UJ too strong for Raiders

The University of Johannesburg were simply too strong for Raiders in their Grand Challenge fixture on Saturday.

FNB UJ - with Earl Lewis once again leading the charge - beat Raiders 79-28 in Longdale, with the visitors scoring a whopping 12 tries in a wonderful display of attacking rugby.

Lewis scored a hat-trick of tries and kicked five conversions, whilst outstanding No.6 flanker Julian Erasmus went one better by scoring four tries in the first half.

Flyhalf André Smith, scrumhalf Jaco Snyman, No.8 Hennie Killian, flanker Ysel Swanepoel and hooker Edgar Marutlulle scored UJ's other tries, with Smith adding another three conversions and a drop-goal.

Smith ended with a points tally of 14, but that was overshadowed by Sevens ace Lewis's haul of 25 points.

Amazingly, the score was relatively close at half-time, with UJ leading 34-21 - but their second half effort (UJ won the second period 45-7) was more than enough to secure a comfortable win for the in-form Varsity Cup outfit who were without regular captain Clinton de Klerk at the weekend.

UJ's scorers:
Tries: Julian Erasmus 4, Earl Lewis 3, André Smith, Jaco Snyman, Hennie Killian, Ysel Swanepoel, Edgar Marutlulle
Cons: Earl Lewis 5, André Smith 3
DG: André Smith

The UJ team: 15 Earl Lewis, 14 Wigan Pekeur, 13 Walter Venter, 12 JJ Pienaar, 11 Itumeleng Mogotsi, 10 André Smith, 9 Jaco Snyman, 8 Hennie Killian, 7 Ysel Swanepoel, 6 Julian Erasmus, 5 Andries Nel, 4 Martyn Lombard, 3 Clint van Niekerk, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 KP du Plessis.