Hat trick for Tarusenga as UCT Ikeys thump UJ in Varsity Cup

The University of Cape Town’s Ikey Tigers got back to winning ways with a comprehensive 42-23 Varsity Cup thumping over the University of Johannesburg in Cape Town on Monday night.

The Capetonians’ early campaign featured a close 32-24 win over Cup newcomers UWC in their opener, before being thrashed 66-5 by a rampaging Maties side in front of their home crowd.

They had a bye last week, and went into their third test without their captain and star flank Nama Xaba, after he sustained an injury in their first game.

UJ, on the other hand – as a new-look outfit under the guidance of a new coach – have now lost all four of their games, including a 8-23 hammering at the hands of NWU and a 19-40 lesson from Tuks.

Last week, they also fell to CUT away from home.

Ikeys scored six converted tries to the visitors’ three on Monday, with No 8 Nyasha Tarusenga putting in a massive performance to score a hat trick at the Green Mile.

The loose forward’s carries caused UJ all kinds of problems, and he showed his physicality when he used brute force to get over the whitewash for one of his touchdowns.

UCT flyhalf Lohan Lubbe also had a superb outing and produced a series of pressure-relieving kicks, while his distribution also allowed his backline to do damage in the first match of the day.

UCT scored two tries in the opening quarter of the encounter and kept UJ scoreless in the early stages.

But the Johannesburg side came to the party in the second and scored two tries, before UCT made sure they had the final say in the form of two quick tries just before halftime.

The hosts scored two more tries in the second half, while UJ only managed one, and it proved enough to cap off a dominant performance on Round Four.

Oh captain my captain! Josh Moon picks his line and opens the scoring for the @ikeytigers against the orange army. #RugbyThatRocks pic.twitter.com/jNAi6iLcsl

— Varsity Cup (@varsitycup) February 25, 2019