UJ steal a wet win

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) scraped to an undeserved 16-9 victory over Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in the opening round of the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff on Monday.

Admittedly the wet conditions at the Fanie du Toit sports grounds in Potchefstroom was not conducive to attacking, attractive rugby, but it was still no excuse for the mediocre and error-strewn rugby dished up by both teams.

The breakdowns were particularly messy as the teams continually failed to commit numbers leading to possession becoming a rather ping-pong affair.

The loss of UJ hooker and captain Neil Visagie before kick-off was a major disruption for the men from Johannesburg and his presence was sorely missed in the line-outs. His replacement, Edgar Maruthule, had a torrid time with his throw-ins and the UJ line-out lost no less than eight on its own throw.

Given the prevailing conditions, it was strange that both teams stuck to their expansive approaches for as long as they did. It was revealing that when the ball was kept at close quarters more headway was made. Yet both teams just made too many handling errors and prevented them from stringing together meaningful multiple phases.

The only try of the match was scored by UJ centre Clinton de Klerk late in the first half. Fullback Earl Lewis set off on a brilliant diagonal run from his own 22 that was rounded off by a chip kick forward. From there on the scoring was confined to the boot.

None of the players really put up their hands and the yellow cards received by Frikkie Maartens (UJ) and Adrian Kruger (TUT) was, sadly, the cherry on the top of a deeply unsatisfying match for both teams.

Scorers:

For the University of Johannesburg:
Try: De Klerk
Con: Lewis
Pens: Lewis, Coetzee
DG: Coetzee

For the Tshwane University of Technology:
Pens: Coutiers 3