Centurion - Maties ground out a 20-12 victory over NWU in a tightly-contested Varsity Cup match, in Stellenbosch, on Monday.
In a battle between two well-organised defences, it would be Maties who came out on top with each side scoring two tries on the night.
NWU opened the scoring in the 12th minute after a number of phases in the Maties 22, with prop Sampie Swiegers barging his way over. Nivan Petersen added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
After what seemed like an age camping in the NWU 22, Maties were rewarded with their first try as hooker Sean Swart fell over the line for the score. Fullback Nevaldo Fleurs added the conversion to tie the scores in the 20th minute (7-7).
Fleurs finished off an impressive Maties move which began with a dummy run, and he duly converted his own try as his side moved 14-7 ahead after 26 minutes.
Fleurs could not be kept out the game as he added two penalties in the next five minutes to extend the Maties lead to 13 (20-7).
😲![CDATA[]]>🔥Waqar Solaan coming in at the angle with speed and power to set up Nevaldo Fleurs for the second @MatiesSport try! The maroon machine into the lead in sensational fashion!#RugbyThatRocks pic.twitter.com/BpDm3QXjf4
— Varsity Cup (@varsitycup) March 21, 2022
NWU notched up their second try of the evening from a maul five metres out just after the hour mark, and again it was Swiegers as he bagged his brace (20-12).
It would turn out to be the only score of the second half, as Maties held on for a hard-fought triumph.
Scorers: NWU 12 (7): Tries: Sampie Swiegers (2) Conversion: Nivan Petersen
Maties 20 (20): Tries: Sean Swart, Nevaldo Fleurs. Conversions: Nevaldo Fleurs (2). Penalties: Fleurs (2)