Was it not for the telling boot of young fly half Juan-Claude Roos, Tuks would have been in even bigger trouble. Roos succeeded with a conversion and five penalty goals for a personal contribution of 17 points.

Tuks had enough possession and territorial advantage not to labour 74 minutes before scoring their only try (Luvuyo Mhlobiso). Their biggest draw back was a lack of basic skills which saw to one promising movement after the other resulting in little more than nothing.

Tuks’ clumsiness, especially on attack, was evident from start from finish. Shimlas’ first two tries were both opportunistic efforts after Tuks were within striking distance themselves.

With only 12 minutes on the clock Shimlas already had a 14-0 lead, which left Tuks with the task op playing catch up rugby for the remaining 68 minutes. It was not be.

Johan de Bruin, Tuks’ captain, had no excuses.

“We were simply outplayed by Shimlas. The biggest disappointment is that we again played against ourselves by making far too many basic mistakes. Our handling and discipline left much to be desired,” said De Bruin.