Wits rugby back to winning ways

by | Mar 6, 2018

Wits Rugby team back on track in Varsity Cup after victory against FNB CUT.

FNB Wits team line up before their match against Maties last week.                    Photo: Provided

 The Wits rugby team returned to winning ways after defeating the Central University of Technology on Monday night with an emphatic 18-52 performance at CUT Rugby Stadium in Bloemfontein. The 6-try victory is Wits’ biggest of the season and sees them hold onto 2nd position on the log.

The match offered Wits the opportunity to improve their Varsity Cup form following their draw against FNB Maties last week. Although Wits had appeared to lose the match after a late try saw the result end 28-30 to Maties. Wits were rescued by the new try rules which saw the try counted as 7 points instead of 5 and set the game at 30-30.

Last week’s close scare seemed to motivate the Wits team as they came out with two early tries from David Cary (6”) and Lwazi Monakali (9”) after an early penalty conversion from CUT’s Denver Klue. Ruanne Wasserman kept CUT in touching distance of the Johannesburg side with a try just after the quarter mark of the match.

The early parts of the game were characterized by neat and focused play from Wits as they piled the pressure on the Bloemfontein side. Their intensity was rewarded with another try from Ameer Williams in the 30th minute. The subsequent kick was converted by Christian Humphries for the 3rd time in the match.

FNB CUT were not lying down and came back with a quick response in a minute of the 2nd half with another penalty conversion. From then on, however, the side from Johannesburg were unstoppable. Two tries  from Kwanele Ngema (71”; 74”) and one from Ayabulela Mdudi (43”) saw Wits race into a commanding lead. Despite a try from Stefan Kruger in the 53rd minute the Bloemfontein side never really found their feet in the game.

Wits take on UJ in what is sure to be a mouth-watering Johannesburg derby.

FNB Player that Rocks: Lwazi Monokali (FNB Wits)

Scores
FNB Wits: 52
Tries: Kwanele Ngema (2), David Cary, Lwazi Monakali, Ameer Williams, Ayabulela Mdudi.
Conversion Tries: Christian Humphries (6)

FNB CUT: 18
Tries: Ruan Wasserman, Stefan Kruger
Penalties: Denver Klue (2)

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