Thus commented UP-Tuks Head Coach Nollis Marais on his team’s uninspiring 24-16 win against UCT at the Tuks Stadium on Monday.

“I will be first to concede that we did not play well and will have to improve in almost every aspect of the game if we want to give ourselves a sporting chance of beating Shimlas in Bloemfontein (on 18 February),” added Marais.

He agreed that UP-Tuks were their own worst enemy by making too many basic mistakes.

“We missed too many first time tackles, threw away at least four tries with poor handling and finishing and were also not aggressive enough at the break points. The obvious result was that we struggled to gain momentum and continuity.”

However, UP-Tuks’ line-out play and mauling gave Marais something to smile about.

“It was vintage stuff,” said Marais.

UP-Tuks’ tries were scored by Jean Cook, Shaun Adendorff and Courtnall Skosan. Tian Schoeman (2) and Handre Pollard succeeded with conversions.