UP-Tuks outfox UJ after outage
Tukkies make light of their Varsity Cup visit to Jozi
University of Johannesburg succumbed to their second defeat in as many games as they were outplayed 19-40 by their Gauteng rivals UP-Tuks in the 2019 Varsity Cup yesterday afternoon.
Due to load-shedding which hit the Johannesburg Stadium on Monday, the Gauteng derby was abandoned, and the fixture played out yesterday.
The game started at a frantic pace, and it was FNB UJ that got out of the blocks first with sustained pressure. However, the home side couldn’t put any points on the board, and UP-Tuks grew into the game.
They were duly rewarded as Wian van Niekerk scored a UP-Tuks try that came after a series of phases, which eventually saw them touch down.
Tinus de Beer made no mistake with the penalty and it was 7-0 after 10 minutes. The home side got their first points of the game with Jeanluc Cilliers scoring a penalty. UJ were knocking hard on the door and it eventually opened as UJ lock Khanya Ncusane scored a well-worked try and flyhalf Cilliers made no mistake with the conversion on the stroke of half-time But the side from Pretoria were not to be undone and following a ruthless maul from UP-Tuks which saw them gain some ground, forward Frederick Potgieter latched on to a superb pass and scored a try on the cusp of half-time.
De Beer scored the resulting penalty and UP-Tuks went into half-time with a 14-10 lead.
The match was perfectly poised for a UJ comeback, however UP-Tuks were just too composed and powered through against the run of play courtesy of a wellorchestrated try by substitute Johannes Eloff and UP-Tuks were 21-10 ahead after 50 minutes.