Tuks proved on Monday night in Joburg that you can’t keep a good team down by beating the University of Johannesburg (UJ) 36-19 in a Varsity Cup encounter. 

It was the victory they needed, as this coming Monday in Bloemfontein, Tuks will contest the Varsity Cup semi-final for the 11th time in 15 years. They will be playing Shimlas. 

Tuks and Shimlas got quite a rivalry. So, it is guaranteed that the semi-final will be a humdinger. Since 2008 the two teams have clashed 16 times. Tuks was victorious on nine occasions and Shimlas on six. The 2015 game ended in a 19-all draw. 

The only time the two teams contested a semi-final was in 2017. Tuks got the better of Shimlas, winning 28-21.

So far, Tuks has won six of its 11 semi-final encounters, while Shimlas has been victorious once in four games. It was in 2015 when they went on to win the Varsity Cup. 

To Tuks’ coach, Nico Luus, statistics make at most for interesting reading. It is why he is not fazed that Tuks lost 26-15 to Shimlas in an earlier encounter. 

“There is no getting past the fact that Shimlas is a good team. The forwards proved they could dominate in the scrums and lineouts. One has to compliment Swys de Bruin for how he got the backline to run with the ball. They are now playing as they did in the past. Shimlas are also very solid on the defence. But they can be beaten. They are the team that is under pressure, as they have beaten us in the earlier encounter.

“What excited me last night against UJ was our team’s clinical execution of the game plan. Our forwards were solid in the scrums. Our play in the lineouts is getting better with each game. That is due to Reghard Botha’s hard work. He is the one who is getting the players to understand the finer intricacies.”

Luus is known for not wanting to single out specific players for good play. But last night, he was impressed with the way Francois Klopper (tighthead), Mihahli Stamper (lock), Divan Venter and Stephan Smit (both flankers) played. 

“We did not really bring our backline into play against UJ. They only needed to be clinical in their execution. The halfback combination, Bernard van der Linde and Walter Visser, dictated. Captain Lincoln Daniels and his centre partner, Zander Reynders, were deadly on defence, while Stefan Coetzee (fullback) seemingly couldn’t do anything wrong,” Luus remarked.

Ikeys and Maties will contest Monday’s other semi-final. 

Shimlas ended up being the log leaders with 37 points after nine games. Ikeys finished second with 36 points, followed by Maties with 34 and Tuks in fourth place with 30 points. 

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