Sitting at the top of the log and with victory already over defending champions FNB NWU Eagles, FNB UFS Shimlas are confident to reach at least the semi-finals of the 2024 FNB Varsity Cup. The end goal though – to be crowned champions for only the second time in the competition’s history.
After four rounds in the 2024 tournament, the Shimlas are in a strong position following three consecutive bonus point wins against the Eagles, FNB UJ and FNB UWC.
They do however still have three tricky round-robin matches to come. It will start on Monday 18 March with the Bloemfontein derby against FNB CUT Ixias, followed by a home match against FNB Maties and then an away fixture against the ever-dangerous FNB Wits.
While the confidence is high, Shimlas attack coach Melusi Mthethwa, who coached the Ixias last year, says it remains important to respect the competition and opposition.
“I'm a guy that likes to take it one game at a time and I think it's important to respect the competition. I always tell the guys that you've got to respect the competition. You can't think that far [ahead] because rugby is also a funny game.
“We will control what we can, but with the win against UWC we're just building on the confidence and now we will start to focus on the next one.
“CUT is also going to be a massive game, but luckily we will have some injured players coming back, against UWC we also fielded players that had never played Varsity Cup before, and they played well.
“We're looking forward to next week, it's going to be fun!”
The Ixias have been known to upset Shimlas in their derby before. After their 7-44 against FNB UCT Ikeys on Monday (11 March), they will be charged up to face their city neighbours.
Monday’s Bloemfontein derby at the CUT Rugby Stadium kicks off at 19:00.
コメント