Varsity Cup final

In a match in which they led for roughly 120 seconds, it was Tuks who produced a match-winning try at the death to steal away the trophy from Maties who had ...

Coetzee crucially missed the conversion attempt from the sideline, as Maties clung to a three-point advantage (23-20). With the clash moving towards its finish, Tuks worked a number of phases on the Maties line before flank Stephan Smit barged his way over next to the post. Flyhalf Walter Visser slotted the important conversion to make 29-23 with two minutes left. After a number of unsuccessful attempts on the Tuks tryline, Maties opted to take the three points through a penalty which Fleurs duly converted in the 52nd minute 23-10). Against the run of play Tuks scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde gathered a loose pass inside his own half and that was all he needed, as he sprinted away from the Maties defence to score the visitors’ first points of the clash which was a Point of Origin (POR) try 11-7. Maties struck the first blow of the clash with Mike Mavovana gathering a chip kick in the Tuks 22, and he finished off by scoring in the corner (5-0).

Maties will host UP-Tuks in the final of the 2022 Varsity Cup at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on Monday, 25 April.

The Danie Craven Stadium will be packed to the rafters with partisan fans on Monday night. While Maties will need to prevail in a series of mini-battles on the field to win the war, their campaign will be enhanced significantly by home advantage. Whether Maties decide to engage with UP-Tuks in a kicking battle or not remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see how Maties respond to that type of challenge. Much like the Springboks, UP-Tuks have the game plan to win big playoffs and trophies UP-Tuks have relied on the power of their pack and defensive line to win matches.

Tuks conjured up the most remarkable of comebacks as they claimed a fifth Varsity Cup title by defeating a shell-shocked Maties 29-23 in Stellenbosch on ...

They hit back immediately with winger Kabelo Mokoena's first try and saw the flyer go over again 17 minutes later after several previous incursions were doomed by errors, notably when Van der Linde knocked-on in the build-up to a try by blindsider Stephan Smit. But then, in the 78th minute, indomitable fullback Stefan Coetzee broke through almost half a dozen tackles with his lanky legs before off-loading to his brilliant scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde for the match-clinching score. In front of a boisterous crowd at the Danie Craven Stadium, Nico Luus' charges seemed destined to pay for a lacklustre and ill-disciplined first half as they struggled to regain possession at the death as the hosts kept things relatively tight with the final minutes drifting away.

A brilliant second half comeback from Tuks saw them upset Maties to steal a dramatic 29-23 Varsity Cup final win at the Danie Craven Stadium.

The pivotal moment then came in the 77th minute as Maties, with possession in Tuks half, decided to grubber a ball through, only for Coetzee to pick up the ball between his 22m and 10m and set off on a devastating run. Maties then picked up where they left off in the second half, earning a number of penalties in Tuks 22m, but opted to go for the lineout as they chased a try. Maties then took the lead in the fifth minute as they attacked into Tuks half, inside centre Taigh Schoor then sent a superb cross kick for right wing Mike Mavovana to field on the 22m and sprint in to score in the left hand corner.

Maties 15 Adriaan van der Bank (captain), 14 Mike Mavovana, 13 Waqar Solaan, 12 Taigh Schoor, 11 Anton du Toit, 10 Nevaldo Fleurs, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8.

While Maties will need to prevail in a series of mini-battles on the field to win the war, their campaign will be enhanced significantly by home advantage. Much like the Springboks, UP-Tuks have the game plan to win big playoffs and trophies UP-Tuks have relied on the power of their pack and defensive line to win matches.

The men from the capital scored the winning try towards the end of their tight match against the University of Stellenbosch at the Danie Craven Stadium.

With Maties ahead and the clock ticking towards 80 minutes, Tuks fullback Stefan Coetzee burst through the opposition defence. His offload will be debated ...

#RugbyThatRocksproudly brought to you by @FNBSAand @SteersSA pic.twitter.com/GgcRK44wei Congratulations to the stripe generation! Tuks weren’t going to roll over, though, and fought their way back into contention as the clock ticked towards 80 minutes. — Varsity Cup (@varsitycup)April 25, 2022 — Adrian Slabbert (@adrian_slabbert)April 25, 2022 — SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag)April 25, 2022