Varsity Cup: CUT, Wits defy the odds

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The second round of the 2023 Varsity Cup was one for the record books as CUT stunned Maties in Stellenbosch on Monday night before Wits produced a miraculous comeback against UJ.

MATIES 19-23  CUT
It was not pretty, but visiting CUT made history as they became only the fifth Varsity Cup team to beat the Maties at the Danie Craven Stadium, joining Tuks, UCT, UJ and NWU as victors in Stellenbosch in a titanic 23-19 tussle.

Referee Sean Miller dished out two early yellow cards to the Maties lock pairing of Juan Beukes and Thys Kitshoff, as the home side went down to 13 men. The inevitable happened with CUT hooker Tokelo Ntaopane powering his way over the try line before flyhalf Tyler Sefoor added the extras, either side of two penalties.

Maties made a short-lived comeback courtesy of a try by pocket rocket McKyle Volmoer which flyhalf Jurie Matthee superbly converted from the sideline. Asekho Marubelela’s converted try saw CUT stretch their lead to 20-7 at halftime.

The men in maroon managed to claw a try back after CUT flanker Ulrich Stander was yellow-carded and the advantage in the lineout saw reserve hooker Francois Beytenbach score. Maties replacement prop Ammaar Burton narrowed the gap to a single score as Matthee added the extras, but a ferocious comeback attempt failed.

This was only Maties’ seventh defeat since the inception of the Varsity Cup but it is probably one that hurts the most, especially since the visitors had been beaten 40–0, 75-12 and 62-24 in the previous encounters in Stellenbosch.

MATIES 19 (7) – Tries: McKyle Volmoer, Francois Beytenbach, Ammaar Burton. Conversions: Jurie Matthee (2).
CUT 23 (20) – Tries: Tokelo Ntaopane, Asekho Marubelela. Conversions: Tyler Sefoor (2). Penalties: Sefoor (3).
Player that Rocks: Xavier Swartbooi (CUT).

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UCT 40-19 Tuks
Ntokozo Makhaza was the star of the show as UCT Ikeys scored an impressive 40-19 victory over defending champions Tuks at the Green Mile. For Tuks, it’s back to the drawing board after last week’s one-point defeat against Shimlas in Pretoria.

It took 12 minutes for the Ikeys to break the deadlock when hooker Alex Castle went over after a successful driving maul by the home side’s forwards. Ten minutes later, the Tigers were starting to take control of the game thanks to a try by Jason MacLeod Smith with Makhaza’s boot adding the extras.

In the lead-up to half time, UCT was running riot, adding two more tries with the scoreboard reading 29-0 at the break.

Tuks staged somewhat of a comeback at the start of the second half as they caught UCT napping. Outside centre Lincoln Daniels was rewarded with two tries while Pierre Fourie also dotted down.

The hosts had the last say as Makhaza grabbed his second try of the match to take the score to 40-19 and secure a memorable victory.

UCT 40 (29) – Tries: Alex Castle, Jason MacLeod Smith, Duran Koevort, Ntokozo Makhaza (2). Conversions: Makhaza (3). Penalties: Makhaza (3).
TUKS 19 (0)– Tries: Lincoln Daniels (2), Pierre Fourie. Conversions: Walter Visser (2).
Player That Rocks: Ntokozo Makhaza (UCT Ikeys)

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NWU 63-16 Shimlas
The NWU Eagles continued with their brilliant start to their 2023 campaign with a 63-16 win over Shimlas at the Fanie du Toit Sportsground.

Shimlas started the game strongly with a try from Michael Annies within the first minute of the game after he stormed over the Eagles’ defence from his half. The home team showed great character to fight back and score a try through Vernon Paulo.

Shimlas lost Chadd Adams to the sin bin for dangerous play in the 28th minute. Two tries from Theuns Pretorius and another one from Naiden Jaarts ensured the Eagles went into half time with a 32-9 lead.

Shimlas started the second half with the same intensity as the first with a try from Renier Viljoen.  The Eagles quickly replied with Arminn Posthumus and Jandre de Beer going over. Keano Windvogel’s late try sealed an impressive victory.

NWU 63 (32) – Tries: Vernon Paulo, Theuns Pretorius(2), Naiden Jaarts, Arminn Posthumus, Jandre de Beer, Keano Windvogel(2), Ruben du Plessis. Conversions: Zinedine Robinson (4), Martin Venter. Penalties: Zinedine Robinson (2)
SHIMLAS 16 (9) – Tries: Michael Annies, Renier Viljoen. Conversions: Ethan Wentzel (2).
Player That Rocks: Vernon Paulo (NWU)

WITS 35 – 33 UJ
Wits staged an epic comeback, down 30-0 at half time, to defeat Johannesburg rival UJ 35-33 in front of a packed Wits Rugby stadium.

UJ was far the better side in the first half, racing to a 30-0 lead at the break, with their first try inside the first 10 minutes when Philip Apea-Adu went over. The Orange Army continued to dominate proceedings with Wits pegged back by a high penalty count their opponents took advantage to run in three more tries.

The second half saw a rejuvenated Wits team, who upped the intensity, putting UJ under pressure. The hard work eventually paid off for the Witsies, who registered their first try courtesy of eighthman Ziyanda Masipha. Wits started to dominate proceedings with UJ often looking a little shell-shocked, making mistakes at crucial times, but George Devenish ran onto a ball out wide to dash past UJ defenders and score the winning try.

Wits 35 (0) – Tries: Ziyanda Masipa (2), Kyle van Eyssen, George Devenish. Conversions: Christian Humphries (4).
UJ 33 (30) – Tries: Philip Apea-Adu, Prince Nkabinde, Rowan Malgas, Likhaya Tengimgene. Conversions: Jonathan Viljoen (1). Penalties: Jonathan Viljoen (1).
Player That Rocks: ZiyandaMsipha (Wits)

Photo: Twitter/@VarsityCup

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