Tuks beat Pukke convincingly to secure home semi-final in Varsity Cup
Nollis Marais's Tuks team made sure on Monday that they will be playing on their home ground in a Varsity Cup semi-final on April 8.
Tuks achieved the second of their Varsity Cup goals in Potchefstroom on Monday night when they beat Pukke from the University of North West 28-0.
Before the start of the tournament head coach Nollis Marais made it clear that he was not even thinking about contesting the final as he does not believe in quick fixes.
“The first goal would be to qualify to play in the semi-finals,” he explained.
Tuks achieved that last week when they beat the Shimlas. So, the next challenge was to ensure that they play a home semi-final. That was why beating Pukke was so important.
Before Monday night’s encounter, both teams had only lost once.
From a clinical perspective, Tuks was brilliant against Pukke. They dominated from the very first minute and never relented. The continuous pressure led to the home team making mistake after mistake. The brilliant defence of Tuks did not make things any easier for Pukke.
The Tuks forwards were outstanding again, especially in the way they dominated the line-outs. Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) is undoubtedly one of the best players in the tournament. He is certainly the best hooker. One of the most significant assets of his play is his work rate. From the very first minute, Grobbelaar was in the thick of things. When not putting in some big tackles he was testing the opposition’s defensive skills. To top it all, he was still doing what a hooker is supposed to do.
It was no surprise that he scored his team’s first try. He did so against Shimlas the previous week as well. He is seemingly making a habit of collecting Varsity Cup awards. Last night he was the “Player that rocks”.
With the forwards dominating, Tinus de Beer (fly half) had a field day frustrating Northwest with his brilliant tactical kicking. One of the most outstanding hallmarks to his play is his ability to fall back, acting as a second fullback, to retrieve the ball and return it with interest.
After a faltering start, De Beer recovered, notching up 13 points with his boot to move his tally up to 210 which means he only needs ten more points to overtake Matthew Rosslee (Ikeys) – who has scored 219 points – to become the all-time top scorer in this tournament.
The question is not whether De Beer will become the most prolific points scorer in the history of the Varsity Cup competition but when he is going to do so. It could happen this coming Monday when Tuks face-off against Ikeys at home.
Tuks captain Marius Verwey praised his teammates afterwards for being able to stick to their plan for the entire game.
“I think our execution was brilliant, but we can still improve. We need to if we want to go all the way,” Verwey said.
Theoretically, the coming Monday’s game against Ikeys should be an easy victory for Tuks. Having everything to play for however, the visitors may prove to be tough opposition. Ikeys are still in the hunt to qualify for the semi-finals and can’t afford to lose.
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