Fourie relieved despite scrappy win
The Stellenbosch students seemed seemingly in control of the match but let it slip in the final 20 minutes to find themselves trailing 20-25 in the final minute of the match. With the final hooter gone, replacement scrumhalf Brendon Nell reacted quickest at a breakdown inches short of the Madibaz try-line, to grab the score-levelling try.
Theo Stapelberg's cool head allowed him to seal the match with a successful conversion but coach Hawies Fourie seemed unimpressed with the way they went about gaining the maximum points.
"We never played well but are relieved to have come away with the victory. I thought we had control of the game but we let it slip in the final 20 minutes by making too many errors, especially on defence and the 2 yellow cards never helped the process as well.
"We knew we were in for a very tough game. We respect the Madibaz team and we know that they are a gutsy unit and were unlucky to lose against UJ, who are a very strong team.
"So we knew they were going to be up for it, it was just a case of lapses in concentration on defence which cost us but in saying that, it was a very gutsy performance by us to come back and win the game with 13-men in the end," Fourie told rugby365.com.
Maties will now return to the drawing board as they prepare to host UP-Tuks in Round Three at the Danie Craven Stadium on Monday, February 22.
"Our line-outs did not function as well as we would have wanted and were not good enough as a unit on defence, so that will be the main focus in the build-up to our next match against Tuks," he added.
By Tauriq Ebrahim
