The late charismatic Ikeys player, Monty Taljaard
A heartfelt and spirited performance by the 14-men Ikeys Tigers earned them a resounding 36-17 victory over the strong-willed NMMU outfit to claim the Monte Taljaard Trophy in Port Elizabeth on the 2nd of February. This was a fitting tribute to the late Monte Taljaard (former U20A1 Captain and member of the 2008 Varsity Cup side), the likeable and charismatic Ikeys player who passed on tragically in a road accident last September. This five-try victory earned the Ikeys an important bonus point to allow them to leap into second place on the log, only two points behind leaders and perennial rivals, Maties.
Coach Dobbo made a couple of rotational changes in his run-on side, giving Goose, Ashely Wells, the hard-hitting Kuselo Moyake, the resurgent Sean Van Tonder and the eventual Man of the Match, JP Roberts who was a constant menace to the NMMU defence. This decision paid dividends to the coach as all them put up a sterling performance to give and attested how much depth the coach has in his side ahead of the crunch play-offs which the Ikeys look set to be involved in. Once again, the UCT backline proved to be troublesome for the NMMU side as they relentlessly broke through their defence, with the evergreen Sean Van Tonder and the powerful Pieter Engelbrecht being the chief perpetrators. That fine showcase by the new look side (it’s not a B-side by the way) has actually given Dobbo a selection head-ache, the one any coach would love to have ahead of the play offs.
Week six saw the Ikeys take on the Shimlas at the Green Mile. This match was billed to be a thriller, with the Shimlas (UFS) having dented Tukkies’ play-off hopes with a booming 39-22 victory in week five. UCT looked dangerous on attack and they defended very well. However a series of handling errors from both sides robbed us from witnessing a high try scoring game. UCT ultimately won the game 23-20 having scored excellent tries through hooker Dayne “Danger” Jans who made a frenzied run on the right touchline that was reminiscent of Stormers’ reserve hooker Deon Fourie’s bravura try against the Bulls. Flyhalf Matthew Rosslee scored the team’s second as he broke the Shimlas defence in their 22m before Therlow Petierson capped off with a late try after a neat exchange of passes with Marcello Simpson to increased his lead on the Varsity Cup try-scoring chart to five, thanks to a Kuselo Moyake’s crucial turn-over that instigated the move. The Ikeys play their last game away to Pukke in week seven.
Meanwhile, the Stormers seem to be finding the going a bit tough in the Super 14 after they were once again flattened by the Bulls 14-10 at Loftus. They now have lost 3 of their opening 4 matches, further blowing their very slim hopes of making the Super 14 play-offs. Once again, Luke Watson proved that the abysmal booing behaviour of the Loftus horde actually fuelled him to play better with a virtuoso performance for the Stormers at Loftus, thereby subjecting those verbal bullies to further embarrassment. Maybe it’s high time those booing imbeciles and nincompoops stop this disheartening behaviour and get on with their lives.
The Sharks and Bulls maintain their unbeaten run in competition and they look set to make the play-offs, or may I shouldn’t be counting the eggs before they hatch because a lot can happen in the next nine games. The Stormers face the defiant Lions in their next game and it’s a must-win game for them it they still want to be ion contention for the semis.
In other rugby circles, the star-studded Western Province Vodacom cup team kicked off their 2009 campaign with a 36-3 victory over the EP Mighty Elephants at the empty Newlands stadium. The Ikeys flag was kept rising, with Ikeys Jody Burch and Martin Miller turning out for the local side. Meanwhile, poor defence cost the led Bok 7s side’s chances of lifting the World Cup in Dubai over the weekend. The Mpho Mbiyozo’s men led 12-0 at half time but a couple of missed tackles and loss of concentration allowed the Argentines to get back into the game and eventually steal the game 14-12. Wales eventually went to win the Cup with a close19-12 victory over Argentina.
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