Tuks beat archrivals TUT 42-30 on Monday (15 February), but the final score does not tell it all.

Tuks had to work much harder to win than the score might indicate as they were still trailing 12-24 early in the second half.

In the end, Tuks won because they were more disciplined, kept their cool after looking out of their depth in die first half and had the boot of Justin van Staden as an ally. Van Staden succeeded with all his kicks at goal, scoring 27 points with seven penalties and three conversions. He also impressed with his tactical kicking and positional play.

Tuks could have scored four tries for a much needed bonus point, but poor passing, handling and finishing stopped them short of the TUT try line on more than one occasion. This will have to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Other than Justin’s 27 points, Tuks scored three tries (Gertjie Smith, Tiaan Nel and Franco Booysen).