FNB Madibaz earn their first victory of the season

Mar 22 • General News, Varsity & Club, Varsity Cup • 1594 Views • Comments Off on FNB Madibaz earn their first victory of the season

MATCH REPORT: FNB Madibaz vs. FNB UCT
FNB Madibaz earn their first victory of the season, defeating FNB UCT 46-33

FNB Madibaz trailed for most parts of the match, but finished strongly with two tries in the final few minutes to defeat FNB UCT 46-33 at the FNB Stadium on Monday afternoon.

Two teams both winless in 2016, were both looking to notch up their first victory of the season as FNB UCT and FNB Madibaz did battle at a sunny FNB Stadium in Soweto on Monday afternoon. The teams would also be playing for the Morne Taljaard trophy in honour of the late FNB UCT player.

FNB UCT scored early on through Lihleli Xoli, who was their standout player of the match, as he broke the line. FNB Madibaz enjoyed an extended period of pressure early on, really dominating the scrums, but couldn’t convert the pressure into points. But eventually they strung together a fine passage of play, which resulted in a nine-point try by Bradley Janse van Rensburg.

FNB UCT hit straight back, as Lihleli Xoli gathered the restart and crossed over for another nine-point try. It was 18-9 after 20 minutes.
Just seven minutes later, Tyler Paul crossed over for FNB Madibaz, and they were two points back at 16-18.

As the match continued to sway, FNB UCT’s Gary Porter shoved his way over after extended period of possession and FNB UCT were up 23-16 at half time.

The match was evenly balanced until the 54th minute, when a brilliant chip through was gathered by FNB UCT winger Bradley Janse van Rensburg, who scored a seven-point try.

Just before the strategy break FNB Madibaz made the most of some poor FNB UCT defending to cross over and bring scores back to FNB UCT 30-23 FNB Madibaz.

Just after the strategy break, FNB Madibaz’s Junior Pokomela broke four tackles to crash over for a seven-point try and put his side in front for the first time in the match 32-30 with 19 minutes to play.

FNB UCT were back in the lead with 13 minutes to play when Thomas Bednall converted a penalty brilliantly to put his side ahead 33-32.

But it was FNB Madibaz with a late surge, as two tires in the last 10 minutes took them to victory.

FNB Madibaz earned their first victory of the season, defeating FNB UCT 46-33.

Player That Rocks: Brandon Brown (FNB Madibaz)

Scorers:
FNB UCT:
Nine-point tries: Lihleli Xoli
Seven-point tries: Bradley Janse van Rensburg
Five-point tries: Lihleli Xoli, Gary Porter
Cons: Thomas Bednall (2)
Pens: Thomas Bednall

FNB Madibaz:
Nine-point tries: Ivon-John du Preez
Seven-point tries: Junior Pokomela, Ivon-John du Preez, Stephanus Nieuwoudt
Five-point tries: Henry Brown, Tyler Paul
Cons: Simon Bolze, Thomas Kean (3)

The teams:
FNB UCT: 15 Joel Smith, 14 Bradley Janse van Rensburg, 13 Justin Heunis, 12 Lihleli Xoli, 11 Nathan Nel, 10 Thomas Bednall, 9 Steven Wallace, 8 Guy Alexander, 7 Mark Prior, 6 Luke Stringer, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Jade Kriel, 3 David Maasch, 2 Brenton Greaves, 1 Joel Carew
Replacements: 16 Keagan Timm, 17 Msizi Zondi, 18 Olwethu Hans, 19 Sean Paterson, 20 Dylan Tidbury, 21 Rob Anderson, 22 Suwi Chibale, 23 Samuel Theron

FNB Madibaz: 15 Lindelwe Zungu, 14 Ivon-John du Preez, 13 Keanu Vers, 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 Khaya Malotana, 10 Simon Bolze, 9 Sibusiso Ngcokovane, 8 Junior Pokomela, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Henry Brown, 5 Gerrit Huisamen, 4 Kevin Kaba, 3 Nemo Roelofse, 2 Jean-Pierre Jamieson, 1 Nicolaas Oosthuizen
Replacements: 16 Jedwyn Harty, 17 Marzuk Maarman, 18 Jayson Reinecke, 19 Stephanus Nieuwoudt, 20 Luvo Classen, 21 Thomas Kean, 22 Andile Jho, 23 Xandre Vos