Nollis Marais, UP-Tuks Head Coach commented that fatigue (after a seven hour bus drive from Pretoria to Bloemfontein) was the main reason why his players looked flat footed in the latter part of the second half.

“All in all I am satisfied that our outing to Bloem served its purpose. We are far from where we want to be, but are on our way and will only get better as the players get rid of the remaining early season blues."

Marais said he would like to field his strongest possible side for the last warm up match against Naka Bulle on 28 January at the TuksSport Stadium.

First choice players like lock Sous Mostert (Bulls), fullback Clayton Blommetjies (Blue Bulls) and flanker Wian Liebenberg (SA u.20) will however not be eligible for selection as they have other commitments at the moment.

“We have every hope that these three players will be released in time to be included in the 23 to play UJ in the Varsity Cup opener on 6 February,” said Marais.

► UP-Tuks 2 won its match against their CUT counterparts by 40-9.