Shimlas coach Hendro Scholtz says his side will not get carried away with their log position after their 32-27 win against UCT in Cape Town. DYLAN JACK reports.

The Free State side currently sit third on the Varsity Cup table, after successive wins against Wits and UCT.

However, Scholtz says he tries not to focus too much on the log as it piles pressure on his team.

‘It has been a good season so far,’ he told SARugbymag.co.za. ‘We have a very young squad, so we didn’t set out to make the semis or final but rather take every week on its own merit.

‘When we are defending and holding out for the last 10 or 20 minutes, I will always back our young side because we have a squad that plays with passion and for each other.’

Shimlas started their campaign with a 19-17 win against title-holders Tuks, but Scholtz says he is more interested in performances than the score.

‘We don’t always measure ourselves on the scoreboard. If we play and do what we want to do and execute properly, even if the score doesn’t go our way, we will still be happy.

‘It is nice to win, but we do not only measure ourselves on the scoreboard. In having a young squad it is more important that we learn from each game, win or lose.’

Shimlas, whose only defeat came against log-leaders Maties, next face a tough run of games against UJ and Pukke, in between a bye in round six of the competition.

‘There are two sides to a bye. It can either help the team recover or you can lose a bit of momentum. We have had mixed results after a bye in the past, so hopefully we handle it better this season.

‘Every game is important. We try not to look too far ahead in terms of our fixtures. We would rather focus on the game coming up than look a few weeks ahead.’

Photo: Kevin Sawyer/Varsity Cup