Tuks aware of the odds against them

VARSITY CUP SPOTLIGHT: For FNB UP-Tuks the semifinals of the FNB Varsity Cup will be a question of whether being rested is better than being match-hardened, and trying to rewrite history.

FNB Maties, FNB NWU Pukke and FNB UFS Shimlas completed their round-robin campaigns with comprehensive wins this past Monday, while UP-Tuks had their bye week - which proved a bogey for Shimlas and Wits in the last two years.

"It’s always a difficult situation because we played eight games in a row and the break was needed," Marais told rugby365.com this week.

"Then again, you want to take momentum into the semifinals. The only way we’ll know whether it was a good thing for us is if we get a positive result on Monday."

Apart from the fact that his charges were able to refresh their minds and bodies during the week off, Marais has also been able to fine-tune his gameplan for the semifinal. After all, things have changed since UP-Tuks made a statement by beating Pukke in Round Seven, not least that Jonathan Mokuena’s team ran rampant in the closing two rounds of action.

"They’re playing very good rugby at the moment and had good momentum against Wits where they got a good scoreline [74-15]. They’re a good side and it’s going to be tough if we’re not up for it… but we will be and I think it’s going to be an epic battle."

Historically, UP-Tuks have a 50-50 record when it comes to play-off time and, similarly, UP-Tuks and Pukke have each won a semifinal against each other.

The overall Varsity Cup record between them makes for even more interesting reading. Each has won seven times but, unusually, the away team has won nine of those 14 clashes and five times in the last six meetings - including the 2015 semifinal when Pukke pipped UP-Tuks 29-28 in Pretoria.

"I told the guys the same thing this week that we seem to beat them more often in Potch than here," Marais said. "Even in a warm-up at the start of the season they came to us and beat us, then we went there and beat them. We’re in a situation now where something’s gotta give in the third game!"

While UP-Tuks are determined to change that odd trend, there’s another challenge they’ll have to overcome come Monday at 16:45 SA time - inclement weather.

"We trained in the rain on Friday morning because we know it’s predicted to rain on Monday and wanted to get the players used to the conditions they’ll face," Marais reveals. "The only thing I’m concerned about is the lightning factor… especially late in the afternoon."

That all said, this young UP-Tuks squad has already shown the kind of character necessary if they’re to reverse history. In Round Three they came closer to beating Maties than any team (before a 24-26 loss), then they travelled to Potchefstroom as underdogs but kept Pukke scoreless to win 28-0. Also, when FNB UCT Ikey Tigers blitzed them in the first half of their Round Eight clash at Tuks Stadium, Marais’ boys fought back in similar conditions to what’s predicted for Monday to draw 26-26.