Shimlas' Varsity Cup report card
The FNB Shimlas rugby team might have had a disappointing end to the 2010 Varsity Cup – but, overall, they were pretty satisfied with their campaign.
For starters, Shimlas qualified for the semifinals, for the first time ever, by ending third on the log – a big improvement from last year’s sixth-place finish. (They also finished sixth in 2008.)
However, their exit (when they lost 21-27 in the semifinals to the Ikeys in Cape Town) was disappointing – there was a lack of urgency, fighting spirit and determination; all of which had served them so well in their unofficial quarterfinal win over UJ the previous Monday.
Shimlas had to win that last match of the league phase of the Varsity Cup in order to qualify for semifinals. And they did so 51-32 in a fixture that was characterised by Shimlas fighting back every time UJ took the lead.
The Men from Bloemfontein could easily have earned themselves a home semifinal – had it not been for a few regrettable mistakes that probably cost them two more wins during the season.
In the opening round, Shimlas and UCT played to a 30-all draw. Despite leading 25-13 midway through the second half, Shimlas allowed the Ikeys to level matters with a final-minute penalty kick. And, two weeks later, Shimlas had a golden opportunity to get a rare win over Pukke, a team that has became a bogy team for the Free State students.
Shimlas were the better team on the night, but lost 16-17 due to an indifferent kicking display by fullback George Whitehead, who missed four kicks at goal – two of them in the final quarter that would have won the match. (One now has to go back to 1997 for a Shimlas win in Potchefstroom. It was also Pukke’s fifth win in a row over Kovsies.)
In between there was a victory against NMMU and a loss to Maties before Shimlas finished the group stages with three straight wins – including a triumph over Tukkies in Pretoria for the first time since 2005.
Looking back at their breakthrough season, Shimlas head coach Jaco Swanepoel commented: “Our goal from the start was to reach the semifinals and it was even more satisfactory because we had to fight that much harder to get there due to the two matches we were unable to close out.”
There were a few consistent performers for the students in blue in the 2010 Varsity Cup, but no one was better than Johannes ‘Boom’ Prinsloo (pictured).
Shimlas’ star No.8 was named Player of the Tournament after a fantastic campaign. He also ended up as joint top try-scorer with seven touchdowns – including four in one match against the Madibas.
But it was his high work-rate on attack, as well as his strong defence across the park, that earned him three Man of the Match Awards and eventually saw him crowned as the 2010 Varsity Cup Player that Rocks.
Another positive was Shimlas’ terrific support. According to Dougie Heymans, the Varsity Cup Project Manager at Kovsiesport, the students and university as a whole started to buy into the competition which – in turn – led to bigger crowds at Shimla Park.
“We had great support from various stakeholders and the vibe around the competition was far greater than the first two years,” he told varsitycup.co.za.
By Ruan Bruwer
