Madibaz go down fighting
Bolze’s booming boot fails to save Bay side
HIGH-FLYING Wits kept their challenge for a playoff berth alive when they edged the Madibaz 32-29 in a nail-biting Varsity Cup clash last night. It was a third win in four games for the Johannesburg side and kept them among the frontrunners at the top of the log.
The never-say-die Madibaz side attacked until the final minute as they attempted to grab their first win of the season.
Last night’s defeat was a third straight loss for the Madibaz, who are being sucked into a potential relegation battle at the bottom of the log.
After narrow defeats against the Ikey Tigers and the CUT Ixias, the Madibaz came desperately close to breaking their duck.
In a short season of only eight matches, it is vital to win home games and the Madibaz will be disappointed that they fell agonisingly short.
At the end of a first half played at a frenetic pace, the Madibaz enjoyed a slender 20-18 lead.
Wits scored the first try of the second half when Cecil Conradie scored his team’s third try.
This signalled a momentum shift and Lwazi Monakali crossed for a seven point try to give Wits a 30-20 lead after 64 minutes.
It was the Madibaz who scored next in the try feast with Wynand Grassmann putting his team back in the hunt.
After Henrique Oliver converted, Wits held a narrow 32-29 lead with eight minutes left.
The Madibaz were on the front foot from the outset and were rewarded when flyhalf Simon Bolze slotted a penalty from 45m in the sixth minute.
Six minutes later, however, Bolze failed with an even longer attempt as the Madibaz attempted to build on their early 3-0 advantage.
Bolze kept his team on the front foot with his booming boot as the Madibaz continued to dominate the territorial battle.
The pressure paid off after 19 minutes when Madibaz No 8 Justin Hollis went over the first try of the evening to put the home side 8-0 ahead.
This prompted Wits to call their power play and they opted to have Bolze and Jordan Koekemoer removed from the field by referee Rasta Rasivhenge.
Wits threw everything into attack, but they were held at bay by the Madibaz, who did not concede any points during the three minutes they were down to 13 men.
Not long afterwards, the visitors scored their first try when Jethro de Lange muscled his way over the Madibaz tryline.
Madibaz called their power play after 27 minutes but, like Wits, they were unable to take advantage of their numerical advantage with Tyrone Green and Daniel Kapepula off the field.
Just after the half-hour mark, the Madibaz scored their second five-pointer when Ruben le Roux crashed over the tryline to put his team 15-7 ahead.
Scorers: Madibaz 29: Tries: Justin Hollis, Ruben le Roux. Wynand Grassmann (7 point try). Conversions: Simon Bolze (2). Henrique Olivier. Penalties: Simon Bolze (2). Wits 32: Tries: Jethro de Lange (7 point try), Daniel Kapepula (7 point try), Cecil Conradie, Lwazi Monakali (7point try). Conversions: Christian Humpries (3).