Pukke KO hapless Shimlas
A breathtaking 25 minutes, which included four tries, was the knockout punch by FNB NWU-Pukke that floored FNB Shimlas in their Varsity Cup match in Potchefstroom on Monday evening.
The end result in this final round league match was a 64-24 drubbing by the Men Bloemfontein at the hands of their rivals at the Fanie du Toit Sportsground.
NWU-Pukke right wing Andrew van Wyk scored a hat-trick in the eight-try romp.
The rout started in the 11th minute when burly No.8 HP Swart bulldozed his way over the line, whilst try-ace Van Wyk danced past the defence like a ballerina. Gerhard Nortier added both conversions, the second from the touchline, to give his team an early 16-09 advantage.
This blitzkrieg put the visitors on the back foot and they failed to turn the tide, as flank Philip de Wet went over in the 20th minute - Nortier's conversion making it 24-0. Wing Joe Seerane not only beat the defence with relative ease, but then set Van Wyk up for his second try in the 25th minute.
Shimlas eventually got on the scoreboard when loose forward Armandt Koster went over and Reinhardt Erwee converted, but Van Wyk completed his hat-trick just as the hooter had sounded and Nortier continued his faultless goalkicking to make it 40-8 at the half-time break.
The rate of scoring slowed down dramatically after the break and it was 16 minutes before a great kick ahead by Philip de Wet set up SW Oosthuizen for a try. Andries Botha and Martin Dreyer then added their names to the scoresheet for the hosts.
The Kovsies continued to put up a spirited display and it required some spectacular cover defence by the Pukke to keep the visitors away from their tryline.
Replacement scrumhalf Pieter Rademan and winger Jamba Ulengo were eventually rewarded for their hard work with tries, but the evening belonged to the NWU-Pukke who will travel to Pretoria to take on the log-topping FNB UP-Tuks side next Monday.
The scorers:
For FNB NWU-Pukke: Tries: Swart, Van Wyk 3, De Wet, Oosthuizen, Botha, Dreyer. Cons: Nortier 6, Dorfling 2
For the FNB Shimlas: Tries: Kotze, Rademan, Ulengo. Cons: Erwee 2, Olyn
The teams:
NWU-Pukke: 15 SW Oosthuizen, 14 Andrew van Wyk, 13 Ruan Jacobs, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht (capt), 11 Joe Seerane, 10 Gerhard Nortier, 9 Tiaan Dorfling, 8 HP Swart, 7 Philip de Wet, 6 Siya Mdaka, 5 Victor Kruger, 4 Siyanda Ndlovu, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 2 JC Oberholzer, 1 Henry Scharneck.
Replacements: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Martin Dreyer, 18 Lodewyk Uys, 19 Spanner Pretorius, 20 Andries Botha, 21 Malan van der Merwe, 22 Terswin Raubenheimer, 23 Mashudu Mafela.
Shimlas: 15 Nico Scheepers, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Robbie van Schalkwyk, 12 Stephan van der Merwe, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Reinhardt Erwee, 9 Kevin Luiters, 8 Erik le Roux, 7 Willie Britz (capt), 6 Armandt Koster, 5 JC Astle, 4 Joubert Horn, 3 Ian Potgieter, 2 PW van Vuuren, 1 Charles Marais.
Replacements: 16 JC van Wyk, 17 John-Henry Harris, 18 Lebo Zietsman, 19 Oupa Mohoje, 20 Pieter Rademan, 21 Erick Olyn, 22 Divandré Strydom, 23 Carl van Heerden.
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
