Ikeys blow Shimlas away
On a typically cold, windy night on the Green Mile, the FNB Ikey Tigers got their 2023 Varsity Cup campaign back on track with a convincing 29-12 win over the FNB Shimlas. For the second time this year, the home side put into question the logic around conventional thinking that sees sides choosing to play against the wind if winning the toss.
With the traditional gale at their backs, the men in blue and white scored early through fleet footed winger Rethabile Louw. Fullback Ntokozo Makhaza made like he has all campaign, adding the extras to make it 7-0 after seven minutes. It wasn’t long before coach Tom Dawson-Squibb’s side scored their second via a bullocking run by tighthead prop Bryan le Roux. Eventual player that rocks, Kyle Lamb, who certainly knows his way round a gym, powered his way over for UCT’s third just before halftime, taking the score to 24-0.
VC log after round 4
Even in that wind, it was always going to be a tricky score to chase down, especially in the face of an Ikey defence that has become the talk of the tournament … Heard on the side of the field from a prominent schoolboy coach: “My word, UCT make the opposition work hard for their tries”.
The visitors from Bloemfontein certainly turned up at the start of the second half, though, putting plenty of pressure on the Ikes. Shimlas made good use of the yellow card picked up by scrumhalf Asad Moos, with 8th man Kwezi Dlamini getting over the whitewash. Frank de Reis added another, but in the face of the quite brutal UCT defence, it was a case of too little too late.
UCT 29 (24) – Tries: Rethabile Louw, Brian le Roux, Kyle Lamb, Lezane Davis. Conversions: Ntokozo Makhaza (3). Penalties: Makhaza (1).
UFS Shimlas 12 (0) – Tries: Kwezi Dlamini, Frank de Reis. Conversions: Ethan Wentzel (1).
Player That Rocks: Kyle Lamb (UCT)
UCT Ikeys: 15 Makhaza, Ntokozo, 14 Louw, Rethabile, 13 Boulle, Joshua, 12 Lamb, Kyle, 11 Davis, Lezane, 10 Hendricks, Lyle, 9 Moos, Asad, 8 MacLeod Smith, Jason, 7 Ndiao, Enos, 6 Dyonase, Siphumezo, 5 van Rhyn, Johan, 4 Crous, Reynhardt, 3 Le Roux, Bryan, 2 Castle, Alex A., 1 Woji, Luthando.
UFS Shimlas: 15 Michael Annies, 14 Javier Farmer, 13 Nkoka Ngobe, 12 William Moffat, 11SiviweZondani, 10 Ethan Wentzel, 9 Hlumelo Klaas, 8 Kwezi Dlamini, 7 Lohan Potgieter, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen (captain), 5 Dylan Sjöblom, 4 Pierre-Raymond Uys, 3 Gerrit Viser, 2 Liyema Mgwigwi, 1 Johan Schutte.
