Two Free State university rugby teams competing in the FNB Varsity Cup tournament are fighting to claim their rightful place in the competition. They have played four matches, in which they managed to secure important wins to remain intact, making up for a poor start in the tournament.
While the FNB Ixias of the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, have continued their steady rise, the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Shimlas suffered inconsistencies that saw the team lose its second important fixture against the FNB University of Cape Town (UCT). The UFS side lost by 12 – 29 in a fixture played on Monday (13/03), while the CUT lads continued their onslaught, demolishing the University of Johannesburg (UJ) by 54 – 12.
This was the team’s third win after sensational victories against the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Tuks (43 – 39) and Stellenbosch’s Maties (23 – 19). CUT made history, becoming the fifth Varsity Cup team to beat the Maties team at its home turf of the Danie Craven Stadium, joining the likes of Tuks, UCT’s Ikeys, UJ, and the North-West University (NWU).
The CUT warriors had emerged victorious in their previous two matches played on 1 and 6 March.
In Monday’s fixture, they showed great determination as they fought back strongly to collect maximum points. The impressive performance propelled them to second position on the log with 15 points, two points off table toppers NWU, who lead with 17 points.
The Shimla boys’ two wins on the scoreline of 26 – 25 were against Tuks and the Wits University. The games were played on 20 February and 6 March. The UFS side suffered a 16 – 63 defeat to current log leaders NWU, while CUT’s only loss was by 49 – 59 at the hands of Wits. CUT has a golden opportunity to dethrone the log leaders in a match scheduled to be played on Monday (20/03). NWU will play host to the crucial fixture.
Both NWU and CUT are poised to reach the final given their current form.
The Shimla men are compelled to amend in their next match against the lackluster UJ side at home in Bloemfontein next Monday. The UFS team has ten points, and is placed sixth on the table.
