FNB Maties scored a valuable bonus-point victory away to Western Cape rivals FNB UCT Ikeys to kick off Round five. The men from Stellenbosch collected maximum points in Cape Town to beat defending champions by 34-07.
Both sides needed to have their wits about them in the windy conditions on the Green Mile with Ikey Tigers heading into the clash as favourites.
FNB Maties found themselves on the back foot in early exchanges, but it was the visitors who opened the scoring against the run of play inside 10 minutes. FNB UCT were on the front foot and misplaced a pass inside the Stellenbosch 22 leading to a breakaway that resulted in Luan Botha dotting down for a Point of Origin try after six minutes.
The Ikey Tigers needed to navigate tricky spell of play with 14-men shortly after with captain Enos Ndiao going to the bin for cynical play. Maties headed into the break with a slender lead after a gruelling first half where they needed to absorb waves of Ikeys pressure. Despite spending majority of the first period in their own half, they led by seven-points at the break.
The Maroon Machine came out firing in the to kick off the second period with tries aplenty. First, Stellies skipper, Ezekiel Ngobeni, showed some slick skills and quick thinking to get his side’s second try. Sensing a shift in momentum, Ngobeni opted for the Tap which worked a treat as Zuko Poswa crashed over the line just 24 seconds later for a 17-0 lead.
The visitors had their tails up and scored their bonus point try shortly after the restart courtesy of prop, Janlu Basson. The Stellies front rower bagged a brace of tries within two minutes - one of them coming from another successful Tap by the visiting team that saw them race into a 29-0 lead on enemy territory.
The hosts hit back with a seven-pointer that was finished off by Jack Benade a few moments later but just couldn’t seem to impose themselves on the contest. The gusty conditions caused problems for both sides, but Stellies were able to keep their mistakes to a minimum.
Maties ran in their sixth try after the hooter sounded after a well-worked scrum set piece that went through the hands and eventually saw Mckyle Volmoer finishing off the move for a 34-7 success over their archrivals.
Scorers:
FNB UCT: Try: Jack Benade.
FNB Maties: Tries: Janlu Basson (2), Luan Botha, Ezekiel Ngobeni, Zuko Poswa, Mckyle Volmoer.
Teams:
FNB UCT: 1 Matthew Beckett, 2 Tian Vorster, 3 Phiko Zuka, 4 Enos Ndiao, 5 Connor Jack Gordon, 6 Isaiah Louw, 7 Eric Basson, 8 Aidan Norris, 9 Monray Daars, 10 Alex Vermeulen, 11 Lezane Davis, 12 Amahle Mazibuko, 13 Bruce Campbell, 14 Jack Benade, 15 Setshaba Mokoena. Replacements: 16 Nic Van Schalkwyk, 17 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 18 Tumelo Noah, 19 Adam De Waal, 20 Aiden De Costa, 21 Sethu Zungu, 22 Jacques Cloete, 23 Sino Brawen.
FNB MATIES: 1 Janlu Basson, 2 CJ Erasmus, 3 Keanuh Michaels, 4 Zuko Poswa, 5 Luan Botha, 6 Fortune Mpofu, 7 Louw Du Toit, 8 Tjaart Joubert, 9 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 10 Christiaan Van Heerden Smith, 11 Huhgo Van Zitters, 12 Cj Marx, 13 Samuel Badenhorst, 14 Ryan Manuel, 15 Elridge Jack. Replacements: 16 Dawie Stemmet, 17 Jason Johnson, 18 Danie Kruger, 19 Luke Swartz, 20 Gcina Puzi, 21 Mckyle Volmoer, 22 Simon Liversage, 23 Louis Fourie.