Tuks had to work hard to beat Centurion 26-25 in the play-offs, whilst Police also had to dig deep to eliminate TUT (16-13).

Tuks head coach Freddie Grobler agreed on Monday, 3 August that his team will have to do some serious soul searching after loosing their rhythm and composure in the last 30 minutes of the match.

“I am very satisfied with the rugby we played in the first 50 minutes, but our lack of inexperience began to show when the penalties started raining down on us in the especially the latter part of the second half,” said Freddie.

“We will definitely have to find out why we were penalized so much by referee Luke Burger. We cannot leave ourselves open to the same extend in the final as Police have a formidable kicker (Mike Erasmus) who tops the list of point scorers this season.”

“Discipline will be of the utmost importance if we want to be Carlton League champions for the third year running,” added Freddie.

He hailed his team for the guts they showed.

“It took some doing from especially the players who are 20 years or younger to stand their ground. In the last 20 minutes it was pressure rugby at its highest, but our young guys did little wrong. They actually learned a lot about the critical importance of doing the small things right the first time.”

18 year old Justin van Staden’s steady performance at fullback as well as with the boot came as no surprise to Freddie.

“Remember I told you his BMT will make up for his youth and lack of experience. I was right because he looked like a pro rather than a rookie.”

Justin scored 16 points by converting both Tuks’ tries and also succeeding with four penalty goals. He was very safe under the high ball.

On Tuks’ strategy for the final, Freddie commented his first wish is for a dry field.

“The rain, drenched field and slippery ball (in the semi-final) made an expansive style of play very difficult to execute. We know that Police will try to hit us hard up front because they have a beefy pack of forwards who will test us to the outmost in the set pieces,” said Freddie.