Cape Town - Wits hosted the Madibaz at Wits Stadium in a mouthwatering clash in the Varsity Cup. The match was one played at a very high intensity, which saw the exciting young Wits backline thrive when attacking. The game ended with the men from Johannesburg emerging 30-20 victors.
It got underway with Wits dotting down very early through flanker Constant Beckerling, who managed to barge over after a series of attacks, flyhalf Gianni Lombard unfortunately then sent his conversion attempt wide. The visitors then soon hit back with points of their own, when their flyhalf Thomas Kean sent a penalty from over 50m, soaring between the sticks to bring the score to 5-3.
Straight after the first strategy break, the Madibaz scored when winger Jixie Malapo dashed past a few defenders for a seven-point try. The game was then very tight with both teams going at each other but it was the Witsies that were the next to score, through lock Rhyno Herbst. With score now at 10-10, pressure shifted back to the home side and the Madibaz crossed over after camping in the Wits 22m area. The try was scored by Henry Brown and converted again by Kean. With halftime soon approaching, all pressure was on Wits, which they eventually managed to turn into a try that saw both teams go into the break deadlocked at 17-17.
The second half was tamer than the first, with Madibaz only managing three points from the boot of flyhalf Thomas Kean. The home side also saw a further 13 points added to their score, thanks to the boot of substitute flyhalf and captain Warren Gilbert, who had just returned from injury. The game ended with Wits making it another win on the trot ahead of a very important game against fierce Johannesburg rivals UJ.