No excuses from Tuks
Like any quality side, FNB Tuks will resist the temptation to blame someone else for their failure to beat FNB UCT at the LC de Villiers Stadium this past Monday.
Tuks went into Round Four of the 2009 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International leading the standings, but they dropped to second place on the log after going down 22-24 to the Ikey Tigers.
The Men from Pretoria led 13-0 at one stage, and 16-12 at half-time, but they ended up losing the match in dramatic circumstances when UCT flyhalf Matt Rosslee slotted a last-second penalty goal.
But Tukkies head coach Freddie Grobler offered no excuses, telling varsitycup.co.za: "We have no excuses. We had enough opportunities (to win), but it the end they used theirs so much better."
Grobler said losing was not always a bad thing, as it is a cruel reminder that you are only as good as your last game. "Losing to the Ikeys may therefore just prove to a blessing in disguise," he said.
He agreed that Tuks lost too many lineouts - including the critical last one of the match.
"Our lineout play was shocking," admitted Grobler. "Losing 11 lineouts on you own throw is not a good statistic... We also lost a lot of possession at kick-offs and we paid for it."
Grobler agreed that his team's discipline was still not good enough. "We are own worst enemies by giving away penalties near our posts," he said. "Against the Ikeys this proved to be very costly as the winning points came through a penalty goal."
The Tuks mentor added: "All these areas will be firmly addressed at training this week because we cannot afford to make the same silly mistakes against Shimlas (in Bloemfontein on Monday).
"Technically speaking they (Shimlas) might be out of the semifinal race, but that will make them even more dangerous and unpredictable. We can take nothing for granted, because we ourselves are not out of the woods yet."
Monday's Shimlas-Tukkies clash will kick-off at 4.45pm. The match at Shimla Park in Bloemfontein will be televised live on SuperSport.
By Morris Gilbert