Maties trounced defending champions Pukke 31-9 in Stellenbosch, while there were also wins for UCT, Tuks and Wits in round three of the Varsity Cup on Monday.
In what was billed as the main clash of the round between the competition’s most successful side and the reigning champions, the game itself failed to live up to the hype as Maties eased past Pukke in a one-sided affair at Danie Craven Stadium at the Coetzenburg Sport Complex.
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The hosts made their intentions clear early on, as they opened up a 15-point lead via two tries, a conversion and a penalty in the 17th minute. Pukke survived several more onslaughts on their tryline, before speedster Jimmy Mpailane pulled off a perfect intercept deep inside his own half to score a seven-point try for the visitors at the other end.
That score sparked hopes of a Pukke comeback, but it wasn’t to be as Ernst Stapelberg extended Maties’ advantage with a penalty goal either side of half-time for a 21-9 lead. And despite conceding a yellow card, Maties emphatically wrapped up the result with another converted try and a penalty against Pukke’s leaking defence.
In other results, UCT stunned Shimlas 22-7 in Bloemfontein. The students from Cape Town outscored their hosts by three tries to one to record their second win of the tournament.
Manie Libbok scored a brace as Tuks hammered NMMU 33-16 to remain the only unbeaten team in the competition, and earlier in the day, Wits toppled CUT 43-3, to record their first-ever victory in the Varsity Cup .
Maties (31) – Tries: Mitchell Carstens, Kobus van Dyk, Edwill van der Merwe. Conversions: Ernst Stapelberg, Chris Smith. Penalties: Stapelberg (4).
Pukke (9) – Try: Jimmy Mpailane. Conversion: Schalk Hugo.
UCT (22) – Tries: Henrik Lategaan, Cuan Hablutzel, Rayno Mapoe. Penalty: Lohan Lubbe.
Shimlas (7) – Try: Marco Masson. Conversion: Mason.
Tuks (33) – Tries: Impi Visser, Theo Maree, Tinus de Beer, Manie Libbok (2). Conversions: De Beer (3), Joshua Stander.
NMMU (16) – Tries: Gerrit Huisamen. Conversion: Simon Bolze. Penalties: Bolze (3).
Wits (43) – Tries: Wandisile Simelane, Graham Logan, Justin Brandon, Constant Beckerling, Ameer Williams. Conversions: Warren Gilbert (4). Penalties: Gilbert (2).
CUT (3) – Penalty: Martin Jacobs.
Photo: Varsity Rugby
