Reigning champs Maties seek perfection

VARSITY CUP REACTION: FNB Maties sealed their place in the final of the FNB Varsity Cup with a clinical performance against FNB UFS Shimlas to reiterate why it will take an extraordinary performance to stop them.

The ‘Maroon Machine’ were expected to steamroller Shimlas, and did just that on the way to scoring seven tries to one for a 47-5 scoreline.

“It was a good performance… however, we were not as clinical as we wanted even if there were good periods in the game,” Maties coach Hawies Fourie told reporters after the  match while highlighting the exacting standards he expects of his boys.

Maties may have won seven-from-seven in the round-robin phase, and dominated the semifinal from start-to-finish, but Fourie is under no illusions that they will have to be better yet against FNB UP-Tuks - who they only edged 26-24 in Round three - come next Monday’s final.

“We will work on the mistakes we made,” the former Boland, Cheetahs and Griquas mentor said.

“I think we can learn a lot from this game especially game management which did’t always go according to plan. In terms of Tuks, we’ll start planning as of Tuesday morning…”

One person, who will play a critical role in whether Maties do claim a record fifth Varsity Cup title (and take them two clear of UP-Tuks) is stand-in captain Chris Massyn, whose efforts in the Number 6 jersey saw him claim the FNB Player that Rocks award.

“Coming into this match we knew it was going to be a challenge so I am happy with the guys’ performance - we can now look forward to next week,” he said.

Of course, the 24-year-old could arguably play a role in formulating the gameplan for the final too.

He spent six years at the University of Pretoria, during which he played under their coach Nollis Marais and alongside many of the players still in the set-up.

Not forgetting too, that he captained them to their 2017 title over Maties, which means he’s in line for an unprecedented third straight title himself.

“Personally, I’m very excited. It will be good to see some old mates and play against them… playing the game which we love,” Massyn concluded immodestly.