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Shimlas run riot in Pretoria
The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) crumbled under the pressure the Men from the University of the Free State (Shimlas) put on them and subsequently suffered a 26-52 loss in Monday night's Varsity Cup clash in Pretoria.
Shimlas ran in eight tries, but also conceded four as they went into relax-mode towards the end of the match.
The visitors started with great confidence after last week's come-from-behind victory over Pukke and with their first visit to TUT's 22, No.8 Erik Le Roux barged over for the opening try.
TUT showed signs of the form they enjoyed at the start of the competition, but could not convert the territorial advantage they enjoyed throughout the first half into points.
Flank Vince Gwavu and eighthman Wessel Cronjé did great work at the breakdown and had their backs not made as many unforced errors, it could have been a different story.
Instead, the Vikings had to watch how the visitors were rewarded every time they were near the tryline.
As was the case with the first, the second five-pointer was as a result of poor scramble defence after the home side conceded a turnover well inside Shimlas territory.
Patience in the build-up allowed wing Jamba Ulengo to dive over for the try.
Ulengo scored his second a few phases after his team received the kick-off from the previous try and this gave his side a healthy 19-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Wing Ruan van Loo put his side on the board before the break, although Shimlas had the final say when flyhalf Jaco Colyn raced over for the bonus-point try. That try meant that TUT were effectively out of the contest as they trailed Shimlas 26-5 at half-time.
The highlight of the evening for the local supporters was the try flank Ryno Lopes scored after the second strategic break as this ensures that the students will get a free Black Label at participating Spur restaurants on Tuesday.
However, first-time tackling continued to let the home side down and it was almost a case of a try for each mistake they made in defence.
Shimlas scored another four tries in the final 40 minutes with fullback George Whitehead slotting six of his eight conversion attempts.
Despite the convincing victory, the Men from Bloemfontein were not as sharp as they should have been at line-out time where they lost four of their own throw-ins.
But, with this victory, Shimlas have kept hopes of securing a semifinal alive - with next week's final round of league fixtures set to get everyone's pulses racing in this exciting competition.
The scorers:
For the FNB TUT Vikings:
Tries: Van Loo, Lopes, Van Wyk, Graaff
Cons: Boshoff 3
For the FNB Shimlas:
Tries: Le Roux, Ulengo 2, Colyn, Acker, Van Wyk, Theron, Snyman
Cons: Whitehead 6
The teams:
TUT: 15 Justin van Staden, 14 Ruan van Loo, 13 Simphiwe Mtimkulu, 12 Lutho Nyeka, 11 Hansie Graaff, 10 Ruan Boshoff (captain), 9 Ettienne Greeff, 8 Wessel Cronjé, 7 Ryno Lopes, 6 Vince Gwavu, 5 Mare Ewald, 4 Tinus van Wyk, 3 Dandre van der Westhuyzen, 2 Johan Pieterse, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16 Eugene Cunha, 17 Jan Scheepers, 18 Ryno Coetzee, 19 Gerrie van Niekerk, 20 Manny Raposso, 21 Abednego Mamushi, 22 Theuns Kruger, 23 Anton Krynauw.
Shimlas: 15 George Whitehead, 14 Jamba Ulengo, 13 Cameron Jacobs, 12 Earl Snyman, 11 Divandre Strydom, 10 Jaco Colyn, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Erik le Roux, 7 Willie Britz (captain), 6 Pieter Labuschagnè, 5 Joubert Horn, 4 Wilken Heyns, 3 Ian Potgieter, 2 JC van Wyk, 1 John-Henry Harris.
Replacements: 16 Martin van der Heever, 17 Johan van Niekerk, 18 Frederick Ngoza, 19 Gerrit Theron, 20 Shaun Davids, 21 Kobus Neethling, 22 Charl Weideman, 23 Henry van Niekerk.
Referee: Matt Kemp
By Michael Mentz (Sapa)
