Kotze boots Pukke to glory

NWU-Pukke fullback Theuns Kotzé was the toast of his home town, after scoring 16 of his team's points in their hard-fought 21-18 Intervarsity win over Varsity Cup opponents, FNB Shimlas, in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The home side ran into an 8-0 lead early on (within the first ten minutes), but were unable to hold off their determined visitors; with Kotzé scoring a try and kicking one conversion and three penalties in their victory march.

Hard-running winger Jamba Ulengo (first half) and prop Charles Marais (late in the second half) scored tries for the home side, who led 11-10 at half-time.

After the break, however, a try from Kotzé and two penalties put them ahead by 21-11, with Marais' late converted try narrowing the scoreline in a great contest.

This fixture - between the two losing semifinalists of the 2010 Varsity Cup - was Pukke's sixth successive Intervarsity victory over Shimlas.

The scores:

For FNB Shimlas:
Tries: Jamba Ulengo, Charles Marais
Con: George Whitehead
Pens: Whitehead 2

For FNB Pukke:
Tries: Wouter Watermeyer, Theuns Kotze
Con: Kotzé
Pens: Kotzé 3

The teams:

Shimlas: 15 Robert van Schalkwyk, 14 Jamba Ulengo, 13 Wayne Stevens (captain), 12 Barry Goodes, 11 Beast Ndwandwa, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Jaco Colyn, 8 Erik le Roux, 7 Willie Britz, 6 Dirk Wessels, 5 Wilken Heyens, 4 Joubert Horn, 3 Kobus Caldo, 2 Hercu Liebenberg, 1 Charles Marais.
Replacements: 16 Gert Erasmus, 17 Marcel van der Merwe, 18 Lebo Zietsman, 19 Oupa Mohaje, 20 Marlin Ruiters, 21 Franna du Toit, 22 Karl Eksteen.

Pukke: N/a