Cape Town - University of Johannesburg (UJ) scrumhalf Vian van der Watt scored two late tries to salvage a dramatic 26-26 draw with UFS-Shimlas in Johannesburg on Monday.
The result means that Shimlas, who were reduced to 13-men in the final stages, cannot qualify for the semi-finals.
Shimlas led 26-5 with 25 minutes remaining before a stunning fightback by the hosts.
VIDEO: UJ v Shimlas, highlights
Replacement hooker AJ le Roux got a try before Shimlas' Armandt Koster and Pieter-Steyn de Wet were sent to the sin-bin and from close quarters replacement scrumhalf Van der Watt darted over for two tries close in, both converted by Guy Cronje to seal the dramatic draw.
Scorers:
UJ:
Tries: Pretorius, Le Roux, Van der Watt (2)
Conversions: Cronje (2)
Shimlas:
Tries: De Klerk, Marais, Luiters
Conversions: Scheepers (3)
Penalty: Scheepers
Yellow card: Koster (74 mins), De Wet (76 mins)
Teams:
UJ:
15 Kobus De Kock, 14 JR Esterhuizen, 13 Bradley Moolman, 12 Luan Steenkamp, 11 Chrysander Botha, 10 Divan van Zyl (captain), 9 Jacques Pretorius, 8 RJ Liebenberg, 7 Johan van der Hoogt, 6 Thilip Marole, 5 David Antonites, 4 Shane Kirkwood, 3 Ewald Van Der Westhuizen, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Wessel Du Randt .
Substitutes: 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Wiseman Kamanga, 18 Fabian Booysen, 19 Kobus Porter, 20 Vian van der Watt, 21 Adriaan Vermeulen, 22 Andries Oosthuizen, 23 Njabulo Mkize.
UFS-Shimlas:
15 Nico Scheepers, 14 Maphutha Dolo, 13 Robbie van Schalkwyk, 12 Stephan van der Merwe, 11 JJ de Klerk, 10 Pieter-Steyn de Wet, 9 Kevin Luiters, 8 Erik le Roux, 7 Teboho Mohoje (captain), 6 Freddie Ngoza, 5 JC Astle, 4 Fanie van der Walt, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Elandre Hugget, 1 Charles Marais.
Substitutes: 16 JC van Wyk, 17 Carl van Heerden, 18 Lebo Zietsman, 19 Armandt Koster, 20 Hlanlha Hlongwane, 21 Divandre Strydom, 22 Marco Mason, 23 Luan de Bruin.
Referee: Pieter Janse van Vuuren
Varsity Rugby results on Monday:
Varsity Cup:
UJ 26-26 Shimlas
NMMU 13-7 Tuks
Maties 37-34 Pukke
UCT 50-40 Wits
Varsity Shield:
Fort Hare 12-36 CUT
UKZN 36-13 UWC
Varsity Cup semi-final line-up:
Monday, March 25:
Tuks v UJ, Pretoria
Maties v NMMU, Stellenbosch
The result means that Shimlas, who were reduced to 13-men in the final stages, cannot qualify for the semi-finals.
Shimlas led 26-5 with 25 minutes remaining before a stunning fightback by the hosts.
VIDEO: UJ v Shimlas, highlights
Replacement hooker AJ le Roux got a try before Shimlas' Armandt Koster and Pieter-Steyn de Wet were sent to the sin-bin and from close quarters replacement scrumhalf Van der Watt darted over for two tries close in, both converted by Guy Cronje to seal the dramatic draw.
Scorers:
UJ:
Tries: Pretorius, Le Roux, Van der Watt (2)
Conversions: Cronje (2)
Shimlas:
Tries: De Klerk, Marais, Luiters
Conversions: Scheepers (3)
Penalty: Scheepers
Yellow card: Koster (74 mins), De Wet (76 mins)
Teams:
UJ:
15 Kobus De Kock, 14 JR Esterhuizen, 13 Bradley Moolman, 12 Luan Steenkamp, 11 Chrysander Botha, 10 Divan van Zyl (captain), 9 Jacques Pretorius, 8 RJ Liebenberg, 7 Johan van der Hoogt, 6 Thilip Marole, 5 David Antonites, 4 Shane Kirkwood, 3 Ewald Van Der Westhuizen, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Wessel Du Randt .
Substitutes: 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Wiseman Kamanga, 18 Fabian Booysen, 19 Kobus Porter, 20 Vian van der Watt, 21 Adriaan Vermeulen, 22 Andries Oosthuizen, 23 Njabulo Mkize.
UFS-Shimlas:
15 Nico Scheepers, 14 Maphutha Dolo, 13 Robbie van Schalkwyk, 12 Stephan van der Merwe, 11 JJ de Klerk, 10 Pieter-Steyn de Wet, 9 Kevin Luiters, 8 Erik le Roux, 7 Teboho Mohoje (captain), 6 Freddie Ngoza, 5 JC Astle, 4 Fanie van der Walt, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Elandre Hugget, 1 Charles Marais.
Substitutes: 16 JC van Wyk, 17 Carl van Heerden, 18 Lebo Zietsman, 19 Armandt Koster, 20 Hlanlha Hlongwane, 21 Divandre Strydom, 22 Marco Mason, 23 Luan de Bruin.
Referee: Pieter Janse van Vuuren
Varsity Rugby results on Monday:
Varsity Cup:
UJ 26-26 Shimlas
NMMU 13-7 Tuks
Maties 37-34 Pukke
UCT 50-40 Wits
Varsity Shield:
Fort Hare 12-36 CUT
UKZN 36-13 UWC
Varsity Cup semi-final line-up:
Monday, March 25:
Tuks v UJ, Pretoria
Maties v NMMU, Stellenbosch