It is often said that what goes up must come down, and that is what happened to Tuks on Monday night when they lost 22-30 to the Northwest Eagles (formerly the Pukke) in the Varsity Cup.

It was Tuks’ first defeat in the tournament and it means no team is undefeated anymore. The Eagles are now the new log leaders with 22 points after five games. Tuks is second with 21, followed by Maties and UJ, both with 16 points. Ikeys has 15 points.

As things stand, Tuks are the only team that is guaranteed to play in the semi-finals. Tuks take on Varsity College on Monday. It would be a big upset if Tuks lost. Tuks’ last pool game is against UJ in Johannesburg and UJ is one of the most unpredictable teams in the tournament.

A tough two weeks lie ahead for the Eagles. They play Maties in Stellenbosch on Monday and in the last group match against Ikeys in Potchefstroom. The outcome of Monday’s clash between Shimlas and Ikeys could also impact who qualifies for the semi-finals.

Tuks captain Dillon Smith makes it clear that yesterday’s defeat hurts, but he and his teammates are taking it on the chin.

“Yesterday’s defeat may have been just what we needed as a team to reset. Remember what happened during the 2023 World Cup. The Springboks lost their group match against Ireland, then regrouped and went on to win the title. Hopefully, Tuks can do the same. It’s important that we realise that winning doesn’t just happen. The defeat against the Eagles brought us down to earth. We now realise that there is still hard work ahead if we want to hold on to the Varsity Cup,” was Smith’s philosophical outlook on the defeat.

Smith is of the opinion the one thing they will definitely have to pay attention to is giving it their all from the start.

“We can’t always rely on a second-half comeback to win,” he said.

Tuks definitely deserve credit for the way they fought to the end to beat the Eagles yesterday. The half-time score was 23-5. According to Smith, the team can only blame itself for what happened.

“The Eagles came out guns blazing, while there was a lack of energy from our side. Discipline was an issue for us, and we made too many handling errors. The way we played in the second half was a test of character. We showed that we play for each other. That’s the positive that we can take away from the game. The fact that we were able to score four tries to earn a bonus point is another positive. That one extra point could make a big difference in the end,” Smith concluded.

Tuks has scored 31 tries in five games so far. The Eagles, with 34 tries, have scored the most. Andile Myeni is Tuks’ top try scorer. He has six to his name. Abel Pretorius and Jean Fourie have scored four each, and Dillon Smith has scored three.

Kick-off for Tuks’ game on Monday 23 March against Varsity College at home in Pretoria is 19:00.

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