Varsity Cup preview - Round Five

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) and NWU-Pukke will go head-to-head tonight in a match that could go a long way towards deciding fourth place in the 2009 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.

FNB Pukke are currently in fourth place with 10 points on the Varsity Cup log after four rounds of action, followed closely by FNB UJ on nine points.

With just two rounds of league action remaining, this fixture at the UJ Stadium is shaping up as the match of Round Five.

Both Pukke and UJ have played four, won two and lost two matches and both coaches are expecting fireworks come 6.45pm tonight, with the losing side no doubt taking a backwards step in terms of semifinal qualification.

"The UJ match is definitely a season decider for us," admitted Pukke coach Rudy Joubert, who took over the reigns from Matt Proudfoot in Potchefstroom this season.

"It's going to be a tough match for us," he added. "They have a solid scrum and they also have a lot of strike-power in the backline with guys like Earl Lewis (at fullback).

"We certainly need to make the most of our opportunities and play much better rugby than we did last week (against Stellenbosch)."

Of course, the match Joubert referred to above saw the FNB Maties smash Pukke 31-10 at the Danie Craven Stadium, a loss that will haunt the Men from Potchefstroom for quite some time.

UJ, on the other hand, had more success last week and will carry some momentum into this fixture after beating FNB Shimlas 44-8 at home - scoring six tries to one.

"I am really happy for the guys," UJ coach Hugo van As told varsitycup.co.za. "I think they really needed this confidence boost."

UJ and Pukke know each other well, as the latter - despite being based in the North West Province - play in the Lions' local club competition, although Van As does not think that will matter come tonight.

"We do know each other's gameplans well, but it really doesn't count for that much," said Van As.

"I believe the team that executes its gameplan the best on the day will walk away as winners," he added.

"One just has to look at the Bulls. Everyone knows what approach they will adopt, yet if they execute it well you are powerless to stop them."

The winner-takes-all UJ-Pukke battle, other action in Round Five sees Shimlas host Tuks in Bloemfontein, TUT entertain the table-topping Maties at the TUT Stadium and NMMU will play host to UCT in Port Elizabeth.

The Shimlas-Tuks and NMMU-UCT games will be televised live on SuperSport 1 (and CSN) at 4.45pm and 6.45pm, respectively, but all eyes will be on the Port Elizabeth match, which has major relevance to both sides.

Both teams will play for a brand new trophy in this encounter, with the Varsity Cup organisers allowing UCT to honour young flanker Monte Taljaard, who passed away in a car accident last September.

Of course, Taljaard is a Grey PE old boy, which is why the Monte Taljaard Trophy will be up for grabs between the 'Madibas' and the Ikey Tigers.

"Monts was a true legend in PE - as a person and a rugby player," said UCT backline coach Robbie Fleck to varsitycup.co.za. "Of course, we all loved him dearly at UCT and it's a huge honour for everyone involved to play for the inaugural Monte Taljaard Trophy."

The honour aside, Fleck added: "Believe me, we want to win this match for Monts! It's a big game for both teams and it's a great opportunity to honour Monte's name, but we know the best way to honour him will be to win.

"NMMU proved last week (against TUT) that they are by no means the whipping boys of the Varsity Cup. They've done well this year and they will make life hard for us, of that I have no doubt."

NMMU coach Kolie Brandt told varsitycup.co.za that his players were "honoured" to play for the Monte Taljaard Trophy, adding: "A lot of my players played with Monte Taljaard at Grey PE, so there's a lot of excitement in our camp ahead of this match."

Brandt, however, will be without star fullback Vuyolwethu Mazaka, who was suspended for one week after receiving a red card for a dangerous tackle during his team's historic 28-18 win over TUT.

The selfsame TUT are still winless in the 2009 Varsity Cup, but things do not get any easier for them.

TUT will face the defending champion Maties at home this evening, but Maties coach Chean Roux has made a massive 10 changes to his side from last week because of Vodacom Cup call-ups, tactical changes and injuries.

The home side could fancy their chances of causing an upset against the only unbeaten team in the competition, although the presence of Donald Stevens, JP Mostert and Jaco Nepgen (who will captain the side in the absence of Wesley Wilkens) will shore up this new-look Maties XV.

One team that will be hoping for an upset this week is Shimlas, who have not tasted victory since their 37-11 opening day win over NMMU on February 2 - exactly one month ago.

They will host Tukkies at Shimla Park - in one of two televised games tonight - knowing that a loss would definitely rule them out of semifinal contention.

They have a small chance of still making the play-offs - provided that other results also go their way - but Tukkies will be as desperate for a victory after losing their unbeaten record against the Ikeys last week.

Tuks went down 22-24 to the Capetonians in last-gasp fashion last Monday, but they are still in second place on the log and will be looking to ensure that they remain in that position (ahead of the Ikeys) in order to secure a home semifinal.

"Technically speaking they (Shimlas) might be out of the semifinal race, but that will make them even more dangerous and unpredictable," said Tuks mentor Freddie Grobler.

"We can take nothing for granted, because we ourselves are not out of the woods yet."

Week Five schedule:

Monday, March 2:
FNB Shimlas v FNB Tuks, Shimla Park, Bloemfontein - 4.45pm (TV)
FNB TUT v FNB Maties, TUT Stadium, Pretoria - 6.45pm
FNB UJ v FNB Pukke, UJ Stadium, Johannesburg - 6.45pm
FNB NMMU v FNB UCT, Xerox NMMU Stadium, South Campus, Port Elizabeth - 6.45pm (TV)