Coronovirus: Varsity Cup suspends all games
There is no indication when the games will resume.
Maties destroys NWU to win Varsity Cup
The Stellenbosch side crushed the boys from North West University in an epic final in the Western Cape
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Curtain closes on Wits’ historic Varsity Cup season
FNB Wits sink to semi-final loss against FNB Maties
Post-game score change hands Wits a draw in Varsity Cup
FNB Wits scored a last-minute seven-point try to secure a 30-30 draw with Maties.
HOCKEY: Wits Men suffer 5-1 loss to Maties in first match of varsity tournament
FIRST ROUND: The dying seconds of the last chukka saw Maties Men’s hockey side net in 2 goals which added to the 5-1 victory over the Wits Men’s hockey side. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
The Maties Men’s hockey side were true to form as they secured a 5-1 victory over Wits Men in the opening match of the Varsity Hockey tournament on Saturday.
The Wits side, playing on their home ground, had anticipated a tough match against the team from Stellenbosch, seen as their toughest competitors.
Dribble away
Two minutes into the first chukka, Maties earned themselves a short corner which was quickly deflected by Wits defence line.
Maties keeping Wits inside their half of the court regained the ball as they attempted another denied goal which resulted in another short corner.
The second short corner looked promising as Maties’ Shannon Boucher gained a rebound from Keenan Horne.
After a failed short corner by Wits, Barry Morisse managed to shoot a clean shot after a brave dribble inside the Maties’ D (the shooting arc), with only just two minutes left of the first chukka.
Maties then equalised with a well executed goal. With just a minute left, Wits’ Brian Rowe attempted a brave shot which went over the goal post, leaving the first chukka score at 1-1.
Wasting no time in the fast paced match, Maties regained the ball quickly after Wits threw a wide overhead in the second half.
What seemed like a failed short corner as Maties’ Shannon Boucher’s drag got deflected, Rob Edwards gave Maties a 2-1 lead as he slapped the ball into the goal post from the top D nine minutes into the 2nd chukka.
Wits fell short as a well executed dribble from Stuart Philip to Michael Daniel who slapped a strong pass towards the top D was received by no one, making Wits fall behind.
In the last chukka, Wits came back with much needed determination to score as Brandon Downes beautifully swept the ball to Craig Daniel who executed a meticulous dribble to James Daniel, witnessing a deflected goal attempt coming from James Daniel which made Wits supporters cringe.
Maties’ Jordan Turnbull scored the 3rd goal and was rewarded as the man of the match. The last dying seconds of the last chukka saw Maties score 2 goals, making the final score 5-1 over Wits.
Applauding his team’s hardwork, Wits Men’s coach, Mark Sanders said: “We played very well. I think that Maties were a little bit surprised by us going up one null and they had to fight a little bit harder and not a walk in the park as they had expected. We can take a lot of positives from this.”
“Definitely we can improve on the marking, a little bit tighter. I think we gave away some easy goals from the marking. We just need to step it up I mean we had good chances to score we just needed to be a little bit more clinical in the last 25,” Sanders said.
The second round will see Wits take on NMMU (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University).
Wits optimistic of success in varsity hockey tournament
The Wits Hockey Club are looking to do well in this year’s varsity hockey tournament, with the first leg starting on home turf tomorrow.
The tournament sees eight varsity teams competing in three rounds of fixtures in the Wits University set of matches before they move on to the next tournament.
PASSIONATE COACH: Mark Sanders,Wits men’s hockey coach, shows his player, Matthew Povall a trick or two. Photo: Luca Kotton
Wits hockey coach, Marc Sanders, is optimistic of his team’s chances at the tournament. He believes the key to success is a solid start. He hopes Wits will finish in the top four of the competition.
Sanders, speaking to his team in practice, says, “I like my team to train like they’re in second place and play like we are in first place.”
Wits’ first game is against Maties (Stellenbosch University) on Saturday afternoon, a team that Sanders considers Wits’ toughest opponents.
The next two matches will be against Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University on Sunday at 12h45 and the televised game on Monday will be against the University of Cape Town at 18h45.
Wits showed fighting skills against the log leaders
Witsie- Rinus Bothma making a break for it just before handing off the opposition lock. Photo by Caro Malherbe
THE WITS rugby side lost its match, 48-21, against Stellenbosch Maties in the FNB Varsity Cup at the Wits Rugby Stadium on Monday despite showing tremendous perseverance and playing their hearts out.
In what was arguably the best game Wits has played this season, the boys made it a very difficult win for the Stellenbosch team.
From the start of the game Maties came out strong, scoring a try within the first five minutes. Their smirks were short-lived as Wits managed to strike back with a try scored by left wing Riaan Arends, then a conversion from kicker Kyle Peyper evened the score at 8-8.
Maties had plenty of opportunity to score, having greater possession of the ball throughout the match, but Wits played a strong defensive game leaving Maties struggling through many scrums.
At half-time, the clearly frustrated Maties led the score by 32-8. Both teams came back eagerly as they entered the second half of the game. Maties captain Helmut Lehmann managed to score his third try of the game against Wits.
Although behind, the Witsies were not discouraged as scrumhalf Matthew Torrance re-instilled some faith by making it over the try line, putting the score at 32-13.
Managing to score again, Maties settled their score at 48 points.
A last minute try was achieved by Witsie Rius Bothma which ended the game at 48-21 to Maties. The crowd showed their massive support by continuously backing the boys in blue and yellow right to the end.
Despite being on the losing team, the match adjudicators recognised Wits’ Jason Frazer’s tremendous playing skills and fast-footed breakaways by naming him the Man of the Match
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