Madibas far from despondent
FNB NMMU are a far cry from the despondent squad you might expect after picking up the Wooden Spoon in this year’s FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.
Whilst admitting that last Monday was a major disappointment for his young side – when they lost a close-fought ‘Wooden Spoon Final’ 40-45 to the FNB TUT Vikings – experienced scrumhalf and captain Luso Booi believes that the future is bright for the Eastern Cape outfit.
“It was a game that we really thought we could win,” Booi told varsitycup.co.za, “we really wish that we could have done better than that.”
He added: “The guys are not too chuffed about that game, and in fact, our performances over the whole tournament.
“We thought we would do much better than we did, but next year the squad will build on this year’s experience.”
Seven straight losses – some by a big margin – is a tough learning curve to deal with. But Booi says that learning is exactly what they have done, ahead of the 2011 Varsity Cup, as they know exactly where they need to improve.
“Conditioning, fitness and defence!” he said, almost straight-away, when asked about what they would be working on ahead of next year. “Those aspects are what made the other teams better than us and it is something that we have to work on [for next year].”
Booi thinks that this year was by no means a total failure, as a year of experience will be invaluable to the players who came into this year’s competition as novices.
“It was a completely new NMMU team this year – the guys are all still positive and confident that they can do a whole lot better next year,” he said.
“We have a young team, there are only three or four of us that won’t be involved in the Varsity Cup next year – I am confident that this team can grow and improve [for] next year!”
Mental preparation is key, according to Booi, and the Madibas youngsters will all have taken a lot away from experiencing for themselves what the Varsity Cup is all about.
“The guys arrived this year no knowing what to expect,” said the inspirational Booi, who missed their final league match because of injury.
“You can tell the guys that it’s going to be extremely quick and that they’re up against teams that really know what they are doing, but only once they experience it for themselves – only then – do their eyes open up to what the Varsity Cup is actually all about.”
A veteran of three Varsity Cup campaigns, the Madibas skipper is still amazed by how the student competition has caught the imagination of the entire South African rugby-watching public.
“It’s amazing,” he enthused in conversation with varsitycup.co.za. “The whole concept and how it’s run is just so impressive. This year they have added a lot of value and I think it can go only from strength to strength from here.”
Now out of the tournament, Booi will still be keeping an eye on the semifinals, and he will be pulling for a fellow underdog, the FNB Shimlas – who will play in their first-ever Varsity Cup semifinal against UCT on Monday afternoon.
“I was really chuffed to see the Shimlas get through – I think a lot of people had written them off, and it’s always great to see the underdog making it. They drew with UCT in the opening round so it will be a tough game,” he said.
“The Maties are brilliant, and it’s going to be very tough [for Pukke] to beat them on their home ground. But if there is a side that could beat them, it is UCT. There is a great rivalry and games between them always seem to be close – so it could be a great final if it’s an all-Cape affair!”
By Tim Human
