Four years – that is the last time Tuks got the better of Maties in a Varsity Cup encounter.

It is a statistic the striped team will undoubtedly hope to rectify on Thursday evening at Loftus when the two teams clash for the 21st time in the tournament.

So far, Maties have been victorious on 12 occasions and Tuks on seven. They played once to a draw.

It used to be one of the tightest derbies of the Varsity Cup. From 2008 to 2017, Maties won on eight occasions and Tuks on seven. But that has changed when Maties won the last four games.

Maties have scored 537 points, and Tuks 473. From a statistics perspective, it means Maties wins on average 27-24. Tuks’s biggest victory was in 2015 when they ran amok, winning 53-8. Maties won 64-17 in 2010.

There is, however, one statistic where Tuks has the better of Maties. It is playing finals. Of the four times the teams clashed in the Varsity Cup-final, Tuks won three.

The one player who will undoubtedly have a big impact on Thursday’s clash is Tuks’s tighthead prop, Etienne Janeke. Being 1.94 metres tall and easily tipping the scales at 125kg, he is definitely one of the biggest players in the Varsity Cup Tournament.

Janeke is aptly nicknamed “Lion”. With his long red-blondish locks and beard, there is a certain resemblance to Panther Leo.  The Tuks tighthead prop takes pride in the comparison.

Anyone would know it is foolish to pull a lion’s mane. There is bound to be consequences and there nearly was in Tuks’s first game against Wits. Apparently, the opposition forwards could not resist grabbing Janeke by the hair. It got to a stage where the big man had enough, so he talked to the referee.

“I told the Ref I know the players are fascinated by my hair, and they might think I enjoy it when it is pulled, but I don’t. Then I asked him to please get them to stop. If it was not that I am pretty even-tempered, I might have resorted to retaliating. But experience taught me that you don’t really want to get involved in petty squabbles. It takes the focus away from what should be done” he explained his quarrel with the Johannesburgers.

Janeke used to play loosehead prop. Now he enjoys the responsibility that comes with playing tighthead. He is the first to admit he is still learning the tricks of his new trade. |However, he considers the tighthead as the cornerstone of the scrum. It boils down to being one of the strong men on the field. Every scrum is a mini-war. It is never only about brawn.

“There are so many things you got to take into consideration when you pack down to scrum. If you get caught napping, things tend to go awry,” he remarked.

Janeke admits that his legs are often dead after a scrum. For a second or so afterwards, he battles to breathe properly and get his heart rate down. But it is really only for a second or two. One thing that is impressive about the big man his work rate. He is continuously amid the action-tackling or carrying the ball, getting his team closer to the try line.

“I love playing rugby. That is why I try and be involved in every facet of play,” he commented.

When not playing rugby or studying for his BCom Marketing degree, Janeke loves playing basketball. But he laughs at the suggestion that he should take it up professionally in the USA with his size.

Kick-off for tonight’s (Thursday) game is at 19:00.

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

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