Tuks stroll past Wits

Cape Town - Tuks scored three tries to nil in recording a 25-9 win (half-time 15-9) against Wits in Round 5 of the Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.

The gloomy weather that has held its grip on Pretoria over the last week made way for a pulsating match between the two teams at the Tuks Rugby Stadium.

Wits brought their 'A' game to Pretoria as they played at a frantic pace in the first half, but UP-Tuks proved to be a stronger defensive unit.

Flyhalves Tinus de Beer (UP-Tuks) and Warren Gilbert (Wits) exchanged penalties early on before UP-Tuks wing Dewald Naude collected a grubber to score the opening try of the match.

Gilbert added a further two penalties before UP-Tuks captain Chris Massyn crossed the line in the 31st minute. De Beer's conversion gave the men from Pretoria a 15-9 lead at the break.

The second half proved to be a much slower affair as both teams struggled to find their groove as promising passages of play were ended by unforced errors.

Replacement utility back Franco van den Berg scored a late try to give the home team a comfortable 25-9 win.

UP-Tuks will meet CUT in Round 6 next Monday at the Tuks Rugby Stadium (16:45), while Wits will travel to Potchefstroom to play NWU-Puk (18:30).

The UP-Tuks v CUT match will be televised live on SuperSport 1.

Player that Rocks: Andre Warner (FNB UP-Tuks)

Scorers:
UP-Tuks
Tries: Dewald Naude, Chris Massyn, Franco van den Berg
Conversions: Tinus de Beer, Joshua Stander
Penalties: Tinus de Beer (2)

Wits
Penalties: Warren Gilbert (3)

Teams:

UP-Tuks

15. Divan Rossouw, 14. Dewald Naude, 13. Toko Maebane, 12. Impi Visser, 11. Sibahle Maxwane, 10. Tinus de Beer, 9. Andre Warner, 8. Jsuan-Re Swanepoel, 7. Chris Massyn (captain), 6. Eduan Lubbe, 5. Brian Leitch, 4. Aston Fortuin, 3. Neethling Fouche, 2. Jan-Henning Campher, 1. Andrew Beerwinkel

Substitutes: 16. Theuns Reynolds, 17. Jaco Holtzhausen, 18. Marius Verwey, 19. Denzel Hill, 20. Theo Maree, 21. Joshua Stander, 22. Manie Libbok, 23. Franco van den Berg

Wits

15. Lux Ntsepe, 14.Kwanele Ngema 13. Joshua Jarvis, 12. Brandan Hewitt, 11. Wandisile Simelane, 10. Warren Gilbert (captain), 9. Ruan Cloete, 8. Constant Beckerling, 7. Conor Brockschmidt, 6. Justin Brandon, 5. Graham Logan, 4. Rhyno Herbst, 3. Luvuyo Pupuma, 2. CJ Conradie, 1. CJ Greeff

Substitutes: 16. Michael Renwick, 17. Brandon Palmer, 18. Pascal Snyman, 19. Jethro De Lange, 20. Karl Erasmus, 21. Manuel Rass, 22. Gianni Lombard, 23. Ameer Williams