on Monday to claim top spot on the standings.
Coach Robert du Preez’s team were ruthless in wet conditions Pretoria as they shut out the home side to claim a convincing 18-0 victory and leapfrog them on the log in the process.
FNB UCT recorded their third away win of the season in Johannesburg, scoring five tries on their way to a 37-29 victory over FNB UJ to move up to third position.
The Ikeys have lost both of their home games this season, to table-topping teams UP-Tuks and NWU-Pukke, but have won all of their games on the road, whilst the defeat leaves UJ down in seventh place and facing a tough road to make the semifinals.
The top four after five weeks of action is rounded off by FNB UFS-Shimlas who ended deadlocked at 13-13 with three-time champions FNB Maties in their clash in Stellenbosch.
The wind played a major role at the Danie Craven Stadium as the visitors scored all of their points in the first half and the Maties scored all of their points after half-time to eventually share the spoils.
In the early game on Monday night FNB NMMU were forced to work hard for their 18-12 victory over FNB Wits in driving rain at the Wits campus in Johannesburg.
The Eastern Cape side scored on the stroke of full-time to secure the victory after the game had hung in the balance in the final stages.
Wits, for the second consecutive week, came close to notching their first-ever victory in the competition, but it was not to be as they remain rooted to the bottom of the table whilst the Madibaz moved up to fifth spot and remain within a shout of a play-off spot this year.
In the Varsity Shield defending champions, meanwhile, FNB CUT scored seven tries on their way to a comprehensive 47-8 victory over the FNB TUT Vikings who finished the evening at the bottom of the standings.
In Durban Peter de Villiers’ FNB UWC fought their way back to secure a tight 33-32 victory over John Mitchell’s FNB UKZN Impi, who earned two bonus points as consolation to remain in second position.
In the Varsity Young Guns competition, the FNB Wits Young Guns suffered their third heavy defeat as they went down 103-0 to the FNB NWU-Pukke Young Guns at home, whilst the Steinhoff Junior Maties secured a tough 26-16 win against the FNB NMMU Young Guns in Stellenbosch.
In Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championship action the Steinhoff Cobras from UCT got their campaign off to a promising start with a 28-13 victory over Steinhoff Majuba in Johannesburg and Steinhoff Patria from NWU-Pukke edged UP-Tuks outfit Steinhoff Onderstepoort 13-11 in Pretoria.
FNB Wits 12 / 18 FNB NMMU:
The FNB NMMU Madibaz got back to winning ways with a hard-fought 18-12 victory over Wits in pouring rain in Johannesburg on Monday.
The Eastern Cape side outscored the hosts by three tries to one in what was a scrappy game to bounce back from consecutive defeats at home to FNB UCT and NWU-Pukke.
Wits played with their usual passion and commitment, but fell just short of securing their first victory of the competition as they remain rooted to the bottom of the standings.
The home side made a spirited start to the match as they took the game to the Madibaz in the wet conditions, but the rain made handling incredibly difficult which made it something of a stop-start affair.
The match was always going to be dominated by the forwards in the driving rain, and opportunities were few and far between as both teams battled to find continuity in their game.
NMMU centre Michael Bernardt was shown a yellow card for repeated breakdown infringements from his side, which gave Wits the opportunity to hit the front early on.
Penalties either side of the first strategy break from Wits scrumhalf Matthew Torrance gave them a 4-0 lead, and they kept the pressure on the visitors.
However, the Madibaz struck back when prolific flank Chris Cloete crashed over for a try from a driving maul to give them a narrow 5-4 lead.
Wits were struck a blow soon afterwards when lock Rinus Bothma was shown a yellow card for using his boot on the head of another player, and NMMU launched a sustained period of pressure in the Wits 22 as they looked to take advantage but the home team’s defence did well to hold out until half-time
Things were just as scrappy in the second half, but the Madibaz managed to stretch their lead when Bernardt crossed the whitewash, with flyhalf Jarryd Buys’ conversion putting them 13-8 ahead.
Wits hit back with a try of their own from inside centre Brent Crossley who ran a good line to stroll over and cut NMMU’s lead to 13-12 with ten minutes to play.
It was anyone’s game in the final stages as both teams tore into one another, and the visitors had the final say as scrumhalf Enrico Acker darted over for a late try to secure the victory as Wits fell short once more.
The scorers:
For FNB Wits:
- Try: Brent Crossley (1)
- Con: Mathew Torrance (1)
- Pens: Mathew Torrance (2)
For FNB NMMU:
- Tries: Christopher Cloete (1), Michael Bernardt (1), Daniel Acker (1)
- Con: Jarryd Buys (1)
Yellow cards: Michael Bernardt (NMMU, 20 – Repeated infringements) Rinus Bothma (Wits, 32 – Foul play)
Teams:
FNB Wits: 15 Ruhan Nel, 14 Mandla Dube, 13 Divan Ferguson, 12 Brent Crossley, 11 Nkuli Gamede, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Mathew Torrance, 8 Jason Fraser, 7 Senna Esterhuizen, 6 Thato Mavundla, 5 Rinus Botma, 4 Devin Montgomery (Captain), 3 Kelley Ferdinand, 2 Ashley Kohler, 1 Hannes Ludick
Replacements: 16 James Marx, 17 Kyle Wood, 18 Conor Brockschmidt, 19 Peter van Biljon, 20 Rendani Ramovha, 21 Ish Nkolo, 22 Joshua Jarvis, 23 Gideon Muller.
FNB NMMU Madibaz: 15 Kayle van Zyl, 14 Ayabula Dlepu, 13 Michael Bernardt, 12 Devon Lailvaux, 11 Yamkela Ngam, 10 Jarryd Buys, 9 Daniel Acker, 8 Timothy Agaba, 7 Marcel Groenewald, 6 Christopher Cloete, 5 Louis Fourie, 4 Stefan Willemse, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Roy Godfrey (Captain)
Replacements: 16 Jody Reyneke, 17 Abongile Mnyaka, 18 Rob Louw, 19 Andre Barnard, 20 Gavin Hauptfleisch, 21 Andile Jho, 22 Sinakho Mafu, 23 Christie Lawrence.
Referees: Marius van der Westhuizen, Lesego Legoete
TMO: Johan Greeff
FNB UJ 29 / 37 FNB UCT:
An exciting Varsity Cup, Round Five fixture in a wet Johannesburg saw FNB UCT come up tops over a determined FNB UJ side by 37-29.
In a game where everyone was predicating a forward-dominated, grinding game – suited to UJ – the Ikeys came out with intense energy and skill to blow away the home team with three quick tries in the opening 13 minutes.
UCT dominated at the line-out and even in the scrums against the larger UJ forwards and UCT were able to keep the score board ticking over at crucial times in the game – even with a UJ revival in the second half.
UJ fought back bravely from the visitors’ rollicking start, but without being able to dominate the tight phases, nor keeping up with the UCT backline’s flair, UJ were always chasing the game.
UCT came out firing after a UJ mistake led to the first scrum of the game, The Cape Town pack were able to give eighthman Vince Jobo a steady platform to get the ball away to the backline which led to a great run by the English import Huw Jones.
This, in turn, allowed the outside backs to move the ball quickly through the hands to right-wing Richard Stewart who dotted down in the corner. Referee Rasta Rasivhenge sent it upstairs but TMO Wille Roos was happy to award the try. Dean Grant slotted the conversion tight on the right hand sideline giving UCT an 8-0 advantage after just two minutes.
The Ikeys continued to pile on the pressure in the tight phases as a five-metre scrum on the UJ line was turned around, giving the Ikeys a large openside to exploit. The front row of UCT decided to take things into their own hands by bunting the home team’s pack backwards and this gave powerhouse Jobo an easy try as he dotted down from the base. Grant was once again able to add the extra three points for a 16-0 lead.
The hosts began to build up phases as they used their bigger forwards to try bash up towards the UCT line only for the ball to be turned over. A clearing kick from UCT was fumbled backwards, allowing Dean Grant to pick the ball up and spread it to the backline, fullback Ross Jones-Davies was on the outside to provide a fantastic hand-off before going over in the left-hand corner. Grant was unable to maintain his 100% kicking record, this time pushing the ball wide.
UJ, clearly rattled, decided to implement more of a kicking game which was far more effective as Huw Jones was yellow-carded for cynical play when he kicked the ball away depriving UJ the quick through. from the resulting penalty UJ opted for the line out and after sucking in the UCT defence the ball was swung out wide to PJ Walters on the right wing who was able to step his way in-field to score near the posts. Fullback Marais Schmidt was able to slot an easy kick as UJ got their first points in the game right on the first strategy break.
A fumble at line-out time for the Ikeys right on their line gave UJ another opportunity to fight back, they shifted the ball from one side of the field to the other but the referee awarded the hosts another attacking opportunity from a scrum for unintentionally killing the ball. UCT felt more and more pressure as Wiseman Kamanga knocked on while stretching for the line after the ball was spread from the scrum. The referee played advantage, and the visitors finally cracked as a vicious maul sent David Antonites flying over the line, Schmidt adding the important three points with a fantastic strike from the left-hand sideline.
UCT kept giving UJ headaches at scrum-time and the hosts were caught for putting the ball in skew on their own five-metre line. The Ikeys milked a penalty from the resultant free-kick, which became two more penalties – UCT opting for scrums both times. It eventually became too much for the UJ pack who splintered under the force, allowing replacement loose forward Guy Alexander to pop over the line from two metres out.
Amazingly, Alexander’s score gave UCT the bonus point, as Grant’s conversion took the score to 29-16 at half-time in favour of the Men from Cape Town.
UJ came out for the second half with far more fire in their bellies.
A well-structured piece of play resulted in an opportunity for reserve hooker Jannes Snyman who found himself out on the right-wing, but it required a TMO decision to determine that Snyman was in fact dragged into touch by a try-saving tackle from the Ikeys.
A controversial decision by the referee saw two yellow cards being brandished to hard-working lock Shane Kirkwood and UJ captain Jaques Pretorius for what was deemed as foul play. Pretorious used a flat hand to push against Ikeys lock forward Jan Uys as the hosts won a penalty on UCT’s line and it was Kirkwood who also added his open hand close to Uys’s face. The TMO was called on to give his judgment and Jaco van Heerden felt that the actions deserved a double sin-binning.
This opened up the space for the Ikeys who were able to push UJ all the way back to their goalline and left-wing Lihleli Xoli was able to stroll over the line without a hand being laid on him – taking full advantage of the two missing UJ players. Grant took the easy conversion to add the points – UCT went up by 37-16.
A high up-and-under from UCT saw replacement back Martin Sauls taking the man out in the air, the referee once again reached for his pocket and sent the Ikeys man off for 10 minutes.
Jaco van der Walt took advantage of UJ’s numerical advantage, with Kirkwood and Potgieter returning to the field, to score a try after some good pressure with UCT’s defence being stretched thin. Marais Schmidt stepped up to take an important kick, cutting the deficit by eight as it slid inside the left hand upright.
The home teams revival towards the end of the game continued as relentless pressure on the Ikeys line led to multiple penalties but it was the UCT team who were able to clear their lines at critical times. The possession in the second half attributed to UCT’s fantastic defence as it showed UJ having 80 percent of the ball.
UJ kept the fight alive all the way to the 79th minute as PJ Walters was able to sneak over in the corner giving UJ two bonus points, for scoring four tries and one for finishing within eight points.
To their credit, the University of Johannesburg continued to push up-field looking for the draw as the match went into injury-time, but Guy Alexander’s brave steal at the breakdown saw the referees signal for full-time and a 37-29 result in favour of the 2011 champions.
The scorers:
For FNB UJ:
- Tries: PJ Walters (2), David Antonites (1), Jaco van der Walt (1)
- Cons: Marais Schmidt (3)
For FNB UCT:
- Tries: Richard Stewart (1), Vince Jobo (1), Ross Jones-Davies (1), Guy Alexander (1), Lihleli Xoli (1)
- Cons: Dean Grant (4)
Yellow cards: Huw Jones (Cynical play), Shane Kirkwood and Jacques Pretorious (foul play), Martin Sauls (taking man out in the air)
FNB UJ: 15 Marais Schmidt, 14 PJ Walters, 13 Jacques Nel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Michael Haznar, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Jacques Pretorius (Captain), 8 Kobus Porter, 7 Victor Sekekete, 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 Fabian Booysen, 19 Dylan Peterson, 20 Lukas van Zyl, 21 Juan Kotze, 22 Pieter Morton, 23 Hendrik Bredenkamp.
FNB UCT: 15 Ross Jones-Davies, 14 Richard Stewart, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Nicholas Holton, 11 Lihleli Xoli, 10 Dean Grant, 9 James Alexander (Captain), 8 Vince Jobo, 7 Shaun McDonald, 6 Jason Klaasen, 5 James Kilroe, 4 Jan Uys, 3 Digby Webb, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 Robin Murray
Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Msizi Zondi, 18 Kyle Kriel, 19 Guy Alexander, 20 Liam Slatem, 21 Martin Sauls, 22 Suwilanju Chibale, 23 David Maasch.
Referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, Jaco van Heerden
TMO: Willie Roos
FNB Maties 13 / 13 FNB Shimlas:
FNB Maties and UFS-Shimlas played out an exciting 13-13 draw in windy conditions in Stellenbosch on Monday night.
UFS-Shimlas scored all of their points in the first half and Maties scored all of theirs after half-time as the wind had a huge say at the Danie Craven Stadium.
The opening exchanges were tense, with neither side able to impose themselves on the game in the windy conditions, and the sides went into the first strategy break still deadlocked at 0-0.
The visitors opened the scoring soon afterwards when tighthead prop Justin Pappin forced his way over from close range, and Gouws Prinsloo added the easy conversion to put UFS-Shimlas 8-0 up.
The Free State side were playing with the wind in the first half and they made it count when wing Maphuta Dolo crossed in the corner to stretch their lead to 13-0 late in the first half.
They took that advantage into the break, leaving Maties with it all to do in the second half in the difficult conditions.
The home side made a determined start to the second 40 minutes, and it was not long before flyhalf Robert du Preez got over for a try in the corner which he converted himself to reduce UFS-Shimlas’ lead to 13-8.
Maties had all of the momentum and looked to have levelled matters when Helmut Lehmann got over the tryline, but the try was not awarded and UFS-Shimlas held on to their five-point advantage.
They held that lead at the second strategy break, but with less than a converted try between the sides it was still anyone’s game in the last 20 minutes.
Maties were desperate to overhaul the visitors and it showed as a number of basic errors cost them, boosting UFS-Shimlas hopes of pulling off a win on the road.
However, they finally managed to find the finishing touch when scrumhalf Jean Nel got over from close range to draw level with the visitors at 13-13.
Both teams threw everything at each other in the dying stages of the match as they looked for the winning score, but it was not to be as they ended deadlocked to take two log points each.
The scorers:
For FNB Maties:
- Tries: Robert du Preez (1), Jean Nel (1)
- Con: Robert du Preez (1)
For FNB UFS-Shimlas:
- Tries: Justin Pappin (1), Maphuta Dolo (1)
- Con: Gouws Prinsloo (1)
Teams:
FNB Maties: 15 Craig Barry, 14 Clearance Khumalo, 13 Mark Hodgskiss, 12 Louis Jordaan, 11 Caleb Smith, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Jean Nel, 8 Tertius Daniller (Captain), 7 Lungelo Chonco, 6 Beyers de Villiers, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Nicol Heyns, 2 Freddie Kirsten, 1 Johannes Kleinhans
Replacements: 16 Charl de Villiers, 17 Wesley Adonis, 18 Ian Groenewald, 19 Justin Benn, 20 Louis Nel, 21 Chris Smith, 22 Johnny Kotze, 23 Liam Hendricks.
FNB UFS-Shimlas: 15 Ludwig Erasmus, 14 Maphuta Dolo, 13 Tertius Kruger, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht (Captain), 11 Sethu Tom, 10 Gouws Prinsloo, 9 Kevin Luiters, 8 Gerhard Olivier, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Tienie Burger, 5 Neil Claassen, 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Justin Pappin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Franco van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Markus Odendaal, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Johan van der Hoogt, 19 Neill Jordaan, 20 Kay-Kay Hlongwane, 21 Pieter-Steyn de Wet, 22 Divandré Strydom, 23 Gideon Bruwer.
Referees: Cwengile Jadezweni, Christie du Preez
FNB UP-Tuks 0 / 18 FNB NWU-Pukke:
FNB NWU-Pukke proved in no uncertain terms that they will be a force in the business-end of the 2014 Varsity Cup competition with an 18-0 win over defending champions FNB UP-Tuks in Pretoria.
Conditions were not easy and the match between the two top teams in the 2014 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International did not reach any great heights, but the visitors will certainly not be complaining!
The Men from Potchefstroom scored two tries to nil in a match which produced few scoring opportunities and will end Week Five of the Varsity Cup in first place on the log, UP-Tuks dropping to second place after their first loss in 2014.
Pukke’s tries were scored by hooker Armand van der Merwe and No.5 lock Francois Robbertse, the former crossing the whitewash shortly before half-time as the visitors led 10-0 at the break.
Inside centre Adriaan Engelbrecht had earlier kicked a penalty to put his team up by 2-0 as half-time approached, but the combative Van der Merwe’s try, with Engelbrecht converting, gave them a crucial 10-0 advantage after 40 minutes.
The second half started in similarly wet conditions to the first, as the hosts looked to get back into the contest, but they were never able to get enough continuity in the game as the elements and the tenacity of Pukke’s defence contributed to keep them out.
Robbertse slid over down the blindside shortly after the 50-minute mark – with Engelbrecht again converting – and at 18-0 there was always going to be one winner in this game.
Tuks ended the match camped on Pukke’s line, in search of points and with it some consolation, but the visitors continued their determined and powerful defence which eventually led to a turnover on the stroke of full-time and with it a valuable away victory.
The scorers:
For FNB NWU-Pukke:
- Tries: Armand van der Merwe (1), Francois Robbertse (1)
- Cons: Adriaan Engelbrecht (2)
- Pens: Adriaan Engelbrecht (1)
The teams:
FNB UP-Tuks: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Jade Stighling, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Ryan Nell, 11 Kefentse Mahlo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Emile Temperman, 8 Reniel Hugo (Captain), 7 Rudolph Smith, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Dennis Visser, 4 Irn? Herbst, 3 Basil Short, 2 Corniel Els, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Arno van Wyk, 17 Brummer Badenhorst, 18 Jannes Kirsten, 19 Leneve Damens, 20 Carlo Engelbrecht, 22 Francois Tredoux, 22 Duncan Matthews, 23 Andrew Beerwinkel.
FNB NWU-Pukke: 15 Sylvain Mahuza, 14 Edmar Marais, 13 Hoffman Maritz, 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 Daniel Jordaan, 3 Lhlanhla Ngcamu, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Mashudu Mafela
Replacements: 16 Jacques Vermaak, 17 Johan Smith, 18 Robey Labuschagne, 19 Philip de Wet, 20 Dillon Smit, 21 Rhyno Smith, 22 Lucian Cupido, 23 Elardus Venter.
Referees: Jaco Pretorius, Gerrie de Bruin.