Shimlas up for Maties challenge
VARSITY CUP SPOTLIGHT: FNB UFS Shimlas coach Hendro Scholtz is under no illusions about the task at hand now that his charges have claimed the final semifinal place in this year’s FNB Varsity Cup.
Despite being in fourth place since Round five, Shimlas had to beat FNB UJ in their final match of the round-robin phase to reach a fifth Varsity Cup semifinal. That they did with a relatively comfortable 38-14 win away in Johannesburg.
“Obviously it’s what we strived for at the beginning of a season, so we’re happy about it but at one stage I didn’t think we were going to make it,” Scholtz told rugby365.com .
The 40-year-old, in his fourth year as Shimlas head coach, is referring to their three-match losing run against fellow semifinalists FNB UP-Tuks (14-27), neighbours FNB CUT Ixias (35-38) and title favourites FNB Maties (14-59) who they’ll face next for a place in the final.
“In every game, even in the ones we lost by a couple of points, there were glimpses of what we were capable of when we stuck to our plan and our structures,” Scholtz said.
“However, in all the games we’ve lost we’ve had too many soft moments and 20-minute periods where we, like, fell asleep and didn’t do what we wanted to do – we always knew that if we got it right we’d be in with a chance.”
To a large extent, that’s what they did against UJ, racing into a 23-0 halftime lead despite wet conditions in Johannesburg.
“We were a bit nervous about the weather, but I think the weather made us concentrate and work a little bit harder,” Scholtz believes.
“I don’t know the exact stats but I think we had the ball for about 65-70 percent of the game, even though it was wet, so we’re obviously happy with that and the way the guys responded to that pressure.”
Focus for the five times capped Springbok and his charges now shifts to Maties, and the unenviable task of trying to stop the unbeaten ‘Maroon Machine’ at their fortress.
“While it’s a semifinal and anything can happen in a semifinal I don’t think anybody in the country expects us to upset them but we’ll definitely be up for the challenge.”
History shows that in 12 previous Varsity Cup meetings Shimlas have only won twice (in 2009 and 2011) both at home, but they did secure a 13-13 draw in Stellenbosch in 2014. It means, they’ll know exactly what to expect come next Monday.
“They’re really a good side, well-coached [by Hawies Fourie who Scholtz worked under during their spells as Cheetahs assistant coach and player respectively] and study your previous games … so they’ll know our game.
“That said, we changed a couple of things for UJ so we’ll maybe continue with that this week and come with some surprises which they haven’t seen,” Scholtz concluded.
@rugby365com
