FNB UWC are dealing with the setback of having not achieved their initial goals in the FNB Varsity Shield – of gaining promotion to the FNB Varsity Cup – by focusing their attention on the playoffs.
The former FNB Varsity Shield champions lost two regular season matches, which left them in third place on the log, behind FNB Madibaz and FNB Varsity College, who were promoted to the FNB Varsity Cup next season.
Head coach Paul Treu described his feelings about the ongoing season as “mixed emotions”.
“The results speak for themselves. We started so well, and we obviously lost against Madibaz and we lost against CPUT,” Treu said. “That was a bit unexpected.”
With promotion to the FNB Varsity Cup now out of reach, they are still eyeing the FNB Varsity Shield title. In order for that to happen the side will have to improve their discipline, according to Treu.
“If we want to do well for the rest of the campaign to go to a final and hopefully to win it, we will have to improve our discipline,” Treu said.
“And also those unforced errors of losing the ball in contact that was disappointing because those are things that we can control. But, you know, there’s still a chance. And then obviously the semi-final is something to look forward to.”
“We knew what our goal was that we set at the start of the season,” FNB UWC skipper Romauld Nsombamanya said. “But due to certain results, we didn’t manage to achieve our goal.
“It’s a thing that we have to take on the chin as a team. We take responsibility for things that didn’t work, now we just need to reroute our focus on the playoffs.”
FNB UWC will take on FNB Madibaz in Gqeberha on Friday evening, looking for vengeance after going down 27-24 earlier in the season at the same venue.
“We need to understand that they’re a team that never gives up,” Nsombamanya said about Friday’s opposition.
“The lesson we learnt from the last match is that if we’re going to put them away, then we need to put them away properly.
“We need to bury them from the first half because if we give them an inch, they can come back.”