The Wits FNB team has kicked off their 2018 Varsity Cup competition with a two week winning streak beating reigning champions, FNB University of Pretoria-Tuks in their latest outing.
Wits qualified for the FNB Varsity Cup from the Varsity Shield league in 2016 finishing fifth on the overall log in 2017.
FNB Wits head coach Hugo van As, said the 2018 season is about making the FNB Wits team a household name in the Varsity Cup rather than focusing on the top spot.“It’s early days with only two wins in the last two weeks. This is a very tough campaign, it’s eight weeks in a row. You need to stroll before you start walking,” Van As said.
“As a team and university we want to stamp our authority and our brand on the Varsity Cup as a whole,” Van As added. The coach believes that for the FNB Wits team to prosper in this year’s competition consistency is crucial.
“We are really blessed with how the university is supporting this. There is still a lot of hard work to do. We will take it week by week.” Wits captain Constant Beckerling echoed the coach’s sentiments. “The team works so hard, always so under-rated, we really appreciate the support. We want the whole varsity to get behind us because we play for them and we just go out and do what people think we can’t achieve.”
Beckerling said their strategy for the rest of the season is to play smart rugby, “[We are] going to keep our heads down, just keep working hard and stick to our processes.”
The team’s next match is against FNB Shimlas in Bloemfontein on Monday evening at 18:30 at the Xerox Shimla Park stadium.