UCT Ikey Tigers thump UJ

The students were back on campus in full force and so were the Ikey Tigers, when they banked a  32:12 victory and their third bonus point in today’s match vs UJ (University of Johannesburg)

A classic varsity afternoon with the wind pumping, much as UCT rugby. It is hard to imagine what it must be like for a visiting side from up-country who don’t know those conditions, but the boys in blue and white do too well, and they played them perfectly outscoring UJ by four tries to two.

UCT flyer Dane Johnson  put his team ahead , when  No 10 Matt Rosslee  put him though a gap  and under the posts after a five meter scrum.  Rosslee added the conversion and  UCT were up 7:0 after  7 minutes on the clock.

UJ who played against the wind, had a penalty awarded just after the re-start, but their kicker pushed his attempt just wide off the posts struggling against the gusts. Matt Rosslee, with the wind in his back had less problems, adding three points from a penalty to make it 10:0 after twenty minutes.

The visitors became stronger and found their bearings against the wind, when they were awarded a penalty, they decided to play rather than kick and got their reward with a try by No10 Arno Coetzee to make the score 10:5.

The Tigers then used the wind to camp in the UJ half, where it was again Matt Rosslee who put his fullback Therlow Pietersen into a gap to score untouched.

UJ again failed to convert a penalty attempt just before the half time hooter, but it was the Ikey Tigers who had the last word, with a crucial third try, before heading against the wind. Dane Johnson scored his second after the UCT forwards made some hard yards. Matt Rosslee added the conversion and UCT went into the break 24-5, and 19 points ahead.

The visitors came out of the changeroom firing and immediately used the wind advantage to pile on pressure and scored a try though no 2 Daniel Visagie – this time the conversion was easy.

Now JJ Gagiano’s team showed off their mastery of the conditions, playing it safe and keeping possession. With the team dominating against the wind it was Tiger Bax, who scored his side’s bonus point try in the 60th minute after a break from Marcello Sampson.

UJ’s tighthead Clint van Niekerk saw a yellow card for not releasing after the referee had warned both sides and reduced his team to 14 men. UJ’s 8th man Sisa Mafu also saw a yellow for a high tackle, but the match was well under wraps for the Tigers at that stage.

Man of the Match Matt Rosslee added the final points through another three pointer to give his team a 20 point lead with ten minutes to go.

A great win at home with the student crowd rampant and the team’s sights set on a semi-final spot.

Points:
Tries:
Dane Johnson x2, Therlow Pietersen, Tiger Bax
Cons/Pens:
Matthew Rosslee

Teams:
UCT: 15 Therlow Pietersen, 14 Dane Johnson, 13 Tiger Bax, 12 Pieter Engelbrecht, 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Matthew Rosslee, 9 Kyle Wickins, 8 JJ Gagiano (captain), 7 Enoch Panya, 6 Nick Fenton-Wells, 5 Michael Passaportis, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Shane Meier, 2 Dayne Jans, 1 Dylan Rogers.

Replacements: 16 Mark Goosen, 17 Ashley Wells, 18 Donovan Armand, Kuselo Moyake, 20 Jean-Paul Robert, 21 Sean van Tonder, 22 Marvin Christians.

UJ: 15 Earl Lewis, 14 Edrich van Tonder, 13 Clinton de Klerk, 12 Walter Venter, 11 Yannick Wombo, 10 Arno Coetzee, 9 Jaco Snyman, 8 Sisa Mafu, 7 Torrie Meyer, 6 Frikkie Maartens, 5 Andries Nel, 4 Rob Andrew, 3 Clint van Niekerk, 2 Neil Visagie (captain), 1 Wayne Swart.

Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Ryno Bosman, 18 Ronnie Goodman, 19 Julian Erasmus, 20 Janis Terblanche, 21 Andre Smit, 22 JJ Pienaar.