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Cape Town - UCT have booked their place in the Varsity Cup final with a dominant 20-8 victory over Maties on a wet Green Mile.
GALLERY: Ikeys v Maties
The wind and rain in Cape Town made it a tricky prospect for both teams, with UCT adapting best to conditions as they scored all of their points after half-time following a scoreless first half.
The visitors made a positive start to the game, pegging the Ikeys back in their own half, but they were unable to make it count on the scoreboard as the UCT defence held up well after conceding a string of penalties in their 22.
The battle up front was always going to be key given the persistent rain, and Ikeys struck a big blow when they shoved the Maties pack backwards in the first scrum of the game, which set the tone for the rest of the match.
They kept the pressure on and camped on the Maties tryline for a while, but the team from Stellenbosch showed just as much resolve on defence to keep the game scoreless after an intense opening 15 minutes.
Maties made their move once more, rejecting a few opportunities to kick at goal as they looked for the opening try, and although Ikeys wing Richard Stewart was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements the Stellenbosch side could not find a way through as they went into the first strategy break without bothering the scorers.
Maties looked certain to score after the ball was sent wide following a turnover in UCT territory, but left wing John Durr was forced into touch just short of the tryline as the Tigers hung tough.
Maties continued to hammer away, but Ikeys clearly had the upper hand in the set-pieces and they managed to keep them out as the teams went into the half-time break still deadlocked at 0-0.
The home side had the wind at their backs in the second half, and it paid off straight away as Lihleli Xoli followed up well on a chip kick to score the opening try, with Dean Grant's conversion putting them 8-0 up.
Grant added two penalties which took Ikeys' lead to 12-0, and it looked a long way back for Maties with the wind and rain blowing in their faces.
Some clever kicking from Grant kept Maties back in their own 22, where the Ikeys scrum put them under some considerable pressure, and it finally told as a massive shove saw UCT No.8 Michael Botha crash over for a pushover try which made it 20-0 once converted.
That left Maties with it all to do in the last ten minutes, and they were given a glimmer of hope when Ikeys captain Liam Slatem was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle.
His opposite number Jean Nel took advantage straight away when he slid over for a try in the corner, which was converted from the touchline by flyhalf Robert du Preez, but it was not enough to avoid defeat as Ikeys booked their place in the final
Meanwhile, in the Varsity Shield John Mitchell's UKZN Impi set up a replay with the CUT Ixias in the final next week after they handed the two-time champions a 39-21 defeat in Pietermaritzburg.
The bonus-point victory sent the KwaZulu-Natal side through to their first-ever final which means that they have a chance of qualifying for promotion to the Varsity Cup.
That result ended Fort Hare's hopes of reaching the final, as although the Eastern Cape side beat the TUT Vikings 38-36 in Alice, it was not enough to overhaul the Impi who will travel to Bloemfontein next week to face the Ixias.
Next week will also see the Varsity Young Guns final between two-time champions Tuks Young Guns and UFS Young Guns who saw off the challenges of Maties and UJ Young Guns respectively.
Tuks are yet to lose a single game in the three seasons that the competition has been running, so they will be favourites on home soil against a UFS side that handed UJ their first defeat of the season.
The Koshuisrugby Championships saw two home wins in the semi-finals as well as UFS' Heimat and Patria from NWU maintained their unbeaten records this season.
Heimat saw off the challenge of last year's beaten finalists Medies in Bloemfontein whilst Patria proved too strong for the Purple Cobras from UCT to set up their final which will be played before the Varsity Cup final in a fortnight's time.
Scorers:
UCT - 20: Tries: Xoli, Botha; Conversions: Grant (2); Penalties: Grant (2)
Maties - 8: Try: Nel; Conversion: Du Preez
Yellow cards: Richard Stewart (UCT, 29 mins - repeated infringements) Liam Slatem (UCT, 71 mins - dangerous tackle)
Teams:
UCT
15 Ross Jones-Davies, 14 Richard Stewart, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Guy Schwikkard, 11 Lihleli Xoli, 10 Dean Grant, 9 Liam Slatem (captain), 8 Michael Botha, 7 Vince Jobo, 6 Jason Klaasen, 5 James Kilroe, 4 Shaun McDonald, 3 Digby Webb, 2 Neil Rautenbach, 1 Joel Carew
Substitutes: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Robin Murray, 18 Kyle Kriel, 19 Gareth Ehret, 20 James Alexander, 21 Martin Sauls, 22 Nathan Nel, 23 David Maasch
Maties
15 Craig Barry, 14 Mark Hodgskiss, 13 Jacobus Loubser, 12 Louis Jordaan, 11 John Durr, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Jean Nel, 8 Tertius Daniller (captain), 7 Helmut Lehmann, 6 Justin Benn, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Liam Hendricks, 2 Charl de Villiers, 1 Wesley Adonis
Substitutes: 16 Neethling Gericke, 17 Niel Oelofse, 18 Ian Groenewald, 19 Lungelo Chonco, 20 Bjorn Bernardo, 21 Chris Smith, 22 Tebongo Letlape, 23 Nicol Heyns.
Referees: Stephan Geldenhuys, Rodney Bonaparte
Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman, Francois Pretorius
TMO: Deon van Blommestein
GALLERY: Ikeys v Maties
The wind and rain in Cape Town made it a tricky prospect for both teams, with UCT adapting best to conditions as they scored all of their points after half-time following a scoreless first half.
The visitors made a positive start to the game, pegging the Ikeys back in their own half, but they were unable to make it count on the scoreboard as the UCT defence held up well after conceding a string of penalties in their 22.
The battle up front was always going to be key given the persistent rain, and Ikeys struck a big blow when they shoved the Maties pack backwards in the first scrum of the game, which set the tone for the rest of the match.
They kept the pressure on and camped on the Maties tryline for a while, but the team from Stellenbosch showed just as much resolve on defence to keep the game scoreless after an intense opening 15 minutes.
Maties made their move once more, rejecting a few opportunities to kick at goal as they looked for the opening try, and although Ikeys wing Richard Stewart was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements the Stellenbosch side could not find a way through as they went into the first strategy break without bothering the scorers.
Maties looked certain to score after the ball was sent wide following a turnover in UCT territory, but left wing John Durr was forced into touch just short of the tryline as the Tigers hung tough.
Maties continued to hammer away, but Ikeys clearly had the upper hand in the set-pieces and they managed to keep them out as the teams went into the half-time break still deadlocked at 0-0.
The home side had the wind at their backs in the second half, and it paid off straight away as Lihleli Xoli followed up well on a chip kick to score the opening try, with Dean Grant's conversion putting them 8-0 up.
Grant added two penalties which took Ikeys' lead to 12-0, and it looked a long way back for Maties with the wind and rain blowing in their faces.
Some clever kicking from Grant kept Maties back in their own 22, where the Ikeys scrum put them under some considerable pressure, and it finally told as a massive shove saw UCT No.8 Michael Botha crash over for a pushover try which made it 20-0 once converted.
That left Maties with it all to do in the last ten minutes, and they were given a glimmer of hope when Ikeys captain Liam Slatem was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle.
His opposite number Jean Nel took advantage straight away when he slid over for a try in the corner, which was converted from the touchline by flyhalf Robert du Preez, but it was not enough to avoid defeat as Ikeys booked their place in the final
Meanwhile, in the Varsity Shield John Mitchell's UKZN Impi set up a replay with the CUT Ixias in the final next week after they handed the two-time champions a 39-21 defeat in Pietermaritzburg.
The bonus-point victory sent the KwaZulu-Natal side through to their first-ever final which means that they have a chance of qualifying for promotion to the Varsity Cup.
That result ended Fort Hare's hopes of reaching the final, as although the Eastern Cape side beat the TUT Vikings 38-36 in Alice, it was not enough to overhaul the Impi who will travel to Bloemfontein next week to face the Ixias.
Next week will also see the Varsity Young Guns final between two-time champions Tuks Young Guns and UFS Young Guns who saw off the challenges of Maties and UJ Young Guns respectively.
Tuks are yet to lose a single game in the three seasons that the competition has been running, so they will be favourites on home soil against a UFS side that handed UJ their first defeat of the season.
The Koshuisrugby Championships saw two home wins in the semi-finals as well as UFS' Heimat and Patria from NWU maintained their unbeaten records this season.
Heimat saw off the challenge of last year's beaten finalists Medies in Bloemfontein whilst Patria proved too strong for the Purple Cobras from UCT to set up their final which will be played before the Varsity Cup final in a fortnight's time.
Scorers:
UCT - 20: Tries: Xoli, Botha; Conversions: Grant (2); Penalties: Grant (2)
Maties - 8: Try: Nel; Conversion: Du Preez
Yellow cards: Richard Stewart (UCT, 29 mins - repeated infringements) Liam Slatem (UCT, 71 mins - dangerous tackle)
Teams:
UCT
15 Ross Jones-Davies, 14 Richard Stewart, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Guy Schwikkard, 11 Lihleli Xoli, 10 Dean Grant, 9 Liam Slatem (captain), 8 Michael Botha, 7 Vince Jobo, 6 Jason Klaasen, 5 James Kilroe, 4 Shaun McDonald, 3 Digby Webb, 2 Neil Rautenbach, 1 Joel Carew
Substitutes: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Robin Murray, 18 Kyle Kriel, 19 Gareth Ehret, 20 James Alexander, 21 Martin Sauls, 22 Nathan Nel, 23 David Maasch
Maties
15 Craig Barry, 14 Mark Hodgskiss, 13 Jacobus Loubser, 12 Louis Jordaan, 11 John Durr, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Jean Nel, 8 Tertius Daniller (captain), 7 Helmut Lehmann, 6 Justin Benn, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Liam Hendricks, 2 Charl de Villiers, 1 Wesley Adonis
Substitutes: 16 Neethling Gericke, 17 Niel Oelofse, 18 Ian Groenewald, 19 Lungelo Chonco, 20 Bjorn Bernardo, 21 Chris Smith, 22 Tebongo Letlape, 23 Nicol Heyns.
Referees: Stephan Geldenhuys, Rodney Bonaparte
Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman, Francois Pretorius
TMO: Deon van Blommestein
