Maties claimed an important 31-24 victory over UP-Tuks at Loftus Versfeld on Thursday, while there were also round-four wins for NWU, UCT, CUT and UJ.

NWU EAGLES 28 (13) – FNB UWC 15 (3)

NWU dominated territory and possession to win their first match of the second bubble at the Tuks B-Field.

The Eagles relied heavily on their forwards and hooker Gustav du Rand found the tryline off the back of the maul early on.

Scrumhalf Branden de Kock slotted a penalty for Udubs, before NWU scored their second try through lock Jeandre Leonard.

Flyhalf Keagan Fortune missed both conversions but slotted a penalty to make it 13-3 at half time.

The start of the second half was dominated by NWU’s forwards, with No 8 Andre Fouche going over for their third try.

Left wing Lungi Msenge’s converted point-of-origin try put Udubs back within striking distance of the Eagles at 20-15.

But NWU No 11 Charl Pretorius took the game away from them when he scored his team’s bonus-point try.

Fortune then kicked a penalty after UWC wing Andre Manuel had been sent to the sin bin for the remainder of the game.

Player That Rocks: Jeandre Leonard  (NWU Eagles)

NWU Eagles – Tries: Gustav du Rand, Jeandre Leonard, Andre Fouche, Charl Pretorius. Conversion: Keagan Fortune. Penalties: Fortune (2).
UWC – Try: Lundi Msenge (1×7). Conversion: Branden de Kock. Penalties: De Kock (2).

UFS SHIMLAS 5 (5) – UCT IKEYS 59 (31)

UCT remained unbeaten as they scored eight tries against Shimlas at Loftus Versfeld.

It certainly didn’t help that Shimlas were red-carded twice although they returned to their full complement after two sets of 15 minutes in accordance with Varsity Cup law variations.

Ikeys were ruthless throughout the first half as they attacked Shimlas’ fringe defence at will, but it was the men from Bloemfontein who scored first as silky hands across the backline put fullback Cham Zondeki over in the corner.

This proved the last time they would threaten the scoreboard as UCT switched gears and crossed the chalk on four occasions. Lock Connor Evans and fullback Athi Gazi bagged five-pointers while wing Rethabile Louw finished two brilliant point-of-origin tries which, along with flyhalf James Tedder’s two conversions and a penalty, inflated the score to 31-5 at the break.

The second half started off with a bang as Gazi crossed for his brace in a spectacular point-of-origin try before the match dissolved into an untidy affair.

UFS Shimlas did well to halt the juggernaut for a while but couldn’t contain the near incessant phases of attack by UCT Ikeys as they dotted down a further three tries courtesy of outside centre Evardi Boshoff, replacement flyhalf David Hayes and No 8 Christian Stehlik.

Player That Rocks: Neil Otto (FNB UCT Ikeys).

UFS Shimlas – Try: Cham Zondeki.
UCT Ikeys – Tries: Connor Evans, Rethabile Louw (2×7), Athi Gazi (1×5, 1×7), Evardi Boshoff, David Hayes, Christian Stehlik. Conversions: James Tedder (2), Michael Brink (3). Penalty: Tedder.

WITS 11 (11) – CUT IXIAS 19 (7)

Winless Wits came into this match as heavy underdogs but pushed unbeaten CUT all the way at the Tuks B-Field.

Wits matched their opponents in strength and speed but fell apart in the last 20 minutes to hand the Ixias their fourth consecutive victory.

Wits flyhalf Christian Humphries kicked an early penalty before CUT hooker Janus Venter scored a converted try off the back of a maul.

Wits responded with a try to hooker and captain Justin Brandon, and Humphries added a penalty to put them 11-7 ahead at half time.

The Ixias forced themselves back into the game when flank and captain Luvuyo Ndevu barged over the tryline and flyhalf Charles Williams kicked the conversion.

Straight after the strategy break, CUT used their maul to edge further ahead when Venter got his second to make it 19-11.

Wits lost possession in a maul close to the Ixias tryline and, while CUT fullback Cohen Jasper was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on, it didn’t prove costly for his team.

Player That Rocks: Hans Terblanche (FNB CUT).

Wits – Try: Justin Brandon. Penalties: Christian Humphries (2).
CUT Ixias – Tries: Janus Venter (2), Luvuyo Ndevu. Conversions: Charles Williams (2).

MADIBAZ 22 (5) – UJ 33 (24)

UJ broke their 11-match Varsity Cup losing streak as they saw off the Madibaz a highly competitive meeting at Loftus Versfeld.

An early UJ penalty courtesy of flyhalf Jurich Claasens was followed by a try to Madibaz captain fantastic Luyolo Dapula.

The lock’s efforts galvanised the Orange Army into action as they crossed the chalk via flank Brendon Pawson, hooker Darnell Osuagwe and lock Lunga Ncube with Claasens converting all three to provide a comfortable 24-5 lead at the break.

The men from Gqeberha started the second stanza in the same fashion as the first with fullback Tiaan Swanepoel slicing straight through the defence to score a sensational point-of-origin try.

Ten minutes later, UJ centre Musawenkosi Tshabalala scored an epic point-of-origin try.

This proved to be their last score as Madibaz capitalised on replacement hooker Pierre Rabie’s yellow card to score twice through replacement hooker Tembekile Boltina, which secured their bonus point.

Player That Rocks: Kwagga van Niekerk (FNB UJ).

Madibaz – Tries: Luyolo Dapula, Tiaan Swanepoel (1×7), Tembekile Boltina (2).
UJ – Tries: Brendon Pawson, Darnell Osuagwe, Lunga .Ncube, Musawenkosi Tshabalala (1×7). Conversions: Jurich Claasens (4). Penalty: Claasens.

UP-TUKS 24 (6) – MATIES 31 (15)

Maties survived a second-half comeback by FNB UP-Tuks to record a vital win at Loftus Versfeld.

The North-South clash is characterised by a no-inch-given attitude and this meeting between the two most successful teams in the competition was no different as the heavyweights sussed each other out.

Initially, penalty goals ruled the day as UP-Tuks fullback Zander du Plessis slotted one either side of his opposite number Christopher Schreuder.

It would take 33 minutes for the first try to be scored as the Maroon Machine were awarded a penalty try after a dominant scrum, before wing Munier Hartzenberg snatched a perfectly timed cross-kick to flop over the chalk.

Hartzenberg’s try was a textbook example of why it’s important to play until the whistle as Schreuder’s penalty attempt had struck the upright before being collected by Maties and recycled for Schreuder to set up the kick that led to the five-pointer.

The second half started off rather scrappily as both teams had their efforts thwarted by unforced errors and had to settle for a penalty apiece.

Maties scrumhalf Bobby Alexander then ran a fantastic support line to collect Hartzenberg’s final pass en route to scoring a scintillating point-of-origin try.

The Stripe Generation finally managed to score their opening try in 58th minute as flank Hanru Sirgel was on hand to collect a stolen ball, before replacement scrumhalf Johan Mulder picked and dived for his five-pointer seven minutes later.

Considering the intensity of the clash, it’s no surprise that the final points were delivered by the boots of Du Plessis and Schreuder, respectively, as Maties snuck home with the four-point win.

Player That Rocks: Simon Miller (FNB Maties).

UP-Tuks – Tries: Hanru Sirgel, Johan Mulder. Conversion: Zander du Plessis. Penalties: Du Plessis (4).
Maties – Tries: Penalty try, Munier Hartzenberg, Bobby Alexander (1×7). Penalties: Schreuder (4).

The FNB Varsity Cup will continue on Monday with two round-five matches at Tuks Stadium:

• UCT Ikeys vs CUT Ixis (5pm)
• UWC vs UP-Tuks (7pm)

Photo: Varsity Sports