It’s all SOUTH on Monday

The Maties and the Ikeys continued their unbeaten records this year, as the South ruled the North in some intriguing Round Five battles in the 2010 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.

The two Cape teams recorded contrasting victories on Monday; the Maties – the back-to-back Varsity Cup champions – smashing FNB Tuks 64-17 in Stellenbosch and UCT grabbing a hard-fought 30-23 win over UJ in Johannesburg.

Those results, on the first day of March, sets up next week’s Stellenbosch battle – between the Maties and UCT (kick-off 8.30pm and live on SuperSport One) – as the clash between the two top sides on the log; no surprise, really, considering that these two sides have been the best of the best since the inception of the Varsity Cup in 2008.

The Maties, it must be said, were made to look very good by a disappointing Tuks outfit, but the Men in Maroon showed plenty of skill and strength in their nine-tries-to-three victory.

Amazingly, it was also their fifth successive four-try bonus-point win this season and it was achieved without stars like Conrad Hoffmann and Jurgen Visser (on WP duty) and Stokkies Hanekom and Dabeon Draghoender (injured).

Tuks, however, are now in danger of missing out on a third successive semifinal place and currently find themselves languishing in sixth place on the log after five games and with tough fixtures against Shimlas (home) and UCT (away) remaining.

UCT, meanwhile, were made to sweat by a confident UJ side (no doubt on a high after their Round-Four win over Pukke in Potch), but the visitors held their nerve to claim their fourth win of the season – a result which leaves them in second place on the Varsity Cup standings, trailing the Maties by six points.

In the end, a late try by Ikeys winger Marcello Sampson – the top try-scorer in the history of the Varsity Cup – was the difference between the two sides; enabling UCT to remain in second place on the log, just three points ahead of Pukke and six points ahead of Shimlas and UJ. (Shimlas are just ahead of UJ in fourth place on points’ difference.)

In other scores – and action – around the country, bottom-placed sides TUT and NMMU both claimed losing bonus points but they were unable to prevent Shimlas and Pukke, respectively, from bouncing back from defeats last week.

TUT went down 31-37 to home side Shimlas, but the scoreboard flattered them in the end – Shimlas having led 37-19 going into the final ten minutes and two Vikings tries handing them respectability in the end; on the scoreboard at least.

The Madibas, however, can take heart from their showing against last year’s losing finalists, Pukke, who beat them 31-24 after leading 19-18 at the half-time break.

Both TUT and NMMU claimed their first points of the season, but will still be eyeing up their Round Eight battle ahead of a possible promotion/relegation battle later this season.