Tuks stays on the winning path with victory over Ikeys
Tuks' Varsity Cup team had to work hard on Monday night to fend off the stubborn onslaught of Cape Town's Ikeys in their Varsity Cup match in Pretoria.
Nico Luus’ Tuks team achieved their second victory in the Varsity Cup tournament at home on Monday when they only made sure of five points on the log in the last seconds of their match against the Ikeys of the University of Cape Town.
Only in the last seconds of the match could the Tuks men relax, after scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde scored the winning try. The Blue Bull scrumhalf caught the Ikeys forwards off guard with a cheeky try between their gripping hands, after the Tuks forwards drove the ball through the various stages in the red area.
After Stefan Coetzee’s goal kick the score was 38-30 and after that the referee blew the final whistle to the great relief of the Pretoria boys and their supporters.
Both teams lost players to yellow cards as half-time approached. Tuks flank Orateng Koikanyang was suspended for cynical play on his own try line, while the Ikeys fullback Duran Koevort was sent to the bin for an illegal tackle.
The hosts thrived in the 14-on-14 contest. Ikeys did well to keep them relatively honest in this period. The half ended with the scores level at 21-21.
Playing with a strong wind at their backs in the second half, Tuks proceeded to take control. The hosts navigated their way deep into opposition territory and then employed a driving maul of their own. Schoonees crashed over for his second try of the evening.
Just as the game was slipping away from the visitors, Koevort chased down a David Hayes kick and scored under the uprights.
The point-of-origin try, as well as the successful conversion by Koervort, allowed the Ikey Tigers to claw their way back to within a point of their opponents. This kick took Koevort’s personal tally for the evening to 21 points.
As the rain hammered down, both teams struggled to control the ball. Tuks won a crucial maul penalty, however, and ensured that they spent the final stages on the Ikeys’ try line before Van der Linde’s try.
With this victory, Tuks has now moved up to fourth place on the Varsity Cup log.
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