'Good start crucial' - Maties captain
Making a good, solid start in any big final is a given – but FNB Maties captain Wesley Wilkins believes it is absolutely non-negotiable when the defending champions host Pukke in the 2009 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International Final in Stellenbosch this coming Monday.
“I guess we’re no different to many other teams out there, but we really do need to set the tone early on,” the likeable Wilkins told varsitycup.co.za.
“For us, those first 20 minutes are important – but that all depends on our state of mind. If we can get up early (on the scoreboard), and with a partisan crowd behind us, we should, hopefully, be hard to stop.”
Funnily enough, Wilkins believes there could have been a slightly bigger crowd at the Danie Craven Stadium had the Ikey Tigers – who lost 17-19 to Pukke in the semifinals – qualified for the Varsity Cup Final, but he is really looking ahead to facing the might of FNB Pukke in Monday’s finale.
“Those UCT supporters are great… I’m sure they would’ve flocked to Stellenbosch in their droves – any excuse for a night out in Stellies, you know,” joked Wilkins.
“But Pukke will be a dangerous side,” he added.
“They’ve been getting better and better as the tournament has progressed; they know all about playing at this level and they play with plenty of pride and passion.”
Of course, this final is a repeat of last year’s National Club Champs semifinal between the selfsame Maties and Pukke – a game the Men from Potchefstroom won 23-20, before going on to clinch the National club title; making the 2009 Varsity Cup Final the ultimate decider between the best university side (Maties) and the best club side (Pukke) in South Africa.
“Yeah, I guess they’re becoming our main rivals these days,” noted Wilkins, who admitted that the pressure of being a Maties player had also helped to spur on the defending champions in 2009.
He added: “Stellenbosch University has a very proud rugby history and although some people might see it as a distraction it makes us, as players, strive to always give our best in order to perform as well as possible.
“It might seem rather simple but if we can perform to our potential and play well, that should – barring any major misfortune – lead to us winning more games than we lose and, in the process, win a few titles along the way.”
Whilst Monday’s clash will be Maties’ second successive Varsity Cup Final, the fixture will be Wilkins’ first such appearance, having missed the 2008 final against UCT with an ankle ligament injury.
Ironically, the hard-working loose forward picked up that injury in his team’s semifinal win over FNB Tuks last year – but he revealed that the thought of re-injuring himself against the same team, in yet another semifinal battle, did not even cross his mind.
“I had something on my mind in the build-up to the semifinal,” revealed Wilkins, whose side beat Tuks 38-14 to advance to the final, “but it had nothing to do with getting hurt.
“What worried me was our first league match of last year’s Varsity Cup against Tuks when they scored four late tries to force a 31-31 draw after we were leading 31-5 with just under half-an-hour remaining.
“I was very determined to ensure that did not happen again and I thought the guys stood tall throughout our semifinal – we showed what we’re capable of.”
And more of the same, it seems, will be welcome next Monday. “We’ve been working hard at training this week,” said the Maties skipper.
“We’ve done our video work and we know what we need to do, it’s up to us to put it into practice on Monday evening.”
