Tuks men’s sevens rugby side showed there is truth in the saying about a certain “Fat Lady” needing to sing before anything can be considered a done deal, when they won the USSA Tournament in Margate on Sunday.

The Tuks team won the tournament by beating UJ 7-5 in the final.

Hours after the game the captain, Dewald Naudé, still battled to find the right words to describe their on-field heroics. Every so often, he can’t resist using the word ‘unbelievable’ when telling how they pulled off a victory in the dying seconds.

With less than a minute to play, UJ was leading 5-0. In the rainy and muddy conditions, few would have tipped Tuks to still be able to spring a surprise. Then it happened.

The big Stephan Coetzee got hold of the ball near the try line and there was no way anyone was going to stop him. He crashed over to level the score. It meant it was left to WJ Strydom to put the final nail in the coffin, which did by succeeding with the conversion.

Similarities between this USSA-final and last year’s Varsity-final are uncanny. Tuks and UJ were the main protagonists in both instances. During last year’s Varsity-final UJ was also in the lead with the stopwatch relentlessly ticking down. It was only the never say die attitude that led to Tuks scoring the winning try in the dying minutes.

“It is absolutely crazy and amazing to have been part of the team where every player was prepared to put his body on the line for his team. I know it is cliché, but after this USSA Tournament, I truly know the value of teamwork,” said an elated Naudé.

Tuks’s semi-final encounter against UWC was also an as closely contested affair. With about a minute’s play left on the clock, the score was tied at 7-all. Cornell Korf dotted down to ensure his team got to contest the final.

During their quarterfinal encounter, Tuks outplayed Wits to win 40-15. Another highlight was beating Maties 28-0 in a pool game.

An interesting statistic is that in the build-up to the USSA Tournament, the Tuks sevens team only trained together on five occasions. The training officially started the Saturday before the USSA Tournament.

“All credit should go to our coaches. They left absolutely nothing to chance. It was their passion that motivated us to step up when it mattered,” Naudé explained.

This was Tuks’s first success in the USSA Tournament since 2014.

Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:

Rekord East
Rekord North
Rekord Centurion
Rekord Moot

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram