As the the day started heating up at Pirates Rugby Club, so did the Varsity 7s Round 2 action.
The favourites once again came to the fore, winning their second match on the trot but, as expected, Group B will come down to the third set of games.
UP-TUKS, KOVSIES MAKE OPPONENTS PAY
Defending champions UP-Tuks picked up their second full haul of points when they faced Wits – who at least picked up two tries.
The Stripe Generation, however, ran them ragged to win 50-10 and bring up their century for the tournament.
Kovsies, Tuks’ Group A rivals, couldn’t quite managed another 50-pointer but were full value for their 33-5 win over UFH to set up a mouth-watering clash against Tuks to see who tops the table.
ALL TO PLAY FOR IN GROUP B
UJ made it a double in Group B, to steal a march on their rivals for the supremacy. The Orange Army brought NWU back down to earth (following their Round 1 win over Madibaz) with a chastening 33-0 victory.
That result opened the door for Madibaz and UCT to fight for qualification from the group and they duly delivered a back-and-forth tussle. Madibaz held a slender two-point advantage at half-time, but then extended it in the second to win 24-15 – to all but condemn UCT to the lower part of the tournament come Day 2.
CPUT, WSU GAME BUT TOP TWO EMERGE
Maties and CPUT arguably delivered the game of the second round, with the two going hammer and tongs at each other.
CPUT were quicker out of the stalls, capitalising on a Maties yellow card in the first half, to open up a 14-5 buffer when the ‘oranges’ came on. They couldn’t withstand the Maroon Machine in the second half however.
Maties ran in try after try (with CPUT mustering only one) to emerge victors with a 34-19 scoreline.
Unperturbed by that result, UWC duly went out and showed that their third place in 2018 was not a fluke. WSU would have been targeting an upset after pushing Maties close, but ‘UDubs’ duly dispatched them 34-7 to build momentum and confidence ahead of their Group decider against Maties.
VARSITY 7S ROUND 2 RESULTS
UP-Tuks 50 Wits 10
Kovsies 33 UFH 5
UJ 33 NWU 0
Madibaz 24 UCT 15
Maties 34 CPUT 19
UWC 34 WSU 7
