“To play 50 matches for Tuks is a milestone on its own, but to top it with an away win against Maties in a make or break match for us, makes it very special indeed. To add to all of this I also scored one of out tries in only my first start of the season,” said Van Heerden.

Commenting on his spectacular try, for which he had to dive over a Matie defender, Van Heerden said “there was no time for thinking. Instinct took over and the next thing I knew was when I scored the try”.

“Our win will definitely go down as one on of my major highlights in the Tuks jersey. Last year we came so close to beating them twice in Stellenbosch, but had to be contend with a draw in the Varsity Cup league phase and a heartbreaking last minute loss in the semi-finals,” added Van Heerden.

Can Tuks beat Maties again next Monday (23 March) in the semi-final?

“Let me answer this with a counter-question: who gave us the slightest chance to beat Maties on Monday (16 March)? We proved that nothing is impossible which will be our motto for the semi-final as well,” added Van Heerden.

Van Heerden made his Tuks debut way back in 2005.

“It was in a Carlton Cup fixture against Naka Bulle. I remember two things to this day: the emotion of putting on the Tuks jersey for the first time and the two tries I scored. Other personal highlights are our wins in the 2007 and 2008 Carlton Cup finals,” said Van Heerden.