Intervarsity ends in a draw

Shared spoils – both teams with the cup.
This year’s Intervarsity clash between archrivals Maties and Ikeys ended in a hard fought 16 all draw. In the high intensity game at Newlands, the Ikeys piled on the pressure early and the teams scored one try a piece in the first half with UCT up 16:8 after 65 minutes – then Maties staged a comeback. 

The Ikeys had set the stage, starting their match build up with inspirational talks by Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu and their mentor Prof Tim Noakes before the captain’s run on Friday. 

Unfortunately the turn-out at Newlands was a bit slim, and it almost seems WP Rugby has a manic fear of (over) passionate UCT supporters. The regulations on either club to wrangle their fans were so stringent, that they could effectively not be met, which resulted in UCTRFC not buying their allocated contingent of tickets and also not marketing the game accordingly. Given that the Ikeys v Maties clashes in both Coetzenberg and on the Green Mile keep attracting 5000+ fans, it seems like wasted income for the Union as well as a wasted opportunity to further rebuild the legacy of this great game.

Bureaucracy  aside, the Blue and White tide of UCT supporters found their way to Newlands and their efforts were top notch as always.

The match started with some UCT fireworks and the first try scoring opportunity came only seconds into the game, after Marcello Sampson caught an up and under and popped to Dane Jans in support. Unfortunately the next pass went astray and Maties were off the hook.

The Ikeys did  well in challenging the Maties with well placed up and unders and forced mistakes which they then turned into attacking opportunities. UCT played all the rugby in the opening 15 minutes, but it was the Stellenbosch side that opened the score, after they had found a bit of rhythm and found themselves in the Ikeys half, where flyhalf Adnaan Osman used a penalty advantage to slot a drop goal to make it 3:0 for the “home” side after about 20 minutes.

At that stage the scrums were equal and the UCT pack did excellent work in the line-outs.

However Maties also scored the first try, after they spead it wide and their backrow showed good hands to send over Wesley Wilckins in the corner, Henoe Stoffberg missed the conversion, but Maties were 8:0 ahead against the run fo play, for UCT had over 60% of possession.

But the Ikeys struck back with a penalty by Matt Rosslee and it was the UCT fly-half who showed a touch of class, when he caught an up and under he had kicked himself and raced under the posts from the Maties 22meter line. The conversion was easy enough and UCT were up 8:10 with 5minutes to go in that half.

UCT made a number of silly unforced errors, which took away some of their continuity and gave the Maties a breather when they should have been put under more pressure.

A mistake off the kick-off allowed the Maties to camp in the UCT 22m for what seemed like a very long 5 minutes. A scrum was re-set a couple of times with UCT under heavy pressure and the Maties working hard  to get more points on the board before half time. But UCT managed a tighthead and freed themselves with a long kick right at the half-time hooter.

The second half UCT produced more of their attacking rugby and their pressure was rewarded with a penalty, which Matt Rosslee struck neatly to take his team further ahead 8:13. The Ikeys were still calling the shots, with JJ Gagiano coming very close to scoring.  UCT attacked well of line-outs, of which there were plenty because the Maties attack was tackled into touch or forced to kick out time and again. After 65 minutes UCT had another shot at goal and were now more than a converted try ahead with 8:16.

The Maties being a team that will always play for a full 80 clawed their way back into the Ikeys half and set a penalty to posts to get the score back in reach with 11:16 with 13 minutes to go. 

UCT were now under pressure and Maties put together phase after phase in the Ikey’s half testing the defense which held firm, until eventually center Sean Stemmet crashed over from close range after several pick and go’s to equalise at 16:16. The conversion hit the uprights and was missed.

Ikeys dominant for most of the encounter now had their backs against the wall and with five minutes to go and it was anyone’s game. UCT’s re-start went a bit too deep, so Maties managed to attack and move play into the Ikey’s half again, where they kept battering away until they were awarded another penalty with three minutes on the clock. It went wide, leaving Stoffberg with an uncharacteristic 1 from 5 kicks on the day.

UCT still in their half booted the ball into touch following the final hooter, after they had won a turn over following the 22m re-start. Game over.

The Ikey Tigers will rue their mistakes that allowed Maties back into the game time and time again, but in the end a draw is probably a fair reflection. Interestingly this time it was the Maties who lifted their hands after the final whistle, knowing that they had scraped past a defeat, apart from their fight-back in the last 15 minutes.

For UCT Matt Rosslee was in good form, Marcello Sampson always dangerous, JJ Gagiano had some good touches and Jody Burch some powerful runs.

There was some extremely physical defense, but the hit of the day would have been Bodo Sieber closing the door on his opposite number, smashing the Maties lock who came charging into contact with a 20meter run-up.

UCT’s man of the match was live-wire scrum half JP Robert who’s service and box kicks were excellent. He also kept the Maties on their toes around the rucks.

Points:
UCT
Try: Matt Rosslee
Kicks: 1 Conversion, 3 Penalties – Rosslee

Maties
Tries: Wilckins, Stemmet
Kicks: drop goal Osman, Pen Stoffberg.

FNB UCT RFC – Ikey Tigers
15.  Therlow Pietersen, 14. Peter Engelbrecht 13. David Edgar 12. Tim Whitehead 11. Marcello Sampson 10. Matthew Rosslee 9.  Jean-Paul Robert 8. Jody Burch 7.         Nicholas Fenton-Wells 6. Jonathan Gagiano 5. Bodo Sieber (captain) , 4. Michael Passaportis, 3. Herbert Mayosi, 2. Dayne Jans, 1.Vakai ‘Fish’ Hove
Reserves:
16. Mark Goosen, 17. Dylan Rogers, 18. Don Armand 19 Dane Galley, 20. Enoch Panya, 21. Pete Haw,  22. Sean Van Tonder

FNB Maties
15. Jonathan Francke, 14. Morne Jooste, 13.  Hayden Groepes, 12. Jean Stemmet,11.  JJ Engelbrecht, 10. Adnaan Osman, 9. Henoe Stoffberg, 8. Bennie Booysen, 7. Jonathan Adendorf, 6. Wesley Wilkins, 5. Jaco Nepgen, 4. Bertho vd Westhuizen (captain), 3. Lourens Adriaanse, 2. Matthew Dobson, 1. Johan Roets
Reserves:
16.  Arno White, 17. Gerrit Jacobs, 18.Hugo Kloppers, 19. Morne Hanekom, 20. Donald Stevens, 21. Pieter Stoffberg, 22. Louw Schabort

The U20A1s continued their unbeaten run with a thrilling 19:16 last second defeat of Maties A1s in Stellenbosch on Friday night – read their matchreport here
UCT Eagles also added a famous victory to their tally, beating Cravens 26:18, while the unlucky 3rds went down by three points 18:21.

All Results Friday 8th / Saturday 9th May