A clinical display of winning rugby enabled UP-Tuks to finally break the hat-trick curse after overpowering Police 42-15 (25-10 at half-time) in the 2015 Carlton Cup final played at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday 22 August 2015.

It was the first time since 1984, when former Springbok flank Burger Geldenhuys captained the side, that UP-Tuks claimed the Carlton Cup title for the third year running.

‘This is a memorable day for TuksRugby – one that every player, and we as the management team, will cherish for a long time. We played very good rugby and executed the game plan masterfully. Apart from the time when we allowed Police to wipe out the 10-0 lead, we were in control of things and I never doubted the outcome – even when we had to make do with 14 men in the second half after a yellow card infringement,’ commented Pote Human, UP-Tuks head coach.

‘I am very proud of and grateful for the passion, perseverance and courage that every player showed. They did exactly what we as coaches requested of them and that was to leave no regrets on the field. We put the doom prophets to shame because they were quick to write us off when we lost in the first round to Police and drew in the second against Centurion. These self-appointed critics underestimated the persistence of our established winning culture. We only fire on all cylinders when it matters most. Any team that scores 107 points and only concedes 20 in the two most important games of the season deserves to wear the championship title,’ Human added (referring to the semi-finals in which UP-Tuks beat Harlequins 63-5).

Wynand Claassen, president of TuksRugby and a former captain of the Springboks, Northern Transvaal, Natal and UP-Tuks, said after the game: ‘You showed today that superstitions and history can be proven wrong and there is no reason why we cannot make it four in a row in 2016.’

For Prof Antonie de Klerk, Executive Director of the University of Pretoria responsible for sport, the final victory was the best farewell gift he could have asked for. Prof De Klerk will retire at the end of the year.

Scorers:

UP TUKS: Tries: Vian Riekert (2), Dwight Pansegrouw (2), Riaan Britz, Emile Temperman. Conversions: Abri Reynolds (4), Jan Enslin. Penalties: Abri Reynolds (2).

POLICE: Tries: Ian van Deventer, Heinrich Rademeyer. Conversions: Ivan Venter. Conversion: Ivan Venter.