UJ outmuscle spirited Madibaz side
HOPES that the Madibaz could reach the semifinals of the Varsity Cup were dealt a hammer blow last night when they crashed to a heavy 42-13 defeat against the University of Johannesburg (UJ) at the NMMU campus.
After slumping to two defeats in their opening three matches, the Madibaz knew that a win was vital if they planned to reach the knockout stage.
The Madibaz made the perfect start when the hard-running CJ Velleman burst through the UJ defence to score the first try of the game after only two minutes and raise the hopes of the home crowd.
The well-drilled UJ outfit hit back almost immediately when No 8 Dylan Peterson crashed over the tryline aft- er the visitors had taken the ball through several phases.
In the 13th minute, UJ were over for their second try when they launched a counterattack, which resulted in a try for Robert de Bruyn on a windy evening.
The Madibaz then enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure, but were unable to turn their territorial advantage into points.
Four minutes before the break, the marauding UJ pack laid the platform for centre Adriaan Vermeulen to cross for his team’s third try to leave his team with a 21-8 lead after Jaco Fourie slotted the conversion.
The Madibaz made a flying start to the second half when Yamkele Ngam dotted down after following up an accurate kick from his flyhalf Steven Hansel.
Playing with 14 men after David Antonites was yellow carded, UJ still managed to score a try when De Bruyn ran the length of the field to dot down after an intercept.
UJ put the issue beyond doubt in the 68th minute when Wiaan Conradie scored his team’s fifth try.
With the visitors in total control towards the end, a penalty try to UJ took the score up to 42-13. Scorers:
UJ 42: Tries: Robert de Bruyn (2), Dylan Peterson, Adriaan Vermeulen, Wiaan Conradie, Penalty try. Conversions: Jaco Fourie (3), James Campbell.
Madibaz 13: Tries: CJ Velleman, Yamkele Ngam Conversion: Steven Hansel.
Meanwhile, UFS-Shimlas went to the top of the Varsity Cup standings with a gritty 21-16 victory over Maties in Bloemfontein.
The Free State side are the only team that remain unbeaten after four rounds of action, while Maties are still searching for their first win of the season.
Shimlas, who face NMMU next week, made the ideal start to the game as flyhalf Niel Marais touched down and then converted his own try to give them the early advantage.
Maties responded with a try of their own from prop John-Hubert Meyer, and the conversion from flyhalf Ernest Stapelberg saw the teams go into the first strategy break deadlocked at 8-8.
The home side took the lead back just after the break through a try from skipper AJ Coertzen in the corner, and the touchline conversion from Marais put them 16-8 up.
Other results: Ikeys 90 CUT 8, NWU-Puk 42 Tuks 37.