Another loss for Madibaz against Maties
MATIES handed the NMMU Madibaz another loss last night when they claimed a vital 26-16 bonus-point win against the Port Elizabeth side in the Varsity Cup.
The home side were forced to come from behind at the Danie Craven Stadium, and a convincing second-half performance was enough to move them up to move up to fifth place on the standings with just one round remaining before the playoffs.
The hosts struck first as all-action flank Beyers de Villiers opened their account after the ball was worked wide following some good phase play.
However, the visitors struck back as the ball was shifted out to inside centre Devon Lailvaux, who was able to force his way over, and the conversion from flyhalf Steven Hansel gave them an 8-5 lead at the first strategy break.
There was little to choose between the sides in a highly physical encounter, which saw committed defence from both teams and, as a result, the Madibaz took their slender three-point lead into the half-time break. Maties had the wind at their backs in the second half, and made a determined start as they sought to make the most of the advantage, but the visitors would be next to score as No 8 Andisa Ntsila forced his way over to take their lead out to 16-5.
However, Ntsila would soon turn from hero to villain when he was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements from his side.
Maties took advantage straight away as their No 8 Kobus van Dyk scored an unconverted try, which put them back within striking distance at 16-10.
The home side took the lead when the referee awarded a penalty try after NMMU had been penalised repeatedly at scrum-time.
The home side had their tails up and they secured the vital bonus point with a superb individual effort from fullback Mike Muller, who collected his own chip kick to score.
That gave them a 26-16 lead, and they managed to hold out until the final whistle to take a full five log points and keep their playoff hopes alive. Scorers:
Maties: Tries: De Villiers, Van Dyk, penalty try, Muller; Cons: Thomson 2
NMMU: Tries: Lailvaux, Ntsila; Cons: Hansel 2 Other results: Shimlas 44 Ikeys 24, CUT 16 Puk 53, Tuks 34 UJ 0.