Sevens: All Cape Final
UWC had the tough task of facing log leaders NWU-Pukke and showed plenty of guts and determination to keep Pukke at bay in the closing minutes of the game to claim a well-deserved 14-12 victory.
Maties was locked in a tough battle with UP-Tuks but a late second half try secured their passage into the Final with a 12-5 victory.
We look at all the semifinal action!
Cup semifinals:
NWU-Pukke 12-14 UWC
UWC were first on the board after three minutes when they broke through Pukke's defence to take a 7-0 lead. Pukke did their best to get themselves on the board but were denied by some resolute UWC defence as the Cape side held onto their lead at the break.
Pukke found themselves a man down early in the second half and the Cape side took full advantage as a second try extended their lead to 14-0 with five minutes remaining in the match. Pukke grabbed their first points of the game with two minutes remaining to reduce the deficit to 5-14.
The Potchefstroom students set up an intriguing finish to the game when they grabbed their second try with 30 seconds remaining in the contest. However, UWC claimed the restart to hold on for the win.
Maties 12-5 UP-Tuks
It was Maties who grabbed the opening try of the match in the fourth minute to take a 5-0 lead but Tuks struck back a minute later with a try of their own to level matters. Neither side were able to add extra points as they headed into half-time level at 5-5.
Handling errors were the order of the day in the second half, however with just two minutes remaining in the match, Maties launched a counter-attack from inside their half to grab the crucial score. The successful conversion handed Maties a 12-5 lead.
The Stellenbosch students attempted to grab another late score but it was not to be as they ran out victors.
Plate semi-finals:
UFS-Kovsies 26-7 UCT-Ikeys
UCT enjoyed much of the early possession but Kovsies stood resolute in defence to keep the Cape side at bay for much of the half. Kovsies took advantage of their first meaningful attack to break the deadlock with the game's first try after five minutes of play. UCT eventually found reward in the final minute of the half when they scored in the corner.
Kovsies came out strong at the resumption of play to score three tries within three minutes to race to a 26-7 lead. UCT did all they could to find a way back but they failed to breach Kovsies' defence and the defending champions advanced to the Plate Final.
UJ 24-5 NMMU-Madibaz
UJ opened the scoring after two minutes with a slick team effort to hold a 5-0 lead. Two further UJ tries in the closing three minutes of the half saw UJ race to a comfortable 19-0 lead at the half-time interval.
It took the Madibaz five minutes after the restart to register their first points of the game to leave them trailing 5-19. However, UJ were not going to be outdone as they grabbed their fourth try in the closing seconds of the match to claim their spot in the Plate Final.
Final fixtures:
Shield Final: 15.28 – Walter Sisulu v Fort Hare
Bowl Final: 15.50 – UCT-Ikeys v NMMU-Madibaz
Plate Final: 16.12 – UFS-Kovsies v UJ
Bronze medal match: 16.34 – NWU-Pukke v UP-Tuks
Cup Final: 17.04 – UWC v Maties
