So it’s Tukkies vs Maties in Pretoria in the Varsity Cup final on Easter Monday … In one sided semi finals on Monday evening Tuks beat Pukke 53-24, and Maties hammered UJ 23-0.
It all happened in the first half in Stellenbosch where the Maties ran up a 21-0 half-time lead thanks to first-half tries from André Smith, Rob Herring and Grant Hattingh. Flyhalf André Kemp kicked two conversions and one penalty for a haul of eight points, as the powerful Maties forwards and their watertight defence snuffed out any hopes of a second-half comeback from UJ.
While in Pretoria the action happened in the second half, with the home side in fact trailing Pukke 13-16 at half-time. But sparked by a very controversial TMO call, five second-half tries put the result beyond doubt.
Bulls fullback Clayton Blommetjies dotted down twice whilst the boot of Tuks flyhalf Wesley Dunlop also proved crucial in the end as he kicked six from seven conversions on offer.
The Varsity Shield Final between CUT and Wits, will take place a week before the Cup final – on Monday, April 2 – with the winners of that match going straight into the 2013 Varsity Cup at the expense of winless TUT. The losing Shield finalists will play against UCT in a one-off promotion/relegation match on the day of the Varsity Cup Final.
The Young Guns final mirrors the Cup final, with the Tuks Under-20 side beating Pukke 23-18 in their semifinal in Pretoria, and the Maties Under-20s beating Shimlas 29-8 in Stellenbosch.
The Young Guns Final will take place on Monday, April 2, with the Koshuis Final being played as a curtain-raiser to the Varsity Cup Final a week later – along with the promotion/relegation match.
The Varsity Cup semi final scorers, teams and match officials:
For Maties:
Tries: Smith, Herring, Hattingh
Cons: Kemp 2
Pen: Kemp
Maties: 15 André Smith, 14 Ryan Nell, 13 Wessel Coetzee, 12 Louis Jordaan, 11 Dean Hammond, 10 André Kemp, 9 Boela Abrahams, 8 Grant Hattingh, 7 Helmut Lehmann (captain), 6 Sam Mabombo, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Reniel Hugo, 3 Os Hamman, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Brummer Badenhorst.
Bench: 16 Alfred Ries, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 JP Swanepoel, 19 Nicholas de Jager, 20 Donald Stevens, 21 Jarryd Buys, 22 Clearance Khumalo, 23 Hein van der Merwe.
UJ: 15 Worsie Kotze, 14 JR Esterhuizen, 13 Justin St. Jerry, 12 Divan van Zyl, 11 Chrysander Botha, 10 Guy Cronjé, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Justin Wheeler (captain), 7 Wendal Wehr, 6 Johan van Deventer, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 Marnus van Huyssteen, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Francois du Toit, 1 Wessel du Rand.
Bench: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Jaco Vermeulen, 18 Shane Kirkwood, 19 RJ Liebenberg, 20 Jacques Pretorius, 21 Luan Steenkamp, 22 Aubrey McDonald, 23 Heinrich Terblanche.
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant referees: Ben Crouse, Marc van Zyl
TMO: JC Fortuin, Deon van Blommestein
For Tuks:
Tries: Blommetjies 2, Liebenberg, Jacobs, Draghoender, Helberg, Kruger
Cons: Dunlop 6
For Pukke:
Tries: Oosthuizen, Pretorius, Van Wyk
Cons: Nortier 3
Tuks: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Deon Helberg, 13 Jerome Pretorius, 12 Dabeon Draghoender, 11 Hayden Groepes, 10 Wesley Dunlop, 9 Lohan Jacobs, 8 Okkie Kruger, 7 Jacques Verwey, 6 Wiaan Liebenberg, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Mike Williams, 3 Grant Kemp, 2 Zane Botha (captain), 1 Sabelo Nhlapo.
Bench: 16 Kurt Haupt, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Sthembiso Mlongo, 19 Daniel Adongo, 20 Rudi van Rooyen, 21 Willie du Plessis, 22 Courtnall Skosan, 23 Basil Short.
Pukke: 15 SW Oosthuizen, 14 Andrew van Wyk, 13 Ruan Jacobs, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht (captain), 11 Joe Seerane, 10 Gerhard Nortier, 9 Tiaan Dorfling, 8 Spanner Pretorius, 7 HP Swart, 6 Siya Mdaka, 5 Victor Kruger, 4 Siyanda Ndlovu, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 2 JC Oberholzer, 1 Henry Scharneck.
Bench: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Martin Dreyer, 18 Lodewyk Uys, 19 André Barnard, 20 Andries Botha, 21 Malan van der Merwe, 22 Terswin Raubenheimer, 23 Mashudu Mafela.
Referee: Quinton Immelman
Assistant referees: Tiaan Jonker, Stefan Breytenbach
TMO: Johann Meuwesen, Johan Greeff
