Witsies proved that past behaviour does not predict future performance when they broke their losing streak at Wemmer Pan against Union last Saturday.
Wits won 29-19 on their opponents’ home ground. They had not won a game at Wemmer Pan in three years.
Inside centre Greg Blom was the first to put points on the board with a try under the posts, which flyhalf Kyle Peyper easily converted, earning Wits 7 points.
The game looked bleak for Union as Jaco de Wet, flyhalf, missed a penalty from inside the 22.
Thirty minutes into the match, Union was trying to intimidate Wits with their pack, while Wits was trying to play wide. Witsies held against pressure from Union for 10 minutes in the Wits 22. Then Union missed another penalty and a mistake by scrumhalf David Turnball gave Union a 5m scrum.
Shortly before halftime, outside centre Kenneth du Plessis scored a try for Wits and Peyper converted, extending Wits’ lead to 14 points.
The second half was just as impressive. Hooker Pier Cooper crossed the line and Peyper converted, widening the gap to 21- 0.
Eventually Union cross the line and scored. Wits scored a bonus point try, but Peyper missed the conversion, leaving the score at 26-7 for Wits.
After a very strong scrum, Union scored their second try and converted in the left corner. A few minutes before the match ended, Union scored an unconverted try from the kick-off and raised their score to 19. Peyper won the game for Wits with a drop goal, which put Wits at 29 to 19.
Andy Royle, Wits rugby coach, said: “We hadn’t won there for about three years. I came originally from Union so it was a very personal one for me. I was very happy about it.
“The spirits of the team are very high. We are over-achieving at the moment, but we are not getting ahead of ourselves.”
