Buffaloes give students drubbing
BUFFALOES ran in eight tries to humiliate Fort Hare University 48-7 in a one-sided Flya Cup encounter at the Old Selbornian Grounds on Saturday.
It was the Buffs side who started the game the brightest and they announced their intentions early on in the game.
It did not take long for them to get the scoreboard ticking and it was clear from the onset that the Blues were in for a tough match.
Two quick tries under the poles seemed to unsettle Fort Hare, as they made bad decisions at crucial moments.
Instead of taking kickable penalties, they opted for scrums against their bigger opponents.
The game was characterised by big hits and picture-perfect tackles as tempers ran high from both sides.
But Buffs held control of the game and scored two more tries in the first half.
The only Fort Hare points came late in the first half when they intercepted a pass to score under the poles.
In the tournament, a try under the poles is worth seven points to save time from a conversion kick. Buffs led 26-7 at the interval. After the break, Buffs ran away with the game and scored four more tries.
Had it been a boxing fight, Fort Hare coaches would have thrown in the towel as the students were outplayed and outclassed by the clinical Buffs.
However, the Blues did not play their full strength squad as they are preparing for a Varsity Shield semifinal game.
In an earlier game, East London Police also booked themselves a place in the semifinals courtesy of a 32-20 victory over Winter Rose.
The game was more balanced as Winter Rose gave the Police second team a run for their money.
The Mdantsane NU13 side took a surprise 15-9 lead by half-time after scoring two tries, a conversion and a penalty.
Police only managed three penalties in the opening stanza.
But Police responded well to the halftime pep talk as they came back stronger while Winter Rose seemed to run out of steam.
A further 23 points were enough for Police to progress to the semifinals while Rose could only manage a further unconverted try.
The difference in the game proved to be some accurate kicking for goal.
Another Mdantsane outfit, Swallows, were knocked out by Cambridge after playing to a 23-23 draw after 80 minutes.
Cambridge progressed on the rule that the first team to score a try qualifies for the next round in case of a draw.
The game was arguably the most boring of the four matches as it included too many schoolboy mistakes and too many stop-starts.
It appeared as if Swallows had not trained in the weeks prior to the match or perhaps the players had not played together before as they just could not get going.
But credit must go to Cambridge, who at one stage played with 13 men because of yellow cards, yet they managed to keep Swallows at bay.
When the yellow-carded Cambridge players returned to the field, it appeared that the team had a slight edge over the township outfit.
Swallows, in fact, had too many unforced errors.
It must be noted that Cambridge could have won outright but their flyhalf missed two late drop goals.
Cambridge will have to work on their discipline as they received three yellow cards or else they will be punished in the semifinal.
Defending champions, Old Boys beat Walter Sisulu University 27-10 in the final game of the day.
Old Boys proved too much for the All Blacks who rested their Varsity Shield players.
The semifinals will see Police battling it out with Cambridge at 6pm on Friday.
Buffs will tussle with Old Boys in the second semifinal.
The eventual winners will walk away with the floating trophy and kit worth R40 000 while the runners-up of the competition will receive kit worth R20 000.