CPUT retain crown in extra-time thriller
Nkutu determines the defending champions’ fortune by scoring the match-winner
Winger Nathan Nkutu scored a late extra-time try as CPUT beat WSU 30-26 in the FNB Varsity Shield final at Tuks Stadium on Sunday evening.
Walter Sisulu University (WSU) had fought back from 23-6 down midway through the second half to draw level after 66 minutes.
WSU captain Litha Nkula then missed two late penalty goal attempts to win it, with the game going into extra time.
Nkula was on target with a penalty in the first half of extra time but it was Nkutu who snatched victory for CPUT with a 99th-minute try.
It took five minutes of this match for the defending champions to show off their attacking prowess as they faked a driving maul to send the pass out wide to wing Asisipho Malotana, who threw off a tackle to touch down.
Flyhalf Feghon-leigh Snyders missed the extras but did add a penalty six minutes later to make it a two-score game.
CPUT Tekkies were dealt a blow when hooker Siyasanga Ngubelanga was shown a yellow card for repeated team infringements, but their defence proved solid as a rock as WSU All Blacks could only land two penalties via the boot of Nkula.
Lock Ameer Hendricks then scored CPUT’S second try from a charged-down kick as they took a 15-6 lead into the break.
Snyders upped the ante for the CPUT Tekkies in the second half, crossing for a brilliant fivepointer before knocking over a clutch drop goal minutes later.
The WSU All Blacks finally secured their first try just after the second strategy break when wing Sakhele Ngeno raced over the chalk so quickly that he had trouble stopping to actually score. Nkula had no issues in converting.
CPUT lost Butsha Mputa to a yellow card in the 62nd minute and WSU did not need to RSVP
A round of applause must be given to the four players — Butsha Mputa, Lunathi Nxele, Ameer Hendricks and Phumlani Mkhaliphi
to the party as Nkula slotted his third penalty before scrumhalf Eric Mcaphukana dotted down from a dominant 5m scrum. Nkula’s conversion levelled the scores to ensure a spicy hot final 10 minutes.
After a disallowed try to Nkula — who was penalised for kicking the ball out of an FNB WSU player’s hands — and Nkula’s two late penalty misses, the final was forced into two, 10-minute extra-time halves.
Nkula slotted a penalty within three minutes, but it was Nkutu who would determine the defending champions’ fortune, racing into the righthand corner to score the matchwinner.
Snyders added the conversion as the CPUT Tekkies successfully defended their 2019 title after last year’s tournament was cancelled.
A round of applause must be given to the four players — Mputa, inside centre Lunathi Nxele, Hendricks and replacement flank Phumlani Mkhaliphi — who all featured in their final match for the CPUT Tekkies.
● FNB Player That Rocks: Nathan Nkutu (CPUT)
● Scorers:
CPUT — Tries: Asisipho Malotana, Mogamat Ameer Hendricks, Feghon-leigh Snyders, Nathan Nkutu. Conversions: Snyders (2). Penalty: Snyders. Drop goal: Snyders.
WSU All Blacks — Tries: Sakhele Ngeno, Eric Mcaphukana. Conversions: Litha Nkula (2). Penalties: Nkula (4). —