UFS-Kovsies were crowned 2015 Varsity Sevens champions when they beat UP-Tuks 24-19 in a pulsating final at Villager FC, Cape Town on Monday.

Trailing 7-12 at half time, Kovsies had to dig deep in the final 10 minutes of the match and managed to run in two tries to bag the title after finishing the group stages at the top of the standings.

NWU-Pukke secured third place when they beat UJ 31-19 while UCT-Ikeys secured the Plate section when they narrowly beat Cape-rivals UWC 17-12. Maties finished the tournament in seventh place, NMMU had to settle for eighth while UFH beat WSU to ninth position.

Final: UFS-Kovsies 24-19 UP-Tuks

Kovsies began like a house on fire as they benefited from excellent play at the ruck to steal possession in Tuks’ 22. They quickly shifted the ball out wide and the extra numbers on the outside handed them the first try of the match. Tuks were being pinned in their 22 but they kept their composure and launched a massive counter-attack which saw them run the length of the field to grab their first try of the match to level matters at 7-7 with three minutes remaining in the half.

Tuks would remain on attack for the remainder of the half and found themselves with a 12-7 lead at the interval thanks to a brilliant team effort to score in the right corner.

Kovsies were on the attack from the second half kick-off and were awarded a penalty five metres from the Tuks try line. They called for the powerplay and made it count to grab a try and regain the lead at 17-12 with eight minutes remaining in the match. The Bloemfontein students would then stretch their lead to 12 points with another second half try to put some breathing space between the sides.

Tuks were under severe pressure and being pinned inside their 22 once again but a wild pass by Kovsies allowed Tuks to grab possession and run the length of the field to bring themselves back into the contest trailing 19-24 with two minutes remaining in the match.

The Pretoria side called for their powerplay in the final minute of the match and just as it seemed a though they were going to break through the Kovsies defence, The Bloemfontein students were awarded a penalty to stop Tuks in their tracks and hand the trophy to Kovsies.

Third/Fourth: NWU-Pukke 31-19 UJ

UJ went on the attack from the kick-off and reaped immediate reward when they dotted down to grab the early lead. UJ kept the pressure on their opponents and manage to pin them on their five metre line. An interception by Pukke would see them run the length of the field to score under the posts and level matters.

Pukke were holding their own in defence and absorbed more pressure before showing their counter-attacking skills once again to grab their second try of the match. They would extend their lead to 12 points when they grabbed another try with the final play of the half.

The second half remained a tight battle but it would be UJ who would unlock the Pukke defence to grab a powerplay play with four minutes left in the match to level matters at 19-19. Pukke hit back straight away to grab a try of their own and regain their seven point lead.

Pukke would put the result to bed when they grabbed a try with 30 seconds remaining in the match to walk away with a 12 point victory and wrap-up third spot.

Plate Final: UCT-Ikeys 17-12 UWC

The opening minutes was a tightly contested affair with UWC enjoying much of the possession and territory. Their early dominance would be rewarded in the third minute when a fantastic display of stepping skills by Quaid Langeveldt got the Bellville students the first try of the match.

UCT threw everything they had at their opponents and their efforts were rewarded in the final play of the half to trail 5- at the interval.

PLay remained in and around the halfway line before UWC managed to pin Ikeys inside their 22. UCT managed to find a gap and launched a massive attack from inside their 22 to grab the first try of the second half and take a 12-7 lead with four minutes remaining in the match.

UWC fought hard and brought the scores level with one minute remaining in the match but UCT would have the final say as they scored in the dying seconds to secure the Plate.

Seventh/Eighth: Maties 30-7 NMMU

It was all out attack by NMMU in the opening minutes of the match but Maties were up for the fight and defended well before grabbing hold of the ball and launching an attack of their own to open the scoring with their first visit to NMMU’s 22.

Both sides did their best to put more points on the scoreboard but it was not to be as Maties held a slender 5-0 lead at the break.

NMMU came put firing in the second half and found immediate reward to grab their first try of the match and take the lead. Maties would regain the lead with three minutes remaining in the match when they crossed the try line.

The lead would be stretched to 13 points moments later when they bagged a powerplay try and put the result beyond any doubt. Maties gave the crowd another reason to shout when they claimed the final try of the match to seal a convincing win and secure seventh place.

Ninth/10th: WSU 26-32 UFH

WSU came out firing and showed their brilliant skills to grab an early try in the match. They would add a further two tries as the half-time hooter approached to stretch their lead to 19-0 with one minute left in the half.

UFH got themselves on the board after regulation time by sneaking in a try to bring themselves back into the contest at the half-time interval.

The second half got underway with UFH in possession and taking the game to WSU. Their persistence was rewarded with five minutes remaining in the match when they scored in the corner to reduce the deficit to just nine points. WSU were not going to let UFH run riot and grabbed a scintillating try of their own when they ran the ball from inside their 22 to score under the posts.

UFH called for the powerplay with two minutes remaining in the match and found immediate reward as they grabbed a 10-pointer to bring reduce the deficit to six points with one minute remaining in the match. The game would go down to the wire as UFH probed for another score with the final play of the match and scored another powerplay try to secure ninth place.

Results:

Final: UFS-Kovsies 24-19 UP-Tuks
Third/Fourth: NWU-Pukke 31-19 UJ
Plate Final: UCT-Ikeys 17-12 UWC
Seventh/Eighth: Maties 30-7 NMMU
Ninth/10th: WSU 26-32 UFH

Final Standings:

Champions: University of the Free State
Second: University of Pretoria
Third: North West University
Fourth: University of Johannesburg
Fifth: University of Cape Town
Sixth: University of the Western Cape
Seventh: University of Stellenbosch
Eighth: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
Ninth: University of Forth Hare
10th: Walter Sisulu University