TUT starts Varsity Shield tournament with two victories
It looks like TUT's Vikings will do much better this year in the Varsity Shield, after kicking off the competition with two good wins.
After a few below-average seasons, it looks like the TUT rugby team’s performance curve is starting to trend upwards again.
The TUT Vikings kicked off this year’s Varsity Shield tournament very well with two wins against teams that both counted among the favourites beforehand.
In their first game against the University of Fort Hare, TUT’s reliable kicker, Lusanda Xakwana, underlined his value in the team with a brilliant performance. The Pretoria team eventually won the game with the final score at 31-24.
Although the men from Transkei scored three tries against TUT’s single try, it was Xakwana’s kicking boot that ultimately made the difference. He kicked eight penalty goals and also slotted a conversion to finish with a 26-point haul that earned him the Player That Rocks award.
Xakwana’s performance was also boosted by the fact that his forwards dominated their opponents, especially in the scrums. In doing so, they put the Fort Hare boys under severe pressure.
* TUT’s second match of the tournament went much easier when they overcame the University of KwaZulu Natal’s Impi to win 22-3.
In the process, TUT crossed the goal line twice, while their opponents from Pietermaritzburg could only succeed with a penalty goal.
History backed the Impi but it was the TUT Vikings who rewrote it as they secured only their third win from 12 meetings against the KwaZulu Natal team.
It was again the domination of the set-pieces which was decisive for the TUT boys.
Both teams expressed their frustration as discipline occasionally slipped. TUT prop Ruhan Oosthuizen was yellow carded to cool off for 10 minutes after a dangerous tackle just before the break.
His opposite number from the Impi, Minenhle Ngubane, was shown a straight red card for the same offence mere minutes later. According to Varsity Shield competition rules, Ngubane was replaced by another Impi player after 15 minutes.
TUT flyhalf Lusanda Xakwana was brilliant again as he kicked an early penalty before scoring a solo try in the 30th minute that saw him dummy, sidestep and collect his grubber.
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