Maties claim North-South bragging rights

VARSITY CUP ROUND THREE WRAP: The Maties remained unbeaten in this year's Varsity Cup after the beat UP-Tuks 29-16 at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on Monday.

The game featured three nine-point tries with Maties grabbing two them on their way to their third straight victory.

Earlier in the day, UJ did enough to get past a plucky CUT side in Johannesburg. The home side scored two tries to win 14-0.

In Cape Town, UCT suffered their third loss of the season when they went down 6-24 to NWU-Pukke.

Defending champions UFS-Shimlas were too strong for NMMU-Madibaz in their game. The Bloemfontein side won 46-19.

*In the Varsity Shield, Wits thrashed UWC 42-2, while Fort Hare claimed a dramatic 18-14 win over TUT-Vikings in Alice.

Let’s take a look at the action!

Maties 29-16 UP-Tuks

Maties dominated possession in the opening minutes, however, it was UP-Tuks' wing Keanan van Wyk who got a nine-point try after Maties fumbled a pass in the Pretoria side's 22.

The ball was kicked ahead and Van Wyk gathered to sprint from deep inside his own half for the score.

The home side then hit back with a nine-point try of their own when fullback Craig Barry cut the Tuks defence to pieces to lay the platform for Duncan Saal's first of his three tries. Theo Stapelberg could not convert and the scores were level at 9-all after 15 minutes

Saal then got his second try after a great break by Stapelberg on halfway, which led to three passes before Saal dived over for the try. Stapelberg converted and Maties found themselves 11 points in front.

Tuks got themselves back into the game four minutes into the second half when hooker Cornelius Els dived over from a ruck to score his team's second try of the game. Joshua Stander converted and Tuks were just four points adrift.

The game descended into a tight tussle after that before Saal completed his hat-trick after Edwill van der Merwe failed to deal with Stapelberg's cross-kick – Saal collected the ball on the bounce to canter in for the score.

The win meant Maties remain unbeaten in this year's tournament, while UP-Tuks suffered their third straight loss.

The scorers:

For Maties:

Tries: Saal 3

Con: Stapelberg 2

For Up-Tuks:

Try: Van Wyk, Els

Con: Stander

Teams:

Maties: 15 Craig Barry, 14 Duncan Saal, 13 Paul Streicher, 12 Jan Venter, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Theo Stapelberg, 9 Remu Malan, 8 Jacobus van Dyk, 7 Janco Venter, 6 Beyers de Villiers (captain), 5 Wilhelm Sluys, 4 John Groenewald, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Niel Oelofse.

Replacements: 16 Craig Corbett, 17 Wesley Adonis, 18 Justin Moberly, 19 Conal Brown, 20 Geor Malan, 21 Brendon Nell, 22 Christopher Smith, 23 Jacobus van der Merwe.

UP-Tuks: 15 Nicolaas Britz, 14 Keanan van Wyk, 13 Stedman-Ghee Gans, 12 Adrian Maebane, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Joshua Stander, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Clyde Davids, 7 Frederic Eksteen, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Aston Fortuin, 3 Johan Fouche, 2 Cornelius Els, 1 Andrew Beerwinkel.

Replacements: 16 Jan Enslin, 17 Stephanus Genis, 18 Pieter Janse van Vuuren, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Carlo Engelbrecht, 21 Quaid Langeveldt, 22 Oskar Calitz, 23 Justin Forwood.

Referee: Rodney Boneparte

UJ 14-0 CUT

CUT had the first opportunity to score but wing Henry Immelman's penalty kick went wide.

The visitors seemed to have the upper hand in terms of territory and possession in the opening 20 minutes, but could not convert it into points with the score still reading 0-0 by the first strategy break.

The game's first score eventually came when UJ hooker Emmanuel Morowane went over for a try off the back of a strong driving maul in the 30th minute.

UJ turned on the gas a bit after that score and doubled their lead five minutes later when Peter-Jon Walters ran in for his team's second try. At half-time UJ led 14-0.

The second half turned into one big arm-wrestle, with both teams struggling to find a way through each other's defence. CUT did have a golden opportunity early in the half when UJ was reduced to 14 men after a yellow card, however, the team from Bloemfontein could not take advantage.

UJ pushed hard for a third try in the closing stages of the game, but they too were denied by some stern CUT defence.  

The scorers:

For UJ:

Tries: Morowane, Walters

Cons: Nel 2

For CUT-Ixias:

None

Teams:

UJ: 15 Ronald Brown, 14 Peter-Jon Walters, 13 Bradley Moolman, 12 Robert de Bruyn, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Divan Nel, 9 Johan Esterhuizen, 8 Jakobus Porter, 7 Johan Oosthuizen, 6 Wian Conradie, 5 David Antonites, 4 Jeremy Jordaan, 3 Nico du Plessis, 2 Emmanuel Morowane, 1 Siya Nzuzo.

Replacements: 16 Johannes Snyman, 17 Kyle Kruger, 18 Kyle van Dalen, 19 Phenyo Seriteng, 20 Hilton Mudariki, 21 Kobus Engelbrecht, 22 Godfrey Ramaboea, 23 Waldo Weideman.

CUT-Ixias: 15 Willem van Tonder, 14 Ruan Wassermann, 13 Charles Hitchcock, 12 Louis Nel, 11 Henry Immelman, 10 Darron Baron, 9 Marius Grobler, 8 Mosoeu Maruping, 7 Abraham Burger, 6 Dean Rossouw, 5 Rayno Nel, 4 Lodewyk Davis, 3 Gunther Janse van Vuuren, 2 Len Noort, 1 Jean Volkwyn.

Replacements: 16 Theunis Truter, 17 Gerard Baard, 18 Sylvester Makakole, 19 Jasper Wiese, 20 Dean Jacobs, 21 Aliqhayiya Mgijima, 22 Lethole Mokoena, 23 George Marich.

Referee: Ben Crouse

UFS-Shimlas 46-19 NMMU-Madibaz

It was a blistering start by both teams with Shimlas grabbing an early lead with a try before the Madibaz got one of their own to level the scores at 7-7 after just four minutes.

Shimlas reclaimed the lead a few minutes later through another well-worked try. 

Protests then interrupted play for quite some time, but the game eventually resumed with no one being able to add to the scoreboard before half-time.

The home side went further in front early in the second half when they scored their third try of the game before adding a fifth a few minutes later for a 21-point lead going into the last quarter.

Both teams scored two tries each in the final quarter, but it was Shimlas who won comfortably in the end.

The scorers:

For UFS-Shimlas:

Tries: Janse van Rensburg, Mason, TBC

Cons: TBC

For NMMU-Madibaz: TBC

Teams:

UFS-Shimlas: 15 Frederick Mason, 14 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 13 Stephan Janse van Rensburg, 12 Arthur Williams, 11 Mosolwa Mafuma, 10 Pieter-Steyn de Wet, 9 Renier Botha, 8 Wilhelm Kotzenberg, 7 Neil Claassen, 6 Musa Mahlasela, 5 Dennis Visser, 4 Ntokozo Vidima, 3 Chase Morison, 2 Elandre Huggett, 1 Thabiso Khanye.

Replacements: 16 Marco Klopper, 17 Teunis Nieuwoudt, 18 Jacob Immelman, 19 Daniel Maartens, 20 Mthokozisi Mkhabela, 21 Apiwe Dinga, 22 Renaldo Meyer, 23 Jacobus van Vuuren.

NMMU-Madibaz: 15 Keanu Vers, 14 Ivan du Preez, 13 Riaan Esterhuizen, 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 Yamkela Ngam, 10 Michael Kean, 9 Ivan Ludick (captain), 8 Kevin Kaba, 7 Andisa Ntsila, 6 Brandon Brown, 5 Gerrit Huisamen, 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 2 Warrick Venter, 1 Marzuq Maarman.

Replacements: 16 Tango Balekile, 17 Nemo Roelofse, 18 Elandre van der Merwe, 19 Hayden Tharratt, 20 Sibusiso Ngcokovane, 21 Simon Bolze, 22 Lindelwe Zungu, 23 James Beyl.

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

UCT-Ikeys 6-24 NWU-Pukke

Pukke drew first blood with a penalty through fullback Rhyno Smith to give his team a 3-0 lead after six minutes.

The visitors then extended their lead in the 12 minute with a try. At that stage the score read 10-0 with UCT under pressure in front of their home crowd.

Pukke held onto their lead until the first strategy break. The Potchefstroom team then took full control of the game when they crossed over for another  try and 17-point lead after 30 minutes.

UCT finally got their first points just before half-time with a penalty, but it was Pukke who were the dominant team in the first 40 minutes.

The home side reduced Pukke's lead to 11 points four minutes after the break after a Joel Smith penalty.

There would be no late comeback by the home side however, with Pukke scoring another try in the final ten minutes and win comfortably in the end.  

The scorers:

For UCT-Ikeys:

Pen: Smith, TBC

For NWU-Pukke: TBC

Teams:

UCT-Ikeys: 15 Gerard Pieterse, 14 Nathan Nel, 13 Hendrik Lategan, 12 Kofi Appiah, 11 Suwilanji Chibale, 10 Hilio de Abreu, 9 Dylan-Lee Tidbury, 8 Nyasha Tarusenga, 7 Luke Stringer, 6 Jason Klaasen, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Jade Kriel, 3 Michael Kumbirai, 2 Keagan Timm, 1 Joel Carew.

Replacements: 16 Brenton Greaves, 17 Msizi Zondi, 18 Olwethu Hugo, 19 Mark Prior, 20 Stephen Wallace, 21 Robert Anderson, 22 Joel Smith, 23 David Maasch.

NWU-Pukke: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Lucian Cupido, 13 Sylvian Mahuza, 12 Hendrik Marais, 11 Dean Stokes, 10 Schalk Hugo, 9 Malherbe Swart, 8 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Jeandre Rudolph (captain), 6 Jaco Jordaan, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Neil Morrison, 3 Bart le Roux, 2 Wilmar Arnoldi, 1 Johan Smith.

Replacements: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Mashudu Mafela, 18 Daniel Jordaan, 19 Gideon van der Merwe, 20 Kurshwill Williams, 21 Barend Janse van Rensburg, 22 Eshwyn Heyns, 23 Mogau Mabokela.

Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni

Varsity Shield:

Wits 42-2 UWC

Wits were the favourites heading into this game and it showed on the field as well with the Joburg side scoring two tries inside the first quarter to lead 16-0. 

There would be no scoring in the second quarter with the Johannesburg side taking their 16-point lead into the half-time break. 

UWC eventually got on the scoreboard with a penalty after 50 minutes, but were still 14 points behind their hosts.

That penalty was eventually cancelled out when Wits scored their third try to take a 23-2 lead into the final half hour. 

There was only on team in it from there with Wits scoring again before full-time to win by a mammoth 40 points.

The scorers:

For Wits: TBC

For UWC: TBC

Teams:

Wits: TBC

UWC: 15 Darian Hock, 14 Minenhle Mthethwa, 13 Courtney Cupido, 12 Ruan Mostert, 11 Byron Burgess, 10 Aidynn Cupido, 9 Clayton Daniels, 8 Jose Julies, 7 Matthew le Roux, 6 Philbrey Joseph (captain), 5 Brandon Valentyn, 4 Stuart Austin, 3 Kelvin de Bruyn, 2 Peter Wanjiru, 1 Wayron Losper.

Replacements: 16 Brandon-Lee Beukman, 17 Robin Paulse, 18 Matthew Faught, 19 Jeremy Papier, 20 Matthew Nortje, 21 Dean Herbert, 22 Marcus Kleinbooi, 23 Tahriq Allen.

Referee: Oregopotse Rametsi

Fort Hare 18-14 TUT-Vikings

TUT were the first to score in this Shield match in what was tough conditions for the Pretoria side.

Fort Hare wing Asiphe Fihla got his team's first points with a try.

The team from Pretoria then extended their lead with two penalties to take a seven point lead into the final 20 minutes.

Fort Hare were not about to lie down and found themselves in front when Athenkosi Makeleni went over for a try with Alandre Sias converting to give his team a 13-12 lead.

However there would be late drama when TUT regained the lead five minutes from time with another penalty to lead by just one point. Fort Hare then scored a dramatic winning try with just one minute remaining on the clock to bag the win   

The scorers:

For Fort Hare:

Tries: Makeleni, Fihla, TBC

Con: Sias

For TUT-Vikings:

TBC

Teams:

Fort Hare: 15 Sibongile Novuka, 14 Aziyena Mandaba 13 Luyolo Batshise, 12 Siphosethu Tom, 11 Asiphe Fihla, 10 Siviwe Bisset, 9 Alandre Sias, 8 Philisani Ncoko, 7 Zanoxolo Qwele, 6 Malusi Vula, 5 Athenkosi Makeleni, 4 Sibusiso Sityebi, 3 Olwethu Mputla, 2 Justin Antonie, 1 Bulelani Mdodana .

Replacements: 16 Mzingabantu Vitsha, 17 Lusindiso Nkomo, 18 Asiphe Fanele, 19  Siphelele Phunguzwa, 20 Qhama Masiza, 21 Athiphila Mlotywa, 22 Akhona Matutu, 23 Lulamile Kama.

TUT-Vikings: 15 Lisa Banzi, 14 Chestwin Gaffley, 13 Ian Truter, 12 Dumsani Mthethwa, 11 Tshepo Nyathi, 10 Lukas van Zyl, 9 Shaun Jaards, 8 Claude Johannes, 7 George Letshuma, 6 Calvin Maduna, 5 William Thompson, 4 Armand Marshall, 3 Jonty Voogt, 2 Christo Lategan, 1 Stanley Modjadji.

Replacements: 16 Jurie Huyser, 17 JJ Nelson, 18 Francois de Villers, 19 Percy Mathloko, 20 Litha Vumisa, 21 Frankie Abrahams, 22 Arno Brits, 23 Kevin Ngonyama.

Referee: Sindile Ngcese