FNB UWC powered to a 26-8 Varsity Shield, Round One victory over the FNB UFH Blues at the Davidson Rugby Stadium in Alice on Monday.
Peter de Villiers’s team – the only Cape university in the Varsity Shield – got their 2014 campaign off to a positive start, overcoming a stubborn Blues outfit who were physical on defence and competitive at the breakdowns.
The early exchanges were scrappy with UWC flyhalf Dale van Schalkwyk putting the first kick-off of the match directly into touch and then UFH scrumhalf Bangihlombe Kobese knocking on from the resultant scrum. It was a trend that would ultimately persist for most of the match in tricky conditions.
Once the nerves of both sides had settled down, UWC started dominating and made their early weight of possession count when, in the tenth minute, van Schalkwyk made a half break and flicked an offload out of the tackle to outside centre Kenwinn Wiener to canter in to score under the posts.
The hosts almost hit back straight away after a wonderful break from inside centre Mgwadleka Lithabile saw them threaten the tryline, but moments later tempers flared as small scuffle turned into a brawl involving most of the players and some of the medics from the sidelines. The incident was not serious enough for any cards, but it seemed to fire up the home side.
A strong period followed for UFH, as they camped in UWC’s 22, but their attempts to score were met with frustration as knock-ons and turnovers plagued their play.
As the first half wore on the handling errors continued to mount, as both sides struggled to keep hold of the ball and build meaningful phases of attack. The large amount of scrums suited the Blues pack which enjoyed some dominance, winning two tightheads in the first forty minutes.
Blues captain Billy Dutton was penalised for putting his hands into a ruck just before the break and UWC skipper Freddie Muller made him pay by converting a tricky long-range penalty to give his side a 10-0 lead at half-time.
The visitors continued to build their lead just after the interval when Muller slotted another hefty penalty kick from just under 50 metres.
The Blues were stung into action by this and attacked with pace and power as they made their way towards the UWC tryline, aided by a rash of penalties conceded by the visitors.
The chance looked to have been lost when hooker Thembelihle Mpapha made a simple error by forgetting to tap the ball before charging towards the line from a five-metre penalty. It didn’t matter, however, as UFH once again won a tighthead from the resultant UWC scrum, and worked the ball wide for Oliver Zono to score in the corner, following consultation from the TMO. The flyhalf then converted the try superbly taking the score to 12-8 with half an hour to play.
Just two minutes later UWC’s lead was extended to six after Muller added another penalty to his tally.
In the closing quarter of an hour, steady rain began to fall which made handling more tricky.
The Blues made life hard for themselves when Siyabulela Sijula and Onke Dubase were yellow carded for repeated infringements and a professional foul respectively, in the final ten minutes.
The visitors made the extra men count in the closing stages as good work from van Schalkwyk put impressive fullback James Verity-Amm over to score near the corner flag, before tighthead prop Brandon Beukman broke away from a rolling maul and timed his off-load well to send Jose Julies over for their third try as time ran out.
The scorers:
For FNB UFH:
Try: Zono
Con: Zono
For FNB UWC:
Tries: Wiener, Verity-Amm, Julies
Con: Van Schalkwyk
Pens: Muller 4
The teams:
FNB UFH: 15 Saneliso Ngoma, 14 Garth van Rayner, 13 Lundi Ralarala, 12 Mgwadleka Lithabile, 11 Sonqishe Mkhululi, 10 Oliver Zono, 9 Bangihlombe Kobese, 8 Manentsa Athi, 7 Billy Dutton (captain), 6 Onke Dubase, 5 Masixole David, 4 Mzwandile Yalezo, 3 Xola Mapapu, 2 Thembelihle Mpapha, 1 Lwando Mabenge
Replacements: 16 Madoda Ludidi, 17 Siyabulela Sijula, 18 Olwethu Mputla, 19 Ntyatyambo Mkhafu, 20 Andile Makinana, 21 Sibabalwe Mtsulwana, 22 Khanyiso Komani, 23 Sibabalwe Tshoni.
FNB UWC: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Quaid Langeveldt, 13 Kenwinn Wiener, 12 Yondela Stampu, 11 Minenhle Mthethwa, 10 Dale van Schalkwyk, 9 Freddie Muller (captain), 8 Heinrich Marcus, 7 Njabulo Ndlovu, 6 Matthew Faught, 5 Jose Julies, 4 Pallo Manuel, 3 Brandon Beukman, 2 Timothy Louw, 1 Kelvin de Bruyn.
Replacements: 16 Michael Mkhize, 17 Tahriq Allen, 18 Sebenza Maphumulo, 19 Samuel Borsah, 20 Dumisani Dyonase, 21 Melikhaya Wana, 22 Keanu Langeveldt, 23 Philbrey Joseph.
Referee: Lusanda Jam
