Ikeys show their mettle……………Is it déjà vu?

Coach gives an update of the Varsity Cup and Super 14

In the 2008 varsity cup competition, the Ikeys lost their first of their group matches but eventually went on to win the remaining six matches, grabbing a bonus point in every subsequent match. In one of their matches leading to the final, a last second penalty by flyhalf Matthew Rosslee secured a close win for them.
The 2009 season has started with almost a similar pattern, losing their first game against the Maties and then turning the tables to win their next three games (2 away, 1 home) and earning a FULLHOUSE in all of them. Perhaps their most recent match against Tukkies was the most nail-biting one as once again, flyhalf Matthew Rosslee (the eventual Man of the Match) landed a last second penalty to bag a 24-22 victory in Pretoria.

The Ikeys are living up to their exciting brand of expansive rugby, similar to the style that bok coach Peter De Villiers has been trying to inculcate amongst him men . The mere fact that of the total twelve tries that they have scored, eleven have been scored by their backline (back three) shows their capability to run the ball. Former Maties player, now UCT fullback Therlow Pietersen is the current joint top scorer in the tournament with four tries and with fellow new recruits Tiger Bax (fullback/centre) and Dane Johnson (wing) having two tries apiece.

The Ikeys’ next game is against NMMU on the 2nd of March in Port Elizabeth. This should be an easy full-house for the Ikeys, but should not be complacent after the heavily-packed NMMU outfit registered their first victory of their varsity cup campaign against TUT last week. However, this should be one of the matches that Dobbo should give a chance to his fringe players to gain game time. You would expect guys like Kuselo, JP Robert, Ashley Wells and the ‘Goose’ to start. But we’ll have to wait and see. By the time this publication comes out, the match would have been played and a report on it would be provided in the next edition.

On a different note, it still remains unknown, but most likely so that Luke Watson may have silenced the booing with his five-star performance against the Reds on the 21st of February. On the build up to the match, most Luke-critics had been wondering if he would be able to cement a starting place in the Stormers’ loose-trio, with most favouring the combination of Schalk Burger, Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen. However, a change of game plan by coach Rassie led to Luke surprisingly starting at no8 against the Reds ahead of Louw as he put on a blistering performance in an otherwise scrappy 27-24 win for the Stormers.

The Stormers have had a fragmentary start to their Super 14 season with a loss to the Sharks and a unconvincing 27-24 win over the resilient Reds. Their failure to accumulate a bonus point in that match may yet come back to haunt them at the later stages of the season when deciding the play-offs. On the other hand, the bulls seem to have resurrected from their forgettable 2008 season with victories over the Reds and the Blues. The match against the latter was one of their best matches in a while and Pierre Spies put on a perfect display to cap two tries in leading his to a 59-26 demolition of the Blues. The Sharks have maintained their clean start to the season with victories over the Stormers and Lions. Their fate however would be decided in the five away games down under where, with their first against the Chiefs on the 28th of February.


At the end of week two of the Super 14, the has been some local players who have really stood out, namely Duanne, Deysel, Luke, Kankowski, Pierre and Rory Kockott just to name a few. given that Bok coach De Villiers announced that there is still room for anyone in the Bok team for Lions tour, it would not be surprising to see guys like Deysel or Kockott getting a springbok call. On a gloomy side, bok heroes such as star Bryan Habana and JP Peterson have had a slow start to the season. Let’s just hope they’ll pick up soon in time for the Lions Tour matches.