UFS-Kovsies will be up against UP-Tuks in the 2015 Varsity Sevens final after cruising through their respective semifinals.
Pukke grabbed an early try but could not stop the juggernaut that is UFS-Kovsies – who bagged five tries in the match to walk away comfortable 36-17 winners to advance to the Cup final.
They will be joined in the final by UP-Tuks who made light work of UJ by running in four tries – including one in the powerplay – to secure their spot in the title match.
In the Plate semifinals, UCT scored a late try to beat Cape rivals Maties 17-12 to advance to the Plate final. Fellow Cape side UWC secured their spot in the final when they scored a powerplay try after regulation time to steal victory from NMMU.
Cup Semifinals
UFS-Kovsies 36-17 NWU-Pukke
Pukke made the perfect start when they opened the scoring in the first minute of the match to grab the lead. Kovsies maintained their composure and took the ball through the phases to build their way up to the Pukke try line. Kovsies called for a powerplay when they awarded a five metre penalty and took full advantage by grabbing their first try of the match to take a 12-7 lead with two minutes remaining in the half.
Kovsies would have the final say of the half when they benefited from a quickly taken penalty to score under the posts and extend their lead to 19-7 at the half-time interval.
The Bloem students would strike first in the second half when a clever sniping break down the blindside ended with an easy score to stretch the lead to 17 points. The result was put beyond any doubt when Kovsies grabbed two tries towards the end of the match.
Pukke would, however, have the final say as they grabbed a late powerplay try to bring some respectability to the scoreline as Kovsies advanced to the Cup final.
UJ 19-31 UP-Tuks
Tuks got off to a flying start when they scored inside 30 seconds with the first attack of the match. That sparked UJ into action and launched an attack of their own in the Tuks defence. They would breach the Pretoria defence in the fifth minute with a try under the posts to level matters.
The Pretoria students went into half-time with a 12-7 lead after grabbing a try after regulation time.
The lead was extended to 12 points after three minutes in the second half when Tuks muscled their way over the try line to take a healthy lead as the match wound-down. UJ went in search of try from the restart and ran the ball all the way to Tuks’ five metre line, only to tackled into touch by some exceptional cover defence.
The result was put beyond any doubt with one minute remaining in the match as Tuks grabbed a powerplay try to take an unassailable 31-7 lead in the match. However, UJ finished strong to grab a powerplay try of their own but it was all too little too late as Tuks advanced to the final.
Plate Semifinals
UCT-Ikeys 17-12 Maties
It was a cagey affair in the opening minutes of the match as both sides looked to gain the upperhand with big carries and hard tackles. The deadlock would be broken in the fourth minute of the match when UCT unlocked the Maties defence by stretching the field to dot down under the uprights. Maties hit back two minutes later when they took the ball through the phases to wear down the Ikeys defence and grab their first try of the match.
Maties maintained possession for the remainder on the half but UCT stood strong in defence to hold onto a slender 7-5 lead at the break.
The intensity remained high at the start of the second half with Ikeys maintaining much of the possession, however, Maties were pinning them inside their half of the field. The Stellenbosch students would capitalise on their territorial advantage by grabbing their second try of the match with two minutes remaining in the match.
The power play was called at the restart and Ikeys went on the attack in search of a late try to seal the victory. They found their reward after regulation time to clinch a try and steal the victory to advance to the Plate Final.
NMMU 24-29 UWC
NMMU got off to the perfect start as they went on the attack from the kick-off by running the ball at UWC and grabbing the opening try inside the first minute of the game. The Port Elizabeth boys doubled their try count two minutes later when they cored in the right corner.
However, UWC would hit back with two tries of their own towards the end of the first half to sneak a 14-12 lead as the teams went into the break.
NMMU were reduced to six men early in the second half and UWC immediately called for the powerplay. However, they could not make their numerical advantage count and were punished with four minutes remaining in the match when NMMU grabbed their third try of the match to regain the lead at 17-14.
The action continued with UWC grabbing the lead from the restart thanks to a brilliant individual effort. Their joy would be short lived as NMMU unlocked the UWC defence with a minute remaining in the match to grab a 24-19 lead. The Bellville students would have the final say in the match as they grabbed a powerplay try with the final play of the match to seal the victory and advance into the Plate final.
Results:
Cup Semifinals
UFS-Kovsies 36-17 NWU-Pukke
UJ 19-31 UP-Tuks
Plate Semifinals
Maties 12-17 UCT-Ikeys
NMMU 24-29 UWC
Fixtures:
15.20: Ninth/10th Playoff – WSU v UFH
15.40: Seventh/Eighth – Maties v NMMU
16.00: Plate Final – UCT-Ikeys v UWC
16.30: Third/Fourth – NWU-Pukke v UJ
17.00: Final – UFS-Kovsies v UP-Tuks
