Van As happy with 'confidence booster'
What a difference a half of rugby makes. After Week Three of the 2009 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International, FNB UJ were languishing in the lower half of the log with a paltry four points from their first three games.
To make matters worse, the gritty FNB Shimlas on Monday held them to an 8-8 scoreline after 25 minutes of play and the fact that the Men from Bloemfontein had thrashed them 54-6 in the corresponding fixture last year would probably have made the UJ faithful a tad nervous.
But fullback Earl Lewis’ brilliant try on the stroke of half-time helped calm things for the home side, although whatever was said in the interval by coach Hugo van As no doubt also led to the UJ machine finally cranking into gear in the second period.
In a single half of 26 unanswered points, FNB UJ rapidly turned around their season to such an extent that a semifinal place is suddenly a distinct possibility once again.
That victory could not have come sooner for UJ mentor Van As.
“I am really happy for the guys,” Van As told varsitycup.co.za. “I think they really needed this confidence boost badly.”
But the former Transvaal centre was happy with his team’s performance without being elated. “This match,” he noted in a distinctively cautious tone, “was a microcosm for our season.
“The first half illustrated that our play is not at our desirable level at the moment and we did risk losing again. Granted we played much better, but I believe that our second half performance can’t paper over our previous losses just yet,” Van As explained.
UJ’s mentor pointed out that the team’s early fixtures – TUT, Maties and Ikeys; all away from home – were a difficult proposition that “exposed the players to challenges that they didn’t handle well enough”.
Another difficulty experienced was the pre-season hype in some quarters over an almost certain play-off finish that Van As felt was perhaps exaggerated.
“I’m not saying the pundits were wrong. The squad is undoubtedly talented but it is also a squad in transition,” he explained. “By transition I don’t mean many new players, but perhaps the development of a new team ethic and approach.”
Despite the confidence extracted from Monday’s encounter, Van As believes that the Men from Johannesburg should focus only on improving weekly and not get carried away with visions of semifinal grandeur.
Their next challenge is tackling NWU Pukke at home (a crucial match in terms of semifinal qualification) and unlike some fixtures in the Varsity Cup, where the teams play each other infrequently, Monday’s game at the UJ Stadium can be considered as something of a derby.
Before some readers frown upon this notion, it must be explained that UJ and Pukke compete in the Lions’ local club competition – despite Pukke being situated in the North West Province.
The teams thus play each other at least four times a year – leading to the contention that they know each other well.
“True,” said Van As, “we do know each other’s gameplans well, but it really doesn’t count for that much.
“I believe the team that executes its gameplan the best on the day will walk away as winners,” he added.
“One just has to look at the Bulls. Everyone knows what approach they will adopt, yet if they execute it well you are powerless to stop them,” he concluded.
And that is the reason why UJ will be approaching this game – a battle between fourth (Pukke) and fifth (UJ) on the log – like any other. Kick-off at the UJ Stadium is at 6.45pm.
By Heinz Schenk
