Muddy Win for the Tigers

On Saturday, UCT’s Ikey Tigers 1^st XV overcame fierce weather conditions to secure a muddy 17-13 win against Durbanville/Belville (Durbell) on the Green Mile, extending their home-game winning streak in the Western Province Super League.

The win was an important one for the side, given their narrow 17 – 20 loss to Durbell earlier in April. After the game, JJ Gagiano, Ikey’s coach, said, “We hadn’t beaten Durbell since 2011, so this was a massive win for us. At the moment we are unbeaten at home during the league. The guys are really protective and proud of this record and they want to make sure it stays that way.”

Durbell drew first blood early on in the match when a collapsed scrum led to a penalty kick for the visitors, slotted over quickly by the full-back. However, the Ikeys were hot on their heels and newly returned fly-half Ross Jones-Davies nailed a penalty kick a few minutes later to even the score. Durbell were the first over the touch-line 23 minutes in, with a quick pick-up from a penalty against the Tigers, but failed to convert it, leaving the score at 3-8.

Continuous pressure within Durbell’s 22 finally resulted in a try for the Tigers. Right winger Richard Stewart whizzed across the line on the far-right. Jones-Davies was quick to convert, leaving the score at 10 – 8 to the Ikeys, where it would remain at half-time.

Early in the second half, Durbell struck back with their new fly-half coming off the bench and immediately scoring a try, after a lengthy fight for the line and ongoing advantage given to the side. The fly-half was not so lucky with the conversion, leaving the scoreboard at 13 – 10 to the visiting team. 

However, Ikeys winger Luke Bax had an answer for the visitors with a try just minutes later, and once again, Jones Davies slotted over the conversion. Massive defence and continued pressure by the Ikeys for the rest of the match, left the score line reading 17-13 at the close.

Kevin Musikanth, UCT’s Director of Rugby, explained that they are undoubtedly a young side, and should be recommended for standing up to an impressive team such a Durbell, both in terms of physicality and maturity. “The win is very significant. These boys stood their ground which was great”, he said.

Given some questionable referee calls in the match which got the crowd all hot and flustered, Gagiano said “The ref is only human, very few calls are going to make everybody happy! We try instil in our players, that instead of wasting energy on what the refs call rather focus that energy on performing well in the next facet of play.”  

Both Gagiano and Musikanth explained that there is a perception that UCT can only play well in the dry conditions, which were far from the case on Saturday. Musikanth acknowledged that rain usually wouldn’t suit the running style of the Ikeys. Nonetheless, “we managed to stop their mauls, and managed to maul them too”, he said. Both sides struggled to maintain their footing on the muddy field, and battled an onslaught of heavy rain throughout. In response to this, Gagiano said “we showed on Saturday that we have the players to do well in wet conditions as well as the game plan to succeed.”

While both Gagiano and Musikanth have praise for the team’s performance as a whole, in particular, Musikanth cited the performance of Vincent Jobo. He commented, “he’s very young, and the reality of it is he is playing against guys who are much more experience than him, and standing up to them”. Musikanth also commended Neil Rautenbach, Michael Kennedy and Deacon Chowles for their impressive form in the game.

UCT Eagles – the high flying 2nd team continued their rich vein of form by securing a hard fought 12:8 win. UCT 3rds and U20A's went down to their Durbel counterparts. 

While the Maties secured the Western Province Super League trophy on Saturday, the Tigers take to the Green Mile against Tygerberg next weekend.

UCT's final fixtures are Tygerberg / Helderberg / SK Walmers and the students can still finish second on the log which would be a fantastic achievement and great momentum ahead of the Varsity Cup 2014.  

Scorers: 

Tries: Richard Steward, Luke Bax 

Kicks: Jones Davies 1 Pens, 2 Cons
 

Ikey Tigers team vs Durbell

1.Joel Carew 2.Neil Rautenbach  3.Deacon Chowlesl 4. Jade Kriel 5. James Kilroe. 6. Dereck Absun 7. Bradley Bosman. 8. Vincent Jobo. 9.Liam Slatem 10. Rose Jones Davies 11. Luke Bax 12. Dylan Sage 13. Paul Hendry 14. Richard Stewart 15. Tom Bednall 

RESERVES:
16. Michael Kennedy. 17.David Maasch. 18. Tinodenda Zakeyo .19 Jason Klaasen 20. Dylan Frylinck 21  Lihleli Xoli. 22 Paul Cohen

FRIDAY 30 AUGUST 2013

SATURDAY 31 AUGUST 2013