GALLERY: UJ rugby proud, despite loss to Aussies
Westdene – UJ U18 rugby team gets the opportunity to play against New South Wales U18s from Australia.
The University of Johannesburg Junior Rugby Club U18 team played against the New South Wales Country U18 side (Waratahs) from Australia on 19 November. The match took place at the UJ West sports grounds in Westdene.
The wet conditions did little to prevent rugby fanatics from coming to support their teams for UJ junior rugby club’s last provincial game in Gauteng for the year. New South Wales took the lead 30 minutes into the game, and applied pressure for the rest of the half. The score was 21–0 at half-time.
In the second half, UJ scored their first try and also kicked a conversion which collectively earned them seven points.
New South Wales put on a strong attack on the 5m line against UJ that kept the crowd in suspense about whether the Australian team would score a try. Their efforts resulted in them defeating UJ 33–17.
UJ Rugby Club chairperson Johan van Zyl said that under the circumstances UJ played as well as they possibly could. “The is the team’s last provincial game in Gauteng. Next year we would like to develop smaller clubs and empower talented young athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds and who lack the necessary resources to perform at their best,” Van Zyl said.
Head coach of UJ, Gerdus Jacobs said that even though they had limited time to prepare due to the players writing exams, they played well. “In terms of this match our forwards must move together and work on having a stronger defence,” Jacobs commented.
He also said that the UJ U18s did very well for the season in the six games they played and he is very proud of his players.
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