UJ out-muscle plucky Madibaz #VarsityCup

Mar 3 • General News, Varsity & Club, Varsity Cup • 1763 Views • Comments Off on UJ out-muscle plucky Madibaz #VarsityCup

Photo: Marc Sing Key

FNB UJ out-muscled a plucky FNB NMMU-Madibaz 42-13 in a tough FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International encounter in a windy Port Elizabeth.
A dominant display by the Johannesburg students’ forwards saw them outscore their opponents by six tries to two as they claimed a bonus-point victory away from home.
Madibaz started like a house on fire when Steven Hansel and Andisa Ntsila combined well to launch an attack from inside their 22. They took the ball into UJ’s territory and after a few phases, CJ Velleman broke through the defence and managed to stretch over the try line despite the best efforts of Ronald Brown. Hansel duly converted the try as the home side led 8-0 after three minutes.
UJ looked to hit back straight away as they went on a full-out attack and came within inches in the seventh minute but a stellar Madibaz defence kept them at bay. UJ were not to be denied though as Dylan Peterson crashed over the try line in the ninth minute. Jaco Fourie added the conversion to level the scores at 8-8 after 10 minutes. The Johannesburg students grabbed their second try two minutes later when Robert De Bruyn rounded off a fantastic counter-attack from inside their half to hand UJ a 13-8 lead.
The home side had no answer to UJ’s power as their forwards stamped their dominance on the match. Madibaz would manage to get some possession after the Strategy Break and camped in UJ’s territory but their efforts would go unrewarded though, as handling errors and a stellar UJ defence hindered their progress. The visitors would make their hosts rue their possession dominance when Adriaan Vermeulen crashed over the try line in the 36th minute after a huge scrum from the forwards created the space for the centre. Fourie popped the conversion over to extend the lead to 21-8.
In a carbon-copy of the start of the match, the Madibaz were the first to score when Yamkela Ngam chased down a Hansel grubber before collecting the ball and dotting down in the corner. Hansel failed to add the extra points as the home side reduced the deficit. The visitors were reduced to 14-men a few minutes later when David Antonites was deemed to have tripped an opponent.

Madibaz shifted into full-attack mode but, as they were five-metres from UJ’s try line, De Bruyn grabbed an interception and sprinted 95 metres up-field to hand the visitors the bonus point in the 47th minute. Fourie missed the conversion but UJ extended their lead to 26-13.
The physical encounter continued as the half progressed with neither side given the other an inch. It would be the UJ students to extend their lead in the 68th minute when Wiaan Conradie emerged with the ball after a successful driving maul got them over the line. Fourie added his third conversion of the match to extend the lead to 34-13.
UJ would be awarded a penalty try in the 76th minute after the Madibaz scrum buckled under sever pressure five metres from their try line which left the ref with no other option. James Campbell added the conversion to take the score to 42-13 as the final hooter approached.
There was not enough tie for the home side to stage a dramatic comeback as they succumbed to their third defeat from four matches.
FNB Player that Rocks: Griffith van Wyk
Scorers:
For FNB Madibaz:
Tries: Velleman, Ngam
Cons: Hansel
For FNB UJ:
Tries: Petersen, de Bruyn 2, Vermeulen, Conradie, Penalty try
Cons: Fourie 3, Campbell
Yellow card: David Antonites (UJ, 45 – tripping)
Teams:
FNB NMMU Madibaz: 15 Jarryd Buys (captain), 14 Tythan Adams, 13 Michael Bernardt, 12 Devon Lailvaux, 11 Yamkela Ngam, 10 Steven Hansel, 9 Ivan Ludick, 8 Andisa Ntsila, 7 Jody Reyneke, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 Rob Louw, 4 Paul Tyler, 3 Brendan Olivier, 2 Warrick Venter, 1 Arno Ebersohn.
Replacements: 16 Dane van der Westerhuizen, 17 Steven Robesson, 18 Rudolph Odendaal, 19 Stephen Zaayman, 20 Daniel Acker, 21 Andile Jho, 22 Brian Skosana, 23 Marzuq Maarman.
FNB UJ: 15 Ronald Brown, 14 Bradley Moolman, 13 Robert De Bruyn, 12 Adriaan Vermeulen, 11 Aphiwe Dyanti, 10 Jaco Fourie, 9 Chuma Faas, 8 Dylan Peterson, 7 Kyle Van Dalen, 6 Kobus Porter (captain), 5 David Antonites, 4 Werner Lourens, 3 Nico Du Plessis, 2 Siphatho Qinisile, 1 Gareth Milasinovich.
Replacements: 16 Jannes Snyman, 17 Brandon Landsberg, 18 Ettienne Oosthuizen, 19 Wiaan Conradie, 20 Hilton Mudarika, 21 James Campbell, 22 Dominic Kroezen, 23 Raeez Salie.
Referees: Lourens van der Merwe, Jaco Kotze
Assistant referees: Local
TMO: Christie du Preez