A 'huge relief' for De Kock
It was a close call at the end, but FNB TUT Vikings head coach Alex de Kock was never worried about the outcome of Monday’s Varsity Cup ‘Wooden Spoon’ Final against the Madibas.
FNB TUT beat FNB NMMU 45-40 last night to make sure of seventh place on the log.
It was also the Vikings’ first Varsity Cup win since March 2008 – handing the Men from Port Elizabeth the Wooden Spoon in the process.
“It is a huge relief to not be involved in the dreaded promotion/relegation matches again [as in 2009 when FNB TUT finished last]. We can now put all our energy and focus into preparing for the Carlton League,” De Kock told varsitycup.co.za.
“To end the FNB Varsity Cup season with a win, one that has been eluding us for far too long, will be a source of motivation to do well in the Blue Bulls’ premier club competition.
“The final score may not reflect it, but we were in full control for most of the match. We started in style and were 19-3 up before our players lost concentration and, for no reason at all, put ourselves under unnecessary pressure by starting to play high-risk rugby. When we finally came too, we were trailing 19-23,” he added.
“With common sense kicking in again, we regained the initiative at with only seven minutes to go we had an unassailable 45-23 lead. All credit to them for scoring three tries in the last seven minutes, but we were never in danger of losing.”
De Kock firmly believes that FNB TUT’s competitive showings in the 2010 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International competition is not reflected by their seven points on the log.
“I really think we improved a lot on our 2009 performance. We were unlucky to win one match only, but having broken this drought we can now have a more solid foundation to build on for the 2011 competition.”
De Kock believes that if they take the lessons learnt, to heart, they will be back next year as a more competitive outfit: “We now realise that we will have to prepare better and start doing so earlier.
“We learned the hard way how costly a lack of discipline can be. The big bonus we will have is that our group of young players have gained a lot of valuable experience and will put that to good use in 2011.”
By Morris Gilbert
