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Ikeys-Maties semifinal in Cape Town

PUBLISHED: March 17, 2014


Cape sides, FNB UCT and FNB Maties, will meet in the semifinals of the 2014 Varsity Cup after the former champions both claimed bonus point wins in a dramatic final round of league action on Monday, March 17.

Defending champions, FNB UP-Tuks, were overhauled on the log (and knocked out of semifinal contention) by the Maties who scored five tries after half-time in Stellenbosch to win 41-24 and set up a semifinal clash against UCT, whilst the table-topping NWU-Pukke will host NMMU who snuck into the play-offs in truly dramatic fashion.

A last-minute try from replacement hooker Martin Ferreira saw the FNB Madibaz earn two bonus points in their 34-33 defeat to FNB UFS-Shimlas in Bloemfontein which was just enough to put the Eastern Cape side through and break UFS-Shimlas hearts as they fell just short.

In a nail-biting final round of league action there were wins for NWU-Pukke and FNB UCT who will host the two semifinals next week, with FNB NWU-Pukke coming from behind to beat FNB UJ 24-20 in Potchefstroom and UCT proving too strong for Wits who went down 25-5 in their last Varsity Cup match before they drop back down to the Varsity Shield next year.

In the early match UFS-Shimlas looked to have booked their semifinal spot with a bonus-point victory before Ferreira’s late try saw the Madibaz leapfrog them on the log.

The North-South clash in Stellenbosch – a replay of last year’s final at the same venue – was effectively a quarterfinal, and a match-winning performance from Maties flyhalf Robert du Preez inspired the home team as they handed UP-Tuks their third consecutive defeat to knock them out of the competition.

NWU-Pukke continued the trend of comebacks in Potchefstroom as they fought back to score three quick tries which saw UJ slump to their fifth defeat of the season.

The Johannesburg side will have to play a promotion/relegation play-off with the team that loses the Varsity Shield Final, whilst Wits will be automatically replaced by the Varsity Shield champions after finishing on the bottom of the standings without a single win.

FNB Wits have not won a game in their two seasons in the Cup competition, but any thoughts of a fairytale farewell for them were extinguished by UCT who ran in five tries to maintain their perfect away record and finish in second place, booking a fifth home semifinal in seven seasons of Varsity Cup action.

UCT and the Maties have met twice before in the final of the Varsity Cup (in 2008 and 2010), but never before in a semifinal. The Green Mile – the Ikeys’ home ground – is the place to be for rugby-lovers in the Cape next Monday!

In the Varsity Shield there were wins for FNB Fort Hare and FNB UKZN who are the only two teams still in the running to face defending champions CUT in the final this season.

Fort Hare ran riot against FNB UWC in Bellville, scoring seven tries as they recorded a big 51-29 win against former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers’s side.

John Mitchell’s UKZN Impi also had a big win, running in eight tries on their way to a resounding 55-24 victory over the TUT Vikings in Pretoria.

There was just one Varsity Young Guns match on Monday night with NWU-Pukke and UFS-Shimlas playing out a tense 26-26 draw in Potchefstroom which saw the Bloemfontein side squeeze into the semifinals and ending NWU-Pukke’s campaign.

In the Koshuisrugby Championships there were wins for Heimat from UFS, Purple Cobras from UCT and Medies from Maties as they all booked semifinal places.

Heimat beat Majuba from UJ 47-16 to stay unbeaten and top the Hi-Fi Corporation pool, with the Cobras’ 34-13 victory over Humanities from Wits booking their semifinal spot, whilst in Stellenbosch Medies saw off the challenge from Onderstepoort to go through.