Tuks proved the saying about a certain ‘Fat Lady that needs to sing’ true last night in Stellenbosch when they beat Maties 29-23 in the Varsity Cup final.

It is possibly one of the best fightbacks ever by a Tuks team. It genuinely took spirit and perseverance to claim the victory. At one stage in the second half, Tukkies trailed 23-10, but they just refused to give up. Bernard van der Linde scored the winning try with two minutes left to play.

Amazingly it is the first time since 2013 that Tuks has beaten Maties in Stellenbosch. The victory means that Tuks has equalled Maties’ five Varsity Cup titles. Tuks is also the first team to finish fourth on the log and win the tournament. It is the fourth time in five finals that Tuks got the better of Maties.

When asked how Tuks could pull off one of the biggest upsets in a Varsity Cup rugby Lincoln Daniels (Tuks captain) said smilingly that he was not allowed to give away team secrets. Then he added that it all boiled down to composure.

“When it mattered, no one panicked, and everyone stepped up. Credit must go to John-Laffnie de Jager, our ‘psychologist’ who has done some amazing stuff,” he explained.

Tuks’ head coach, Nico Luus, believes winning the small battles made the difference.

“Maties started off playing brilliantly in the first 20 minutes. We were just sort of hanging in there. Maties dominated in the scrums and lineouts, but we won the small battles. During halftime, I made a few tactical changes. It paid off. In the latter stages of the game, our forwards started to dominate. All and all, it was a fantastic team effort. I am so proud of the team,” said a delighted Luus after the game.

Tuks’ flanker Stephan Smit was outstanding. The television commentators labelled him to be the “universal soldier”. The guy that you want to fight in your trenches. Smit seemingly never gets tired of being where he is needed time and time again. It led to him making a match-saving tackle at a pivotal time of the game. He was deservedly the ‘Player that Rocks’.

Part of his brilliance might be because he did not get to play for Tuks in the semi-final clash against Shimlas. To him playing rugby is not about sitting on the bench. He wants to amid the action. So, on Monday night, he had something to prove.

Smit is not one to take sole credit for what happened on the field. To him, it was a team effort.

“It has been a privilege to be one of the boys. We showed character when it mattered; we had to part of Tuks’ sports culture is to never give up.” He remarked.

Tuks’ scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde was again outstanding. It is hard to believe he is only 19. He played like true general dictating things from behind his forwards. His tactical savviness led to him scoring two seven-point tries.

His second was perhaps the best of the game. Tuks’ fullback, Stefan Coetzee, got the ball just outside his 22-metre line and started running and sidestepping, gaining metres with step. He timed his pass to Van der Linde to perfection.

Kabelo Mokuena was the one who turned things around when he scored twice within 13 minutes.

* Tuks’ Young Guns were also victorious, beating Pukke 22-14 in the final. It is the sixth time Tuks has been crowned champions.

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