The University of Pretoria’s Tuks rugby team was crowned Varsity Cup champions for the fourth time on Monday night when they beat the University of Cape Town’s Ikeys 34-27.

Tuks survived a second-half fightback from Ikeys to claim victory in the final, which was played at the Tuks Rugby Stadium.

It is Tuks’ fourth title, having previously won the competition in 2012, 2013 and 2017.

The Ikeys came into the decider on a nine-match winning streak, excluding their cancelled Round 6 fixture against Tuks, who suffered two defeats during the league stage of the tournament. But it was the hosts who won when it mattered most.

There was a lot of praise beforehand for the so-called ‘holistic’ way in which the Ikeys management team approaches the game, as well as the wonderful psychological approach of their coach, Tom Dawson-Squibb, who was called a genius.

In the end, a rugby match is still won between four lines with all the realities of a contact sport. Tuks coach, Nico Luus, and his fellow management members’ more practical – and very simple – game plan was just too much for the Capetonians to overcome.

Tuks’ well-trained and well-executed kicking tactics, as well as their brilliant defence and their ability to exploit their opponents’ mistakes, finally made the difference.

The home team did most of their attacking work in the first half and scored all four of their tries before half time, to then already lead 31-10.

After that, Tuks’ solid defence frustrated the Ikeys and although the Capetonians were able to reach the goal line three times in the second half, they made just too many mistakes to look like champions.

Tuks’ pack of forwards taught the Capetonians a lesson or two, especially in the lineouts and at the breakdowns, while the excellent kicking of their halfbacks, Johan Mulder and David Coetzer, as well as fullback Zander du Plessis’ ensured that the Ikeys were regularly driven back whenever they could get dangerously close to the goal line.

Even when the referee – a little overzealously, by the way – sent off Tuks’ hard-working eighth man, Jaco Bezuidenhout, with a yellow card with ten minutes left in the game, the Ikeys could not capitalize.

In the end, good, constructive rugby overcame all the fancy frills of their opponents and Tuks was able to win their fourth Varsity Cup title.

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