Bonus point for Maroon Machine in 5th Varsity Cup match
Last night saw all roads leading to UCT where the Green Mile was alive with expectations of a rugby spectacular following last year’s defeat by Ikeys over Maties in the Varsity Cup final.
There were no disappointments for the thousands of students who weathered the breezy southeaster to see the Maroon Machine revenge last year’s defeat in a 7 try spectacular.
And Maties claimed back bragging rights in the Cape derby, claiming a bonus-point win over the defending champs.
The men from Stellenbosch collected maximum points in Cape Town to beat defending champions by 34-7.
Both sides needed to have their wits about them in the windy conditions on the Green Mile with Ikey Tigers heading into the clash as favourites.
Maties found themselves on the back foot in early exchanges, but it was the visitors who opened the scoring against the run of play inside 10 minutes. UCT were on the front foot and misplaced a pass inside the Stellenbosch 22 leading to a breakaway that resulted in Luan Botha dotting down for a Point of Origin try after six minutes.
The Ikeys needed to navigate tricky spell of play with 14-men shortly after with captain Enos Ndiao going to the bin for cynical play. Maties headed into the break with a slender lead after a gruelling first half where they needed to absorb waves of Ikeys pressure. Despite spending majority of the first period in their own half, they led by seven-points at the break.
The Maroon Machine came out firing in the to kick off the second period with tries aplenty. First, Stellies skipper, Ezekiel Ngobeni, showed some slick skills and quick thinking to get his side’s second try. Sensing a shift in momentum, Ngobeni opted for the tap which worked a treat as Zuko Poswa crashed over the line just 24 seconds later for a 17-0 lead.
The visitors had their tails up and scored their bonus point try shortly after the restart courtesy of prop, Janlu Basson. The Stellies front rower bagged a brace of tries within two minutes – one of them coming from another successful tap by the visiting team that saw them race into a 29-0 lead on enemy territory.
The hosts hit back with a seven-pointer that was finished off by Jack Benade a few moments later but just couldn’t seem to impose themselves on the contest. The gusty conditions caused problems for both sides, but Stellies were able to keep their mistakes to a minimum.
Maties ran in their sixth try after the hooter sounded after a well-worked scrum set piece that went through the hands and eventually saw Mckyle Volmoer finishing off the move for a 34-7 success over their archrivals.
SCORERS
UCT: (0) 7
Tries: Jack Benade
Maties: (7) 34
Tries: Janlu Basson X2, Luan Botha, Ezekiel Ngobeni, Zuko Poswa, Mckyle Volmoer
Player of the Match: Ezekiel Ngobeni (FNB Maties)
Eagles
The NWU Eagles surged to the top of the Varsity Cup standings after a hard-fought home victory over UP-Tuks in round 5. The Orange Army claimed another big scalp and kept their semifinal hopes alive with a solid win over the Shimlas at UJ Stadium while at the bottom of the standings, the Comets produced a dramatic victory to overcome the struggling Ixias.
UJ 29-17Shimlas
UJ kept their hopes of reaching the semifinals of the Varsity Cup alive after delivering a gritty performance to defeat Shimlas 29-17 at the UJ Stadium on Monday.
The Orange Army entered the clash on the back of a humiliating 87-28 loss against UCT a week ago. Both sides struggled to capitalise on several numerical advantages, and UJ slotted a penalty with three minutes remaining through JT Kapank to seal the win.
The Shimlas, however, had the last say when Faasen Laubscher crashed over. That came a little bit too late, and UJ held on for the win to maintain their unbeaten record at home.
FNB Emeris 26-24 FNB CUT
The clash between Emeris and CUT Ixias turned into a crucial battle in the fight to avoid relegation, with both sides desperate to secure valuable points. The match began with intense physicality as the teams approached the contest cautiously, focusing on structured play and minimizing early mistakes.
The cracks started to inevitably come as visitors began making some errors as their winger recurved a sometime out on a yellow card.
Halftime came and the score was 17-7 to the home team Emeris.
The second half began on a high not as the home team looked to extend their lead quickly into the half, which they did so. Fullback Chijindu Okonta bagged himself a brace in a POR try. The goosebumps grew exponentially as the visitors bagged in another try by Winton Abrahams Kehan Myburgh good on the conversion 26–24 with 10 minutes to play.
The nerves were high for the last minutes of the game as just 2 points separated the team.
Emeris managed to hang on their lead and claim their first win of the tournament.
FNB NWU Eagles 30-22 FNB UP-Tuks
Eagles secured an important 30-22 victory over UP-Tuks at the Fanie du Toit Sportsground on Monday, moving to the top of the Varsity Cup log. The result also handed UP-Tuks their first defeat of the tournament especially in the first half where they dominated both possession and territory. The home side scored three tries before the break and went into halftime leading 23–5. The crowd created an electric atmosphere, with loud support pushing the Eagles forward throughout the match.
Despite playing without their captain Stephen Krugel for the first time this season, NWU remained organised and confident. UP-Tuks fought back in the second half and managed to add more points, but the Eagles stayed in control to secure the win.