Varsity Cup Round 2 reveals top contenders
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Varsity Cup 2nd Round
After the 2nd Round of the Varsity Cup it has become more evident who the top title contenders might be for this exciting competition! Many factors are still to determine the outcome of future fixtures, including injuries and availability after the start of the Vodacom Cup. It is however clear at this stage that Maties, Shimlas, Ikeys and Pukke are serious title contenders!
After the First Round of Varsity Cup Fixtures it was clear that Maties will be a strong side in the 2010 competition, but neither Ikeys nor Shimlas were clear of how strong they are –having battled to a draw in windy contentions in Port Elizabeth.
We have come across a neat summary of the 2nd Round results on SA Rugby.com and would like to share this:
FNB Maties remained in first place on the Varsity Cup log after yet another exciting Monday night’s worth action – but UJ, Shimlas and UCT all made their presence felt at the top of the standings at the completion of Round Two.
The back-to-back champions smashed the TUT Vikings by 62-0 in Stellenbosch in the last game to get underway on Monday, but all the action beforehand produced the real news in Week Two of the 2010 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.
In Cape Town, UCT showed they will once again be semifinal contenders in the Varsity Cup when they did well to out-scrap last year’s losing finalists, NWU-Pukke, at the Green Mile. The Ikeys recorded an 18-11 win, scoring two tries to one after trailing the visitors – who had the wind at their backs – 5-6 at half-time.
UCT’s tries were scored by centre Marcel Brache and hooker Dayne Jans, with the former also slotting a superb long-range penalty in the second half to keep his side’s noses in front at a very crucial stage of the match.
Pukke skipper Dirco Rautenbach rumbled over for his team’s customary rolling maul score, but the Men from Potchefstroom were unable to deal with the tough-tackling Ikeys who played the conditions – at their home ground, of course – a lot better.
Shimlas – who drew 30-30 with UCT last Monday – picked up their first win of the 2010 season when they smashed the NMMU Madibas 54-5 in Bloemfontein.
In the process, No.8 Boom Prinsloo became the second man this season to score four tries in one match – joining Maties inside centre Dabeon Draghoender, who, ironically, did the same last week against this very NMMU team.
Prinsloo also set up a number of his team’s other tries and was named as the official Varsity Cup Man of the Match, following in the footsteps of teammate PW van Niekerk who wore the cancer awareness pink shorts against NMMU.
Whilst UCT and Shimlas took big steps forward with their wins on Monday, UJ made some superb progress and currently find themselves in second place on the Varsity Cup log after their dramatic 34-34 draw with Tukkies in Pretoria.
Tuks – back-to-back Varsity Cup semifinalists – are still winless in the 2010 competition, having gone down 25-34 to the Pukke in last Monday’s opening round.
Flyhalf André Smith was the big hero for the visitors this week, slotting a last-minute penalty goal to level the scores at 34-all in a match that produced nine tries; with the score changing hands on numerous occasions.
SA Sevens ace Deon Helberg touched down twice for the FNB Tuks, but he was unable to help his team pick up their first win of the season and the Men from Pretoria currently find themselves in sixth place on the 2010 Varsity Cup log.
[Summary of Round 2 Fixtures from SA Rugby.com]
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