Shimlas march to the top

Mar 3 • General News, Varsity & Club, Varsity Cup • 2332 Views • Comments Off on Shimlas march to the top

FNB UFS-Shimlas went to the top of the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International standings with a gritty 21-16 victory over FNB Maties in Bloemfontein.
The Free State side are the only team that remains unbeaten after four rounds of action, while Maties are still searching for their first win of the season.
UFS-Shimlas made the ideal start to the game as flyhalf Niel Marais touched down and then converted his own try to give them the early advantage.
Maties responded with a try of their own from prop John-Hubert Meyer, and the conversion from flyhalf Ernest Stapelberg saw the teams go into the first strategy break deadlocked at 8-8.
The home side took the lead back just after the break through a try from skipper AJ Coertzen in the corner, and the touchline conversion from Marais put them 16-8 up.
However, it was not long before the scores were level again, as Maties scrumhalf Bjorn Bernardo collected his own chip kick to score, and the conversion from Stapelberg made it 16-16 at the half-time break.
The second half got off to a somewhat scrappy start, with both teams guilty of basic errors which robbed them of momentum and saw them go into the second strategy break with the scores still tied.
The hosts took the lead once again when replacement Daniel Maartens crossed for an uncoverted try just after the break to give them a handy five-point lead heading into the final stages.
UFS-Shimlas suffered a late blow when flank Henco Venter was sent to the sin bin, but they held on to take the win and remain unbeaten.
The scorers:
For FNB UFS Shimlas:
Tries: Marais, Coertzen, Maartens
Cons: Marais 2
For FNB Maties:
Tries: Meyer, Bernardo
Cons: Stapelberg 2
FNB UFS-Shimlas: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Vuyani Maqina, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Maphutha Dolo, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Mthokozisi Mkhabela, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 Niel Claassen, 4 Nicolaas Immelman, 3 Chase Morison, 2 Elandre Huggett, 1 Theuns Neuwoudt.
Replacements: 16 Marco Klopper, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Refuoe Rampete, 19 Daniel Maartens, 20 Renier Botha, 21 Stefan Janse van Rensburg, 22 JP Coetzee, 23 Dolph Botha.
FNB Maties: 15 Craig Barry, 14 Jamie Joseph, 13 Christoff van Tonder, 12 Koos Loubser, 11 JP Lewis, 10 Ernest Stapelberg, 9 Bjorn Bernardo, 8 Derick Linde, 7 Justin Benn, 6 Beyers de Villiers, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys (captain), 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 Abel de Klerk, 2 Neethling Gericke, 1 John Hubert Meyer.
Replacements: 16 Craig Corbett, 17 Migael Grobler, 18 Lourens Fick, 19 Kobus van Dyk, 20 Remu Malan, 21 Brandon Thomson, 22 Kyle Leibrandt, 23 Jacobus van der Merwe.