CAPE TOWN – With two more rounds to go before the Varsity Cup playoffs, UCT Ikeys captain Josh Moon says they won’t underestimate a struggling Wits outfit, although they plan on returning to Cape Town five log points richer.
UCT are currently in fifth spot on the standings, and will need a bonus-point win away from home - while they will be hoping that fourth-placed Shimlas lose - to crack into the top four spots.
A win alone won’t do the job as Shimlas have a superior points-difference and getting just one point in their fixture against CUT will keep them there.
And while Moon & Co aren’t seeing their away game against eighth-placed Wits as a mere formality, the skipper is confident that they can get maximum points today.
“We are confident going into Wits, we want to get a W under the belt, but we aren’t thinking about that. We are thinking about going away getting the five points, coming home and then onto the next game. We aren’t going to underestimate them,” Moon said.
“We have done our homework I think we are just very frustrated because we have lost it for ourselves in most of the games we have played. We have had moments in the game where we have been excellent, but we haven’t really put together an 80-minute performance.
“Above all else there are a lot of guys in the camp, where this season is their last campaign, and (they) want to enjoy their rugby and obviously you enjoy it more when you’re winning.”
UCT Ikeys plan on returning to Cape Town five log points richer. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
Down in Cape Town, UWC will hunt their first win when they take on UJ, while CUT will host Shimlas.
In Potchefstroom, NWU will host UP-Tuks as third plays second.
NWU skipper Louis van der Westhuizen said his team are looking forward to making up for their defeat against Maties.
“We are happy about our last result, it was a must win for both sides. I think we stuck to our processes and got the win. It was important for us to get our confidence back up after the loss against Maties,” Van der Westhuizen said.
“I think UP-Tuks are a well-balanced side. They have good forwards that can maul and scrum, and they have backs that can run with the ball, so it will have to be an overall good performance by us.”
UP-Tuks captain Marius Verwey, on the other hand, wants his team to continue their winning ways, although he doesn’t expect today’s game to be easy: “We were in good control of the game because our territory battle was just that good.
There was a time in the game they had some play time because our execution was not so good, but we pulled ourselves together to get the points.”
@WynonaLouw
Cape Times