Tuks men's sevens rugby side showed there is truth in the saying about a certain "Fat Lady" needing to sing before anything can be considered a done deal when they won the USSA Tournament in Margate yesterday.
The "Boys" as their captain, Dewald Naude, refers to his teammates won by beating UJ 7-5 in the final. On Sunday evening Naude still battled to find the right words to describe their onfield heroics. Every so often, he can't resist using the word unbelievable when telling how they pulled off a victory in the dying seconds.
With less than a minute to play, UJ was leading 5-0. In the rainy and muddy conditions, few would have tipped Tuks to still be able to spring a surprise. Then it happened. The "big man" Stephan Coetzee got hold of the ball. There was no way anyone was going to stop him. He crashed over to level the score. It meant it was left to WJ Strydom to put the final in the coffin which did by succeeding with the conversion.
Similarities between this USSA-final and last year's Varsity-final are uncanny. Tuks and UJ were the main protagonists in both instances. During last year’s Varsity-final UJ was also in the lead with the stopwatch relentlessly ticking down. It was only the never say die attitude that led to Tuks scoring the winning try in the dying minutes.
"It is absolutely crazy and amazing to have been part of the team where every player was prepared to put his body on the line for his team. I know it is cliche, but after this USSA Tournament, I truly know there is no "I" when spelling team," said an elated Naude who can't help himself but use the word unbelievable again.
Tuks's semi-final encounter against UWC was an as closely contested affair. With about a minute's play left on the clock, the score was tied at 7-all. Cornell Korf dotted down to ensure his team got to contest the final.
During their quarterfinal encounter, Tuks outplayed Wits to win 40-15. Another highlight was beating Maties 28-0 in a pool game.
An interesting statistic is that in the buildup to the USSA Tournament, the Tuks sevens team only trained together on five occasions. The training officially started the Saturday before the USSA Tournament.
"All credit should go to our coaches. They left absolutely nothing to chance. It was their passion that motivated us to step up when it mattered," explains Naude.
According to Naude, the last time Tuks was able to win the USSA Tournament was in 2014. Last year Tuks won the plate-final and the year before they had to settle playing out for the ninth place.
Virtual Campus
Get Social With Us
Download the UP Mobile App