Spirit of the Ikeys
“The Spirit of Ikey Tigers”, a short film capturing the essence of Varsity rugby at the University of Cape Town.
Tigers make relegation match count
The FNB Ikey Tigers comfortably avoided relegation, beating FNB UWC 40-5 on Monday afternoon to retain their spot in the 2017 season of the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.
“The biggest difference between this game and the others is that the boys were more accurate, they got the points when they were in the opponent’s 22,” said Guy Alexander, who had to watch the match from the side lines due to a concussion.
“There was a lot more communication as well. Everyone was shouting down the line when we were defending, you could even hear it all the way from the touchline,” added the captain. The FNB Ikey Tigers scored 23 points in 12 minutes, showing their determination to ensure that they remained in the FNB Varsity Cup.
The win came as a huge relief to the players and supporters, with the former having the platform to stage a comeback next season and the latter breathing easy as their team ended a run of seven winless games.
“It’s a big relief. Those are the best words I could use to describe it. We were playing for survival, but we were the favourites to win so we had everything to lose. I’m glad the younger guys will have the opportunity to play Varsity Cup rugby next season as well,” said Alexander.
But there’s no time to slack for the FNB Ikey Tigers, with their domestic league soon approaching and games against the likes of FNB Maties and False Bay on the horizon. “We’re excited for the league to start. We’ve got some old heads coming back into the team, so we’ll have some added experience in the squad,” said Alexander.
“I’d like to say a massive thank you to the Ikeys family. We’ve endured a tough season but the UCT family stayed loyal and the team has been thankful for the constant support we’ve received. I hope that 2017 brings them the victories they deserve to see,” concluded Alexander.
Also read: Ikey supporters back their team & our Ikey spirit articles.
By Wessley Thring.
Video: Relegation/Promotion Playoff: UCT Ikeys vs UWC
Highlights from the Relegation/Promotion Playoff match between the Ikey Tigers and University of Western Cape at the Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch on Monday 11 April 2016.
VIDEO: Crucial errors cost Ikeys the win and Taljaard Trophy
The FNB Ikey Tigers fell victim to two late tries as they lost their fifth match of the season to the FNB Madibaz. They are now sitting at seventh place on the Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International log with only two rounds of matches left. Despite the negative result, this was the FNB Ikey Tiger’s biggest accumulation of points in a single match as they went down 46-33 on Monday afternoon.
“We obviously wanted the result, but I have seen an improvement from the players this week. The boys are always learning,” said Hanyani Shimange, head coach of FNB UCT.
When asked about where his team went wrong, he noted that his team had been guilty of committing errors off the ball. “We made a few critical errors off of the ball, and the tries in the last quarter of the game really took the sting out of it for us. They had a defensive scrum, and they broke free and ran all the way,” said Shimange, whose team face FNB UJ in the next round of fixtures.
The FNB Ikey Tigers went into half time in the lead, and were even leading when the teams went into the second strategy break, but they were unable to hang on to their lead. “We didn’t want to just sit back and defend. At the same time, we wanted to play a smart game, because you can’t just go all out in attack when you’re in such a position,” said Shimange.
“We had a few smart kicks, but we didn’t react quickly enough. Like I said, it was just one or two crucial errors that got us in the end,” Shimange concluded.
The FNB Ikey Tigers are set to do battle with FNB UJ on Thursday, the 24th of March at 15:00 at the Cape Town Stadium. Tickets are available for R20. They end their 2016 Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International campaign on Monday, the 28th of March with a match against FNB Tuks.
Scorers:
FNB IKEY TIGERS:
Nine-point tries: Lihleli Xoli
Seven-point tries: Bradley Janse van Rensburg
Five-point tries: Lihleli Xoli, Gary Porter
Cons: Thomas Bednall (2)
Pens: Thomas Bednall
FNB Madibaz:
Nine-point tries: Ivon-John du Preez
Seven-point tries: Junior Pokomela, Ivon-John du Preez, Stephanus Nieuwoudt
Five-point tries: Henry Brown, Tyler Paul
Cons: Simon Bolze, Thomas Kean (3)
FNB IKEY TIGERS:
15 Joel Smith, 14 Bradley Janse van Rensburg, 13 Justin Heunis, 12 Lihleli Xoli, 11 Nathan Nel, 10 Thomas Bednall, 9 Steven Wallace, 8 Guy Alexander, 7 Mark Prior, 6 Luke Stringer, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Jade Kriel, 3 David Maasch, 2 Brenton Greaves, 1 Joel Carew
16 Keagan Timm, 17 Msizi Zondi, 18 Olwethu Hans, 19 Sean Paterson, 20 Dylan Tidbury, 21 Rob Anderson, 22 Suwi Chibale, 23 Samuel Theron
FNB Madibaz:
15 Lindelwe Zungu, 14 Ivon-John du Preez, 13 Keanu Vers, 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 Khaya Malotana, 10 Simon Bolze, 9 Sibusiso Ngcokovane, 8 Junior Pokomela, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Henry Brown, 5 Gerrit Huisamen, 4 Kevin Kaba, 3 Nemo Roelofse, 2 Jean-Pierre Jamieson, 1 Nicolaas Oosthuizen
16 Jedwyn Harty, 17 Marzuk Maarman, 18 Jayson Reinecke, 19 Stephanus Nieuwoudt, 20 Luvo Classen, 21 Thomas Kean, 22 Andile Jho, 23 Xandre Vos
By Wessley Thring
