The University of Pretoria earned a return to the Varsity Cup by steamrolling the NMU Madibaz in the final league game of the Shield on Friday.
UP-Tuks scored nine tries in a 66-24 victory in the table-topping clash in Pretoria on Friday afternoon to seal first place in the Varsity Shield.
FULL TIME and @TuksSport finish top of the log to be automatically promoted to the FNB Varsity Cup. The Stripe Generation also secure a home semi-final after dominating @Madibaz_Sport.
FNB Tuks 66 – 24 FNB Madibaz#RugbyThatRocks brought to you by FNB, Steers and Suzuki pic.twitter.com/8A51Fu0ojl
— Varsity Shield (@varsityshield) April 12, 2024
Both teams went into the match unbeaten, effectively making it a playoff to earn automatic promotion to the 2025 season of the Cup.
A competitive first half saw the Madibaz bloody to nose of their opponents, scoring three tries after falling 14-0 down early on.
However, after UP-Tuks took a 35-17 lead into half-time, the second half belonged to the hosts, with hooker Edwin Till scoring two tries, adding to centre Kobus Janse van Rensburg’s first-half brace.
The win saw UP-Tuks rebound after the five-time Varsity Cup champions were surprisingly relegated at the end of last season. Dewey Swartbooi’s side will replace Varsity Cup wooden spoonists UWC next season.
The Madibaz can still earn promotion to the Cup, if they win their promotion-relegation match against Bloemfontein’s CUT Ixias.
Photo: Photo: @varsityshield/Twitter (X)
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
