“Varsity Cup Rugby is all about the team that wants it the most on the day. You don’t just pitch up and hope to win.”
It was Tinus de Beer (UP-Tuks acting captain) honest assessment last night after his team lost 25-19 to Wits in an away game.
The winning team’s captain, Constant Beckerling, echoed De Beer’s sentiments in his post-match interview saying that the whole week the team had only one goal and that was to beat Tuks.
“We wanted to make Varsity rugby history. That was all we talked about, and we were never going to compromise on what we set out to do. Tonight I am a very proud captain.”
UP-Tuks who are the defending Varsity Cup champions indeed did not start off their campaign as they would have hoped. They have now lost on two consecutive Mondays. Things are not going to get any easier. Next Monday UP-Tuks is playing Maties in Stellenbosch who is still unbeaten.
De Beer is of the opinion there is not yet reason to be concerned as to what has happened on the field.
“The team’s performance so far is a process in the making. I am confident that the moment we get to put into practice what we have been training the results will start to come our way.”
The reality, however, is that UP-Tuks can only blame themselves for what happened in their games against Shimlas and Wits. The team certainly had its chances to win, but crucial mistakes and lousy judgement prevented them from doing so. There is no getting away from the fact that games are won or lost making the most of one’s opportunities.
Wits proved it last night during both sets of the power play. The moment UP-Tuks scored for the first time they asked for the power play and scored a seven-point try which was converted to give them a 9-7 lead.
In contrast when UP-Tuks got to their power play the Wits players efficiently pinned the Tuks players down on their try line making sure that the three minutes ran out without any score. At that stage UP-Tuks were in dire need to get some points on the board.
FNB Player That Rocks: Tyrone Green (FNB Wits)
Point Scores:
Wits: 25 - Tries: Sicelo Champion, KwaneleNgema, KasendeKapepula. Conversions: Christian Humphries (3).
UP-Tuks: 19 - Tries: TokoSeerane, XolisaGuma x2. Conversions: Tinus De Beer
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