Tukkies hold off fast-finishing Pukke

The University of Pretoria started their campaign in the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International on a winning note, when they beat their rivals from the North West University by 29-27 in a nailbiter at Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds in Potchefstroom on Monday.

Coming back from being down 6-17 and 12-23 in the second half, the Potchefstroom team twice managed to come within a single score from a win. However, the visitors from Pretoria managed to hold on and then saw the normally reliable goal-kicker – Pukke’s WD Botha – fluff a conversion that would have tied the scores a minute from time.

While the home team, better know as Pukke, will bemoan a host of lost opportunities, credit must go to the Pretoria team (Tukkies) for making good use of the scraps of possession that came their way.

Destroyed in the scrums and dominated at the breakdown, the Tukkies team revelled in the opportunities presented to them by the high error rate from the Pukke.

As Pukke captain Willem van der Wal said: “We were our own worst enemies.”

He felt his team can build on some of the positives in the game and look forward to a successful campaign.

Tukkies captain Johan de Bruin felt his team was “pulled through” by an early intercept try.

“I am very proud of my boys,” De Bruin said, adding: “But we have a lot to work on.”

Tukkies, despite having the bigger pack, were always under pressure in the set pieces and at the breakdown – as the better technique of Pukke gave them a clear edge.

However, it was a host of errors, in both halves, that gave Tukkies the breathing space they needed.

The early efforts of the Potchefstroom student came to nothing, as centre Johan Jackson intercepted a ball inside his own 22 in the third minute and inside his own 22 and sprinted 80 metres for the try. Juan Claude Roos added the conversion for a 7-0 lead to the Pretoria team.

That gap was reduced to 3-7 when WD Botha slotted a penalty for Pukke in the sixth minute and to 6-7 when he added another in the 30th. In between Roos missed with two penalty attempts.

However, the Tukkies No.10, Roos, made it 10-6 when he slotted a penalty in the 34th minute.

The visitors managed to hang onto that lead till the half-time break and would have felt confident about the scoreline, considering how they were dominated in the physical exchanges.

And they stretched that lead to 17-6 just two minutes after the restart when wing Elwyn Fransman sprinted over for a second try. It started from a set scrum, with centre Franco Booysen beating his marker on the outside after a neat show-‘n-go. He offloaded to fullback Piet Piet Swart, with Fransman cutting inside and taking a neat pass behind the No.15’s back and sprinted over. Ross made no mistake with the conversion.

Botha managed to pull three more points back with a 46th-minute penalty, but it was still  steep hill to climb.

Fransman left the field on a stretcher soon afterwards, after being on the wrong end of another big hit by very physical Pukke team.

And Botha brought his team ever closer with his fourth penalty, making it 17-12 after 49 minutes.

Roos’s erratic ways with the boot continued, as he fluffed another penalty shot at goal in the 53rd minute and then slotted one two minutes later – giving his team a much-needed eight-point buffer, 20-12.

And to add insult to injury he landed a penalty from inside his own half in their 58th minute, leaving the requirement of at least two tries and a conversion to take the lead.

The first of those tries came with 13 minutes left on the clock, when – from a line-out five metres out – the Pukke pack drove over and the try went to captain Willem van der Wal. Botha added the conversion to make it 23-19.

But from the restart, an area of the game that troubled Pukke all night, the hosts conceded a penalty and Roos made it 26-19 with just about 10 minutes remaining.

It was Tukkies’ turn to make an error from the restart and conceding the penalty, with Botha’s boot bringing it back to a four-point game – 26-22.

And the drama was not over yet. The next restart became a scrum to Tukkies and Roos launched a booming drop-goal from near halfway. The call went to the TMO, who ruled that kick was good – 29-22.

The home team was not done and after another drive that went close and a Tukkies scrum that evaporated, the ball was kicked wide by Botha. At the scrap on the ground – an area Pukke dominated all game – Wenstley Scott pounced on a loose ball and went over in the corner. But for once Botha’s boot let him down and  Tukkies held a slender 29-27 lead with less than a minute to go.

From the restart Tukkies wrapped up the ball and with that the final whistle went, giving the visitors a deserved win.

The scorers:

For North West University:
Try: Van der Wal, Scott 
Con: Botha
Pens: Botha 5

For Pretoria University:
Tries: Jackson, Fransman
Cons: Roos 2
Pens: Roos 4
DG: Roos