With the halfway mark of the 2024 FNB Varsity Cup looming, defending champions FNB NWU Eagles are sitting pretty in the top four with two victories and only one defeat. They have two home and two away games left before the play-off rounds.
Former captain Ruan ‘Sampie’ Swiegers has praised the start of the Eagles’ campaign to lift the trophy again.
“The way they play for each other and the coaches, as well as for the university, is something that stands out for me. You can see the belief they have in everything they do. Hard running rugby together with good set pieces is the way they play, backed up by outstanding defence.”
He believes the team can defend their title if they stick to the game plan.
“Sticking to the game plan and staying cool under pressure … and play each game as if it is a final. Trust the coaches and play for each other. At the end of the day, it's all about who wants to win in more and I can see the hunger in them to succeed in defending the title.”
This year has seen the return of FNB UWC to the Varsity Cup after FNB UP-Tuks were relegated to FNB Varsity Shield. FNB WITS have also had a great start.
Swiegers shares his thoughts on the current situation.
“UWC play an exciting attacking game of rugby. It's always difficult to play against them especially defending against them because they are very dangerous on attack.
“Unfortunately for Tuks, they are not playing in the Varsity Cup this year, but I believe that we will see them in next year’s tournament if they continue playing the good rugby that they are currently playing.
“Wits is always a difficult team to play against. They have a good coaching staff and good players. They keep the ball in hand and play good attacking rugby. I think that they are a team in form.”
Swiegers also opened up his remarkable move to the Pumas.
“I got a phone call last year after the semi-final of the Varsity Cup against Maties from my agent saying that the Pumas wanted to sign me. By the end of that day, I received the contract, and I signed it 2 days later. I still believe that the reason for this was because of how well our team was performing at that stage and it took a lot of sacrifices and hard work personally to achieve this.”
by Lesiba Dikhoba
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