Tuks will be hoping there is some truth in the saying about third time lucky should they on Saturday get to clash with the Mustangs in the final of the South African Wheelchair Rugby League final.

The team from Bloemfontein has managed to beat Tuks in both their previous encounters. The former national player and now Tuks assistant-coach, Victor Buitendag, believes his side can change things around. 

The semifinals and the final will be played at Tuks's Groenkloof Campus. The Mustangs is facing-off to the Vikings while Tuks plays Mandeville. 

According to Buitendag if the Tuks players can stick to the agreed gameplan, they ought to progress to the final by beating Mandeville. Tuks has already done so once this season.

"At the start of the season, we had a relatively inexperienced team. Our coach Suzette Muller is never one to shy away from a challenge. It was her passion and dedication that helped the new players to quickly catch on as to what was expected from them. That is why the team has been steadily improving," Buitendag explained. 

"Suzette believes in leaving nothing to chance. So we did our homework in the buildup to Saturday. We have done a lot of video analyses, especially of the games the Mustangs played. What we have picked up is that their defensive structures seem to be quite weak. The players tend to go it alone, which leads to gaps opening up. We got plans in place to hopefully capitalise on it. 

"What will be important is that the players should be thinking the whole time and be able to adapt to what is happening during the game. There is never only one way to win a game."

Buitendag credits the Tuks team's defensive play as being one of its best assets. 

Something that also excites him is having the likes of Okkie Anker and Ben Erasmus both former national players back in the Tuks side. 

"Okkie is our playmaker. He is the ability to read the game and do the right thing at the right moment, which leads to him often scoring. It would be interesting to see how he combines with Katlego Moeketsi on the attack.

"I consider Katlego as one of our most improved players. During training, he and Okkie really combined well. Ben tends to be deadly on the attack."

Saturday's first semifinal will be played at 08:00 and is between the Mustangs and the Vikings. Tuks play at 10:00. The final will be played at 14:00.