Tuks’ Varsity Cup rugby team may have lost 48-35 to Shimlas in the Varsity Cup Tournament on their home field on Monday night, but their dream of being crowned champion is still alive.

Tuks coach, Dewey Swartbooi, promised that his team will not be short on motivation when they face Ikeys on their home ground in Pretoria next Monday to play in the semifinals.

“We had two goals at the start of the season. The first was to make sure we qualified for the semifinals. The second was to play in the semifinals on our home field. We achieved both, but the battle is far from won. As far as we are concerned, Monday is the first of two finals. This means every player will have to play like never before,” Swartbooi said after the game.

The coach had no excuses for his team’s defeat against Shimlas.

“The players went out with the idea of ​​winning, but Shimlas were desperate to win, and with good reason. For them, it was do or die. If Shimlas had lost, their campaign as the reigning Varsity Cup champions would have ended,” Swartbooi explained.

“To be honest, Shimlas were the better team on the day. They put us under pressure in the lineouts early on. We lost the first four lineouts on our throw-ins. Kudos also to Shimlas, for they did their homework beforehand. Until yesterday, we had a lot of success with our rolling mauls. Shimlas, however, found a way to counter us,” he remarked.

According to Swartbooi he was impressed about the way his team never gave up and kept fighting back to the end.

“The players’ courage makes me excited for Monday. But we lost because we did not use our chances. The players’ discipline also let them down. In the first 15 minutes, we were mainly on the attack. I know of at least five occasions where we could have scored points but didn’t. One try during that time could have turned the game for us. It would have meant that the team did not need to play catch up,” the coach commented.

Swartbooi emphasized that he still wants to check how many penalties they conceded.

“One of the realities of rugby is that no team can expect to win if they keep making mistakes at crucial times. So, starting tomorrow, my message to the players will be that it is back to the basics. They got to stick to what worked for them,” he concluded.

Maties ended up topping the log with 30 points after seven games. Tuks finished second with 27 points, Ikeys got 26 and Shimlas 22. So, this forthcoming Monday at 16:45, Tuks will play Ikeys in the first semifinal. Maties and Shimlas will face-off at 19:00 in Stellenbosch.

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