Shimlas claimed their place in the Varsity Cup semi-finals with a 38-14 victory over UJ, while there were also wins for UCT, Maties and NWU on Monday.
The Bloemfontein side came into the game in Johannesburg knowing that all they needed to do to progress to the playoffs was win, and they held their nerve to do just that in wet conditions.
After a tough opening period, Shimlas opened the scoring through a seven-point try from Albertus du Bod. Menzi Nhlabathi then went over for their second on the 20-minute mark.
Shimlas flank George Rossouw grabbed a seven-pointer of his own as the visitors looked to be cruising to victory with a 23-0 half-time lead.
However, UJ came out firing in the second half and narrowed the scores through two quick-fire tries from Dian Schooness and Adrian Bester.
Shimlas then extended their lead through a try from Kurt Eybers and penalty from flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela, before fullback Ruan Henning rounded things off with a converted try.
The result sees Shimlas book a semi-final against Maties in Stellenbosch next Monday, while Tuks will host NWU.
Earlier in the day, UCT gave themselves hope of making the playoffs with a solid 36-10 victory over CUT at the Green Mile in Cape Town.
Wing Lindelwe Zungu, lock Gary Porter, centre James Tedder and impressive No 8 Nyasha Tarusenga all crossed for the home side, who missed out on the semi-finals due to Shimlas’ win.
Meanwhile, NWU beat Wits 74-15 to end any hopes the Johannesburg side had of progressing past the league stage, while Maties flyhalf Jordan Chait scored a hat-trick in their 84-26 thrashing of UWC.
Round 9 results:
UCT (38) – Tries: Lindelwe Zungu, Gary Porter, James Tedder, Nyasha Tarusenga. Conversions: Darian Hock (3). Penalties: Hock (2)
CUT (10) – Try: Cohen Jasper. Penalty: Heinrich Bitzi.
UJ (14) – Tries: Dian Schoonees, Adrian Bester. Conversions: Wynard Botha (2).
Shimlas (38) – Tries: Albertus de Bod (7-pointer), Menzi Nhlabathi, George Rossouw (7-pointer), Kurt Eybers, Ruan Henning. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (2). Penalty: Dobela.
NWU (74) – Tries: Wian Conradie (2), Gideon van der Merwe (2), Chuiner van Rooyen, Pienaar van Niekerk (2), Edmund Rheeder, Johan Retief. Conversions: Schalk Hugo (8). Penalty: Hugo.
Wits (15) – Tries: Daniel Kasende, Justin Brandon. Conversion: Chris Humphries. Penalty: Humphries.
Maties (84) – Tries: Dan Jooste (2), Mike Mavovana (2), Jordan Chait (3), Ben-Jason Dixon, Schalk Erasmus, Adriaan van der Bank, Remu Malan, Ricky Nwagbara. Conversion: Chait (5), Van der Bank (6).
UWC (26) – Tries: Jacques van Zyl, André Manuel (2), Hendrik Carstens. Conversion: Keagan Fortune (2).
Photo: Christiaan Kotze/SASPA
